[Bug] hs_persist_state drops indexed array elements

[lepeuvedic]

Summary

Indexed arrays are persisted as scalars; only the first element survives, with no warning.

Current behavior

• local -a items=(one two) persisted via hs_persist_state items emits a scalar assignment.
• The resulting state restores only items[0] and drops the rest.

Expected behavior

• Either persist full indexed arrays, or explicitly error out when arrays are passed.

Severity

Major (chosen as the easier of indexed/associative array support to implement first).

Notes

• Associative arrays can be represented as two indexed arrays (keys/values), while indexed arrays can be represented as associative arrays as well.
• Variable-length structures are otherwise difficult to encode without string serialization.

[lepeuvedic-natixar]

Issue Assessment for #3: hs_persist_state drops indexed array elements

Blockers Identified

• None. The issue involves modifying the hs_persist_state function in config/handle_state.sh to properly handle array variables.

Root Cause Analysis

The current implementation in hs_persist_state retrieves variable values using:

var_value="${!__var_name}" || eval "var_value=\"\${$__var_name}\"" || eval "var_value=\"\$$__var_name\""

For indexed arrays, \${$__var_name} expands to the first element only (e.g., ${items} for items=(one two) yields "one").

The persistence snippet uses scalar assignment (%s=%q), which cannot restore array structure.

Proposed Solution

Modify hs_persist_state to:

1. Detect if a variable is an indexed or associative array using declare -p.
2. For arrays, use eval $(declare -p '$var') in the persistence snippet to properly declare the variable type and values.
3. For scalars, retain backward-compatible scalar assignment.
4. Update tests to expect full array restoration.

Implementation Plan

• Update config/handle_state.sh: Modify variable value capture and assignment logic.
• Update test/test-hs_persist_state.bats: Change array tests to verify full restoration.
• Ensure no breaking changes for scalar variables.

Approval Request

This assessment proposes a backward-compatible fix. Please review and approve to proceed with implementation.