[iOS/macOS] [TextInput] Implement ghost text

[Navneet Kambo (nakambo)]

Please select one of the following

• I am removing an existing difference between facebook/react-native and microsoft/react-native-macos 👍
• I am cherry-picking a change from Facebook's react-native into microsoft/react-native-macos 👍
• I am making a fix / change for the macOS implementation of react-native
• I am making a change required for Microsoft usage of react-native

Summary

Ghost text is hint text that is inserted inline as a hint to the user (for example predictive text). Unlike autocomplete for combo boxes, which is "visible" to the model, ghost text is "invisible" or transparent to the model (i.e. not observable in any callback or imperative method). Ghost text isn't selectable by the user.

Ideally we do ghost text only in the display layer, meaning it isn't in the model. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we can render ghost text and still have Apple flow text for us (ghost text that is in the middle of regular text will want to reflow the regular text to make room for ghost text). Overriding all text box rendering seems like substantial rework (we need to deal with all drawing, including but not limited to the text box background, text, insertion pointer\selection, ... as well as other ancillary things around positioning related input UI such as IME's), so here we DO introduce it in the model, but try to keep awareness on the native side, and away from Application logic.

Since ghost text is presumed dependent on immediate user context (e.g. text and selection), we reset ghost text automatically when either of these change. We could not do that, but that requires us to deal with any possible edits around\on the ghost text, as well as actually ensure we "hide" ghost text from any callbacks made to the app (something we are getting away with right now since we remove ghost text on pretty much any user interaction).

Plumbing for new imperative method to set ghost text.

• Libraries/Components/TextInput/RCTMultilineTextInputNativeComponent.js
• Libraries/Components/TextInput/RCTSingelineTextInputNativeComponent.js
• Libraries/Components/TextInput/TextInput.flow.js
• Libraries/Components/TextInput/TextInput.js
• Libraries/Components/TextInput/TextInputNativeCommands.js
• Libraries/Text/TextInput/RCTBaseTextInputViewManager.m

Introduce a property on the RCTUITextView and RCTUITextField to store state on whether we're currently in the midst of setting\clearing ghost text. We use this to suppress various callbacks to the Application that may be triggered as a result of us changing the ghost text\selection to compensate for addition\removal of ghost text.

• Libraries/Text/TextInput/Multiline/RCTUITextView.h
• Libraries/Text/TextInput/RCTBackedTextInputDelegateAdapter.m
• Libraries/Text/TextInput/RCTBackedTextInputViewProtocol.h
• Libraries/Text/TextInput/Singleline/RCTUITextField.h

Actual ghost text management logic. I placed as much as I reasonably could here since that allows us to share most of the functionality between single and multi line text inputs.

• Libraries/Text/TextInput/RCTBaseTextInputView.h
• Libraries/Text/TextInput/RCTBaseTextInputView.m

Test page for ghost text. Shows predictive text example.

• packages/rn-tester/js/examples/GhostText/GhostText.js
• packages/rn-tester/js/utils/RNTesterList.ios.js

Changelog

GENERAL CHANGED - Initial commit

Test Plan

Testing (macOS\iOS x multi\single line):

• Type predictable text (see test page for list), see that we get ghost text and that isn't observable in the callbacks
• Type non-predictable text, check ordering of events consistent with predictable text case
• Log calls to setGhostText: on native. Ensure we clear ghost text (due to text chagnes)
• Change selection with ghost text, check that we remove ghost text (due to selection change)
• Hit Esc in text box with ghost text, check that we remove ghost text (due to focus loss)

Test page example video: https://github.com/microsoft/react-native-macos/assets/72474613/38f466c3-695b-4526-bbb2-a5afb8e333d8

[Saad Najmi (Saadnajmi)]

I guess now that we aren't using onTextInput, we don't need to flow type added, but I wouldn't call that blocking...

[Navneet Kambo (nakambo)]

I guess now that we aren't using onTextInput, we don't need to flow type added, but I wouldn't call that blocking...

I'm not adding that anymore -- the types are still being updated for setGhostText. I updated the PR description to remove the part around adding onTextInput back.

[Navneet Kambo (nakambo)]

Oops, accidentally closed the PR