FIX: Handle consecutive wildcards in StringMatches (1/x)

[josepmariapujol-unity]

Description

Normalize consecutive wildcards ('' / '**') semantics are handled correctly. Consecutive wildcard characters ('') used in input control-paths are now collapsed into a single wildcard when multiple consecutive wildcard characters are present.

NOW, if we have multiple **** result the same behaviour than only one *
BEFORE, multiple **** result in a different behaviour than only one *

JIRA: ISX-2467

Testing status & QA

Type multiple ****, should behave the same way as if you typed only one *.
First editor contains PR changes, second editor uses old input system version (hence, not working with multiple ***).

Screen.Recording.2026-01-16.at.14.09.03.mov

Overall Product Risks

Please rate the potential complexity and halo effect from low to high for the reviewers. Note down potential risks to specific Editor branches if any.

• Complexity: 1
• Halo Effect: 1

Comments to reviewers

Please describe any additional information such as what to focus on, or historical info for the reviewers.

Checklist

Before review:

• Changelog entry added.
  • Explains the change in Changed, Fixed, Added sections.
  • For API change contains an example snippet and/or migration example.
  • JIRA ticket linked, example (case %%). If it is a private issue, just add the case ID without a link.
  • Jira port for the next release set as "Resolved".
• Tests added/changed, if applicable.
  • Functional tests Area_CanDoX, Area_CanDoX_EvenIfYIsTheCase, Area_WhenIDoX_AndYHappens_ThisIsTheResult.
  • Performance tests.
  • Integration tests.
• Docs for new/changed API's.
  • Xmldoc cross references are set correctly.
  • Added explanation how the API works.
  • Usage code examples added.
  • The manual is updated, if needed.

During merge:

• Commit message for squash-merge is prefixed with one of the list:
  • NEW: ___.
  • FIX: ___.
  • DOCS: ___.
  • CHANGE: ___.
  • RELEASE: 1.1.0-preview.3.

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PR Reviewer Guide 🔍

(Review updated until commit 322b52e)

Here are some key observations to aid the review process:

⏱️ Estimated effort to review: 2 🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪ Small, localized behavior change in path matching plus a focused test and changelog update.

🏅 Score: 86 The fix is straightforward and test-backed, but visibility changes and wildcard semantics should be validated against existing callers and expected `*` vs `**` behavior.

🧪 PR contains tests

🔒 No security concerns identified

⚡ Recommended focus areas for review API Surface PathComponentType and MatchPathComponent were changed from private to internal; confirm this is intentional (tests vs. product code) and won’t create unwanted external dependencies or API-compat expectations within the assembly. internal enum PathComponentType { Name, DisplayName, Usage, Layout } internal static bool MatchPathComponent(string component, string path, ref int indexInPath, PathComponentType componentType, int startIndexInComponent = 0) { Semantics Change Collapsing consecutive * changes behavior by making **/*** equivalent to *; verify this matches desired semantics for all component types (Name/Layout/Usage/DisplayName) and doesn’t conflict with any prior or planned special meaning for **. // If we've reached a '*' in the path, skip character in name. if (nextCharInPath == '*') { // Collapse consecutive '*' so matching logic here only needs to handle a single '*'. while (indexInPath + 1 < pathLength && path[indexInPath + 1] == '*') ++indexInPath; // But first let's see if we have something after the wildcard that matches the rest of the component. Test Coverage The new test only asserts match success for *Trigger, **Trigger, ***Trigger; consider adding assertions for non-matches and edge cases (e.g., patterns consisting only of */**, wildcard at end, and interaction with delimiters) to prevent regressions in indexInPath advancement and termination conditions. [Test] [Category("Controls")] public void Controls_MatchPathComponent_CollapsesConsecutiveWildcards() { var component = "leftTrigger"; var componentType = InputControlPath.PathComponentType.Name; var patterns = new[] { "*Trigger", "**Trigger", "***Trigger" }; foreach (var path in patterns) { var indexInPath = 0; var result = InputControlPath.MatchPathComponent(component, path, ref indexInPath, componentType); // All patterns should match Assert.IsTrue(result, $"Pattern '{path}' should match '{component}'"); Assert.AreEqual(path.Length, indexInPath, $"Index should advance past entire pattern for '{path}'"); }

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Codecov Report

Attention: Patch coverage is 93.75000% with 1 line in your changes missing coverage. Please review.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
...putsystem/InputSystem/Controls/InputControlPath.cs	75.00%	1 Missing ⚠️

@@           Coverage Diff            @@
##           develop    #2311   +/-   ##
========================================
  Coverage    77.95%   77.95%           
========================================
  Files          476      476           
  Lines        97453    97464   +11     
========================================
+ Hits         75971    75981   +10     
- Misses       21482    21483    +1     

Flag	Coverage Δ
inputsystem_MacOS_2022.3	5.53% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_MacOS_2022.3_project	75.47% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_MacOS_6000.0	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_MacOS_6000.0_project	77.36% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
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inputsystem_MacOS_6000.4_project	77.37% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_MacOS_6000.5	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_MacOS_6000.5_project	77.37% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_2022.3	5.54% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_2022.3_project	75.27% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.0	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.0_project	77.16% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.3	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.3_project	77.18% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.4	5.33% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.4_project	77.18% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.5	5.33% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Ubuntu_6000.5_project	77.18% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Windows_2022.3	5.54% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_2022.3_project	75.60% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.0	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.0_project	77.49% <93.75%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.3	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.3_project	77.49% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.4	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.4_project	77.50% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.5	5.32% <0.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️
inputsystem_Windows_6000.5_project	77.50% <93.75%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
Assets/Tests/InputSystem/CoreTests_Controls.cs	99.81% <100.00%> (+<0.01%)	⬆️
...putsystem/InputSystem/Controls/InputControlPath.cs	91.78% <75.00%> (-0.10%)	⬇️

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[ekcoh]

Change looks good to me but I would suggest making sure this is covered in a unit test. If this logic currently lacks any unit test I would suggest adding at least one covering this specific scenario.

[ekcoh]

Another thing to address, there is no ticket trace nor any CHANGELOG entry for this fix, please add that.

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Persistent review updated to latest commit 322b52e

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[Pauliusd01]

Did not forget about this one, taking a look

[Pauliusd01]

/test_plan

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Test Plan

• Test plan approved by PR author
• Test execution in progress
• Test execution complete
• Ready for merge

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Summary of Changes & Risk Assessment

Summary of Changes

This PR addresses a long-standing TODO in the InputControlPath matching logic by normalizing consecutive wildcards (*). When multiple asterisks appear in a control path (e.g., ** or ***), they are now collapsed and treated as a single wildcard *. The MatchPathComponent method and its associated enum were changed from private to internal to allow for direct unit testing of the matching logic.

Risk Assessment

• High Risk Areas: None identified.
• Medium Risk Areas: Core path matching logic (InputControlPath.MatchPathComponent) which affects how controls are resolved from strings.
• Low Risk Areas: Visibility changes (private to internal) and documentation/changelog updates.

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Test Scenarios

Functional Testing

• Verify that patterns with varying consecutive wildcards (*Trigger, **Trigger, ***Trigger) all successfully match a target string like leftTrigger as shown in CoreTests_Controls.cs:L1618-L1634.
• Validate that wildcard collapsing works for all PathComponentType values: Name, DisplayName, Usage, and Layout.
• Verify that standard single-wildcard matching still functions correctly without regressions.

Regression Testing

• Negative Matching: Ensure that collapsed wildcards do not cause false positives (e.g., **Stick should NOT match leftTrigger).
• Index Advancement: Verify that indexInPath correctly advances to the end of the collapsed wildcard sequence, ensuring subsequent path components (after a /) are parsed from the correct position.
• Run existing InputControlPath tests to ensure no breaking changes to complex path resolution: ./utr --testfilter=InputControlPath.

🔍 Regression Deep Dive (additional risks identified)

• Delimiters: Verify that collapsing stops at path delimiters (e.g., **/{Stick} should collapse the first two stars but not affect the {} component).
• Case Sensitivity: Ensure that the existing case-insensitive matching logic still applies correctly when wildcards are involved.

Edge Cases

• Trailing Wildcards: Test a path that ends with multiple wildcards (e.g., left**) against a valid component.
• Only Wildcards: Test a path consisting entirely of multiple wildcards (e.g., ****) to ensure it matches any valid component string without hanging or crashing.
• Interspersed Wildcards: Ensure that *A*B does NOT collapse into *AB (only consecutive characters should collapse).

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_{💡 This test plan updates automatically when /test_plan is run on new commits. If you have any feedback, please reach out in #ai-qa}

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[Pauliusd01]

Just an FYI in case it is relevant but if you use /*/* you get these two errors. It is the same in develop but thought I'd mention it anyway.