Contributor: Shehrbano Ali
Email: shehrbanoali2230@gmail.com
Github: Shehrbaano-Ali
Program: Outreachy May 2026 Cohort
Project: Addressing the Lusophone technological wishlist proposals
Date: April 5, 2026
Task: Task 1 - Create a JavaScript script to manipulate a JSON object
Identifying the timezone discrepancy between raw JSON data and task instructions.
Full JavaScript logic used for parsing data and handling timezone aware formatting.
The final human readable output and underlying HTML skeleton.
A functional prototype for Wishlist Proposal #3, utilizing String Normalization.
- Introduction
- Objectives
- Implementation Details
- The Timezone Challenge (Bug Fix)
- Beyond the Task: Project Integration
- Key Findings
- Repository Structure
- AI Usage
This repository contains my submission for Task 1 of the Outreachy 2026 contribution period for Wikimedia. The core task involved manipulating a JSON dataset of articles and displaying them in a human readable format.
By cross referencing the instructions with the raw data, I identified and resolved a technical discrepancy related to browser side date rendering. Additionally, I have included a functional prototype of a Wiki Reference Guard to demonstrate how the principles of normalization apply to real-world Wikimedia software challenges.
- Parse JSON metadata (
page_id,creation_date,title). - Format ISO dates into localized, human-friendly strings.
- Resolve the "Previous Day" bug caused by JavaScript's default UTC handling.
- Implement String Normalization to prevent duplicate citations in the Visual Editor.
- Document findings with a professional, developer-first presentation.
The solution is implemented using Vanilla JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3. It avoids external libraries to remain lightweight and easily auditable by the Wikimedia community.
During validation, I identified a logic error in the task instructions by comparing the input data with the expected output.
- The Bug: In the JSON, André Baniwa's date is Sept 13. The instruction example showed Sept 12.
- The Reason: JavaScript's
new Date(YYYY-MM-DD)defaults to UTC. In timezones behind UTC (like the Americas), this "shifts" the date back by one day. - The Fix: I appended
T00:00:00to the string, ensuring the date represents the local calendar day regardless of the user's location.
// FIX: Appending T00:00:00 ensures the date stays on the correct local day.
const dateObj = new Date(article.creation_date + T00:00:00);While Task 1 focuses on data manipulation, the Wiki Reference Guard prototype demonstrates the application of String Normalization to solve a real-world problem:
Wishlist Proposal #3 (Duplicate Reference Detection)
By stripping protocols (https://), prefixes (www.), and trailing slashes, the system can identify that two different URLs actually point to the same source, preventing citation clutter.
- Edge Case Awareness: Technical documentation must account for browser specific behaviors like UTC date parsing.
- Data Integrity: Comparing raw inputs against expected results is the first step in robust quality assurance.
- Scalability: Small logic tasks (like Task 1) provide the foundational blocks for larger system features (like the Reference Guard).
Outreachy-Wikimedia-Task-1/
│
├── index.html # Core logic, UI, and functional prototype
├── README.md # Analytical documentation (this file)
├── LICENSE # MIT License
├── 01-bug-discovery.png # Screenshot: Bug analysis
├── 02-javascript-logic.png # Screenshot: Code implementation
├── 03-results-and-html.png # Screenshot: Output preview
└── 04-prototype-guard.png # Screenshot: Wishlist #3 Prototype
I utilized Chatgpt for:
- Documentation Structure: Organizing this README to reflect the systematic analysis expected in open-source contributions.
All code, logic, and experiments were manually verified and implemented by me. The chatgpt served as a guide to accelerate understanding.
Here is the link to my Blog
This work is submitted for the Outreachy 2026 internship application for the Wikimedia Project.
~Shehrbano Ali