Debugging Cross-Platform Caching Issues in Mobile App

TL;DR

• Identified caching issue in app data context affecting both Android and iOS.
• Verified function call execution but faced issues with code block execution.
• Tested manual date change on Android to debug forced reload and cohort content behavior.
• Investigated discrepancy in fetching data and console logs absence on the server.

Debugging Steps

Today, I tackled a complex issue where user data was not caching correctly after determining that an update is needed in both Android and iOS. Here’s a breakdown of the steps I took to investigate the problem:

1. Verification of Function Execution:

   • I verified that the function refreshCohortContent was indeed being called on both platforms by placing console logs at the call site. However, the execution block within the function was not logging as expected, hinting at potential memoization issues.

2. Testing with Android Date Change:

   • Attempted to manipulate the date on Android’s system settings back to the previous day. My goal was to trigger a different index fetch and see if cached data was the cause of the observed behavior.
   • Unfortunately, this revealed that data was not being cached after an update, leading to forcible updates on every render or app load.

3. Backend and CMS Endpoint Analysis:

   • Inspected the CMS for unexpected behavior. Console logs were missing, indicating an issue at the server request level.
   • Confirmed endpoint targeting and realized the endpoint seemed not to be fetched despite correct routes in the client application.
   • Verified logs and network requests, but the expected backend output was not aligning with server console outputs.

The situation indicated a dissonance between client-server intercommunications, possibly due to unusual backend behavior or misalignments in request handling. Further introspection into backend processes is required to understand why certain requests do not reach or execute as anticipated.