Changes from 'render_block_data' filter not always applied to inner blocks

[isabel_brison]

When changes are made to $parsed_block['innerContent'] using the 'render_block_data' filter, those changes are only applied to top-level blocks, not to inner blocks.

The issue is how we deal with inner blocks in class WP_Block's render method: we don't create a new instance between applying the filter and calling render on the inner block​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/trunk/src/wp-includes/class-wp-block.php#L241, so changes to innerContent aren't actually applied.

Ideally we should apply the same logic here as we do in the render_block function: ​https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/trunk/src/wp-includes/blocks.php#L903.

[talldanwp]

I haven't looked too deeply into this, but I wonder if in both places, rendering of blocks could be implemented as something like $html = $blockList->render().

It'd mean a new render function in the WP_Block_List class, but it would be one way of using the same code in both places and reducing inconsistencies.

[noisysocks]

Do you have some code that demonstrates the problem?

[isabel_brison]

Do you have some code that demonstrates the problem?

I have a draft PR: ​https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/43504/files where I'm trying to change a block's inner wrapper in a 'render_block_data' filter so the $block_content passed to the subsequent 'render_block' filter already has those changes. Will that work as a demonstration?

[wildworks]

Gutenberg now has the ability to randomize order in the Gallery block.

​https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/57477

This feature is achieved by using render_block_data hooks and shuffling $parsed_block['innerBlocks']. However, I found that this feature does not work when blocks are nested.

​https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/58404#issuecomment-1929138499

I'm concerned that the underlying issue is similar to what was reported in this ticket.

Similar to this problem this hook that gives the image block the data-id attribute also doesn't seem to work when the blocks are nested.

​https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/519824a7195b4a5ec20e28c8712440388c2aa024/packages/block-library/src/gallery/index.php#L19-L33