Add periodic auto-save feature (#3031)

* Add periodic auto-save feature

Closes #1376

* Rename event variable for clarity in auto-save

* Prevent stale auto-save scheduling after periodic saves

The PR review for #3031 requested that the periodic auto-save timer be reset after a successful auto-save cycle. This change follows the reviewer suggestion by scheduling _start_auto_save_timer with wx.CallAfter, while preserving the double-underscore event placeholder so translations remain intact. A focused regression test now verifies that the restart is scheduled after save completion.

Constraint: Keep the fix scoped to the open PR #3031 review feedback
Rejected: Restart the timer inline inside the EVT_TIMER callback | reviewer proposed deferred restart via wx.CallAfter
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: narrow
Reversibility: clean
Directive: Keep __ = event in _on_auto_save so the _() translation helper is not shadowed
Tested: Targeted pytest for test_on_auto_save_restarts_timer_after_save; py_compile on touched files
Not-tested: Full GUI-heavy utest/ui/test_mainframe.py module in this environment (wx access violation outside the targeted test)

Author: chelslava

src/robotide/preferences/saving.py

@@ -68,6 +68,10 @@ def _create_editors(settings):
             IntegerChoiceEditor(settings, 'txt number of spaces', _('Separating spaces'),
                                 [str(i) for i in range(2, 11)],
                                 _('Number of spaces between cells when saving in txt format')
+                                ),
+            IntegerChoiceEditor(settings, 'auto save interval', _('Auto save interval (minutes)'),
+                                ['0', '1', '2', '3', '5', '10', '15', '20', '30'],
+                                _('Automatically save all files after specified minutes (0 = disabled)')
                                 )
         ]
 

src/robotide/preferences/settings.cfg

@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ reformat = False
 doc language = None
 # the style of the tabs in notebook pages, Edit, Text, Run. Values from 0 to 5.
 notebook theme = 0
+# auto save interval: Automatically save all files after specified minutes (0 = disabled)
+auto save interval = 0
 
 [General]
 font size = 11
@@ -71,8 +73,6 @@ tc_kw_name = '#1A5FB4'
 variable = '#008080'
 background = '#F6F5F4'
 enable auto suggestions = True
-enable visible spaces = True
-enable visible newlines = True
 
 [Grid]
 font size = 10

src/robotide/ui/mainframe.py

@@ -167,7 +167,9 @@ def __init__(self, application, controller):
         self.color_foreground = self.general_settings.get('foreground', '#5E5C64') if self.general_settings else '#5E5C64'
         self.font_face = self.general_settings.get('font face', '') if self.general_settings else ''
         self.font_size = self.general_settings.get('font size', 11) if self.general_settings else 11
-        self.ui_language = self.general_settings.get('ui language', 'English') if self.general_settings else 'English' 
+        self.ui_language = self.general_settings.get('ui language', 'English') if self.general_settings else 'English'
+        self._auto_save_interval = application.settings.get('auto save interval', 0)
+        self._auto_save_timer = None
         self.main_menu = None
         self._init_ui()
         self.SetIcon(wx.Icon(self._image_provider.RIDE_ICON))
@@ -187,6 +189,7 @@ def __init__(self, application, controller):
         self.Bind(aui.EVT_AUI_PANE_DOCKING, self.OnFloatDock)
         self.Bind(aui.EVT_AUI_PANE_DOCKED, self.OnFloatDock)
         self._subscribe_messages()
+        self._start_auto_save_timer()
         wx.CallAfter(self.actions.register_tools)  # DEBUG
         # DEBUG wx.CallAfter(self.OnSettingsChanged, self.general_settings)
 
@@ -197,7 +200,8 @@ def _subscribe_messages(self):
             (self._set_label, RideTreeSelection),
             (self._show_validation_error, RideInputValidationError),
             (self._show_modification_prevented_error, RideModificationPrevented),
-            (self.on_ui_language_changed, RideSettingsChanged)
+            (self.on_ui_language_changed, RideSettingsChanged),
+            (self._on_auto_save_settings_changed, RideSettingsChanged)
         ]:
             PUBLISHER.subscribe(listener, topic)
 
@@ -364,6 +368,31 @@ def get_selected_datafile(self):
     def get_selected_datafile_controller(self):
         return self.tree.get_selected_datafile_controller()
 
+    def _start_auto_save_timer(self):
+        """Start the auto-save timer if interval is set."""
+        if self._auto_save_timer:
+            self._auto_save_timer.Stop()
+            self._auto_save_timer = None
+        if self._auto_save_interval > 0:
+            self._auto_save_timer = wx.Timer(self)
+            self.Bind(wx.EVT_TIMER, self._on_auto_save, self._auto_save_timer)
+            self._auto_save_timer.Start(self._auto_save_interval * 60 * 1000)  # minutes to milliseconds
+
+    def _on_auto_save(self, event):
+        """Auto-save all files when timer fires."""
+        __ = event
+        if self.controller and self.controller.is_dirty():
+            RideBeforeSaving().publish()
+            self.save_all()
+            self.SetStatusText(_('Auto-saved all files'))
+            wx.CallAfter(self._start_auto_save_timer)
+
+    def _on_auto_save_settings_changed(self, message):
+        """Update auto-save timer when settings change."""
+        if message.keys and 'auto save interval' in message.keys:
+            self._auto_save_interval = self._application.settings.get('auto save interval', 0)
+            self._start_auto_save_timer()
+
     def on_close(self, event):
         from ..preferences import RideSettings
         if self._allowed_to_exit():

utest/ui/test_mainframe.py

@@ -171,6 +171,44 @@ def my_call(*argument, **options):
             for _ in range(16):  # Hoping to cover all 4 cases
                 start_external_app(__file__)
 
+    def test_on_auto_save_restarts_timer_after_save(self):
+        calls = []
+
+        class DirtyController:
+            @staticmethod
+            def is_dirty():
+                return True
+
+        class FakeBeforeSaving:
+            def publish(self):
+                calls.append("publish")
+
+        def restart_timer():
+            calls.append("restart")
+
+        def fake_call_after(callback, *args, **kwargs):
+            calls.append(("callafter", callback, args, kwargs))
+
+        self.frame.controller = DirtyController()
+        with MonkeyPatch().context() as m:
+            m.setattr(mainframe, 'RideBeforeSaving', FakeBeforeSaving)
+            m.setattr(wx, 'CallAfter', fake_call_after)
+            m.setattr(self.frame, 'save_all', lambda: calls.append("save_all"))
+            m.setattr(self.frame, 'SetStatusText', lambda text: calls.append(("status", text)))
+            m.setattr(self.frame, '_start_auto_save_timer', restart_timer)
+
+            self.frame._on_auto_save(object())
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            calls,
+            [
+                "publish",
+                "save_all",
+                ("status", "Auto-saved all files"),
+                ("callafter", restart_timer, (), {}),
+            ],
+        )
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()