PayPal fallback initializer fails to intercept PayPal payment requests when credentials are invalid/missing #9

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2026-01-31T15:09:54-05:00

bike commented

2026-01-31 15:09:54 -05:00

The config/initializers/paypal_fallback.rb initializer was created to gracefully handle conferences without PayPal credentials configured, allowing users to proceed without PayPal. However, the fallback is ineffective because:

Architectural issue: Using Module#prepend doesn't work for this use case because the original RegistrationControllerHelper module (bikecollectives_core) internally calls paypal_request (a private method) from within payment_form_step_update. Ruby module prepends only intercept external method calls (from the controller), not internal calls within the same module's inheritance chain. When super is called, the original module's internal paypal_request executes directly, bypassing any fallback logic.

Result: Users selecting PayPal as payment method encounter 'username', 'password', 'signature' required error when conference PayPal credentials are missing or invalid, despite the fallback initializer existing.

Recommended Fix: Refactor the fallback to either:

Use alias_method_chain for method overriding
Or handle the PayPal credential validation at the controller level before calling the helper
Or check payment method type in payment_form_step_update and return an error if PayPal is selected without valid credentials

The config/initializers/paypal_fallback.rb initializer was created to gracefully handle conferences without PayPal credentials configured, allowing users to proceed without PayPal. However, the fallback is ineffective because: Architectural issue: Using Module#prepend doesn't work for this use case because the original RegistrationControllerHelper module (bikecollectives_core) internally calls paypal_request (a private method) from within payment_form_step_update. Ruby module prepends only intercept external method calls (from the controller), not internal calls within the same module's inheritance chain. When super is called, the original module's internal paypal_request executes directly, bypassing any fallback logic. Result: Users selecting PayPal as payment method encounter 'username', 'password', 'signature' required error when conference PayPal credentials are missing or invalid, despite the fallback initializer existing. Recommended Fix: Refactor the fallback to either: - Use alias_method_chain for method overriding - Or handle the PayPal credential validation at the controller level before calling the helper - Or check payment method type in payment_form_step_update and return an error if PayPal is selected without valid credentials

bbe-development referenced this issue from a commit

2026-01-31 16:06:39 -05:00

Implement PayPal fallback option and update payment method localization for improved user experience - now only two buttons show in absense of PayPal. Fixes #9

bbe-development closed this issue

2026-01-31 16:06:39 -05:00

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Reference: bike/BikeBikeBike#9