Command with only spaces interpreted as invalid help command

[ckcherry23]

Steps to reproduce:

(just spaces)

Expected:

Unknown command or no action

Actual:

Invalid help command

Screenshot(s):

[nus-se-script]

Team's Response

This is not interpreted as an invalid help command, and the message shown is the intended error message. Intuitively, it is great to show this error message to the user. We can agree that if the user just inputs spaces (which means nothing), it is likely that he does not know what is going on. Directing the user to the help command is more of a boon than a bane. That is why we are suggesting the user to execute the help command.

Items for the Tester to Verify

:question: Issue response

Team chose [response.Rejected]

• [x] I disagree

Reason for disagreement: 1. If this is indeed the intended error message then I would like to point out that this is a type.FeatureFlaw of severity.Low as the error message is not specific enough. Nothing in the error message given guides the user to type in help in the command box. It just says that the command is invalid, that help shows program usage instructions but the user still doesn't know that they are supposed to type in help in the command box or access help from the options menu. This indeed causes minor inconvenience to first time users.

This occurred due to the reuse of the Help command message usage in a way that does not fit into the scenario. A better message would be "Unknown command. Please enter help in the command box if you want to access the User Guide and read the program usage instructions". Your idea of directing them to the user guide is good, but this error message does not achieve its purpose as at this stage, the user doesn't really understand what the example given is.

2. The help command message usage is supposed to be for when the user obviously wants to access help, but they typed in the invalid format. Invalid format is for when the parameters given for the correct command word are incorrect. However this case of the wrong command word (just spaces) is supposed to be Unknown command or no action. Hence I could even argue that the error message is wrong instead of not specific enough.

3. Also, even in the case where the user types in random keywords, they may not know how to use the app. Why is the error message "Unknown command" here, instead of guiding the user to the help command similar to the command with empty spaces? There is no reason to give different messages for these 2 behaviours, if at all the empty spaces command requires an error message.

Same error message for the two cases below:

1. Only spaces

2. When the user wants to access help, but they typed in the invalid format

Random command error message:

Could have added a more specific error message instead of reusing MESSAGE_INVALID_COMMAND_FORMAT and HelpCommand.MESSAGE_USAGE:

Justification for bug classification:

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