fix: improve date parsing and PDF section ordering

This commit fixes two critical issues in the resume generation system:

**1. Fix Date Parsing Logic (client/src/hooks/useTerminal.ts)**
- Replace regex-based parser with robust date-fns multi-format parser
- Add support for multiple date formats:
  - ISO: "2023-03-28", "2022-06", "2021"
  - Month-Year: "May 2025", "Jan 2024", "September 2021"
  - Abbreviated: "Jan. 2024"
- Handle date ranges with various separators (–, —, -, "to")
- Support "Present" keyword for ongoing dates
- Add proper validation and fallback error handling
- Fixes timeline display bugs where "May 2025" was parsed as "January 2025"

**2. Fix PDF Section Ordering (scripts/generate-resume.js)**
- Add sortKeys: false to yaml.load() to preserve YAML key order
- Add sortKeys: false to yaml.dump() to maintain order when writing
- Add verbose logging to display section order during generation
- Users can now reorder sections in resume.yaml and see changes in PDF
- Tested and verified working ✓

**3. Code Quality Improvements**
- Remove unused variable sectionPath (line 95)
- Prefix unused parameter _key to follow conventions (line 281)
- Update FUTURE_ENHANCEMENTS.md to mark both fixes as completed

Benefits:
- More flexible date format support matching RenderCV
- Users can customize resume section order for their career stage
- Students can prioritize education/projects over limited experience
- Professionals can lead with experience over education

Author: subhayu99

FUTURE_ENHANCEMENTS.md

@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ Ideas and improvements to implement in future versions.
 
 ---
 
-### Fix Date Parsing Logic
+### ✅ Fix Date Parsing Logic (COMPLETED)
+**Status**: Implemented with date-fns multi-format parser
+
 **Issue**: Current regex-based date parsing breaks on common formats, causing incorrect dates in timeline and displays.
 
 **Problems**:
@@ -74,9 +76,18 @@ const parseDate = (dateStr: string): Date => {
 - Better error messages help users debug date issues
 - No new dependencies needed (date-fns already included)
 
+**Implementation** (`client/src/hooks/useTerminal.ts:23-72`):
+- Replaced regex-based parser with date-fns multi-format parser
+- Added support for ISO formats, Month-Year formats, and date ranges
+- Handles "Present" keyword for ongoing dates
+- Includes proper validation and fallback error handling
+- Supports en-dash (–), em-dash (—), hyphen (-), and "to" as range separators
+
 ---
 
-### Fix PDF Section Ordering
+### ✅ Fix PDF Section Ordering (COMPLETED)
+**Status**: Implemented with sortKeys: false in YAML processing
+
 **Issue**: Reordering sections in `resume.yaml` doesn't change the section order in the generated PDF resume.
 
 **Current Behavior**:
@@ -135,6 +146,14 @@ Likely causes in `scripts/generate-resume.js`:
 - Professionals can lead with experience and achievements
 - Better alignment with RenderCV's flexible philosophy
 
+**Implementation** (`scripts/generate-resume.js`):
+- Added `sortKeys: false` to yaml.load() (line 60) to preserve YAML key order
+- Added `sortKeys: false` to yaml.dump() (line 162) to maintain order when writing
+- Added verbose logging to display section order at load and before PDF generation
+- Sections now render in PDF in the exact order they appear in resume.yaml
+
+**Testing**: Verified by reordering sections in resume.yaml and generating PDF ✓
+
 ---
 
 ## Medium Priority

client/src/hooks/useTerminal.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { type PortfolioData } from '../../../shared/schema';
 import { formatExperiencePeriod, getSocialNetworkUrl } from '../lib/portfolioData';
 import { themes } from '../lib/themes';
 import { uiText, formatMessage, apiConfig, terminalConfig, storage, storageConfig } from '../config';
+import { parse } from 'date-fns';
 
 export interface TerminalLine {
   id: string;
@@ -21,13 +22,53 @@ function getUsername(portfolioData: PortfolioData, network: string): string | un
 
 // Helper function to parse dates and create timeline events
 const parseDate = (dateStr: string): Date => {
-  // Handle various date formats: "2022-06", "Jun 2022", "2022", etc.
-  const cleanDate = dateStr.replace(/[^\d-]/g, '').trim();
-  if (cleanDate.includes('-')) {
-    const [year, month] = cleanDate.split('-');
-    return new Date(parseInt(year), month ? parseInt(month) - 1 : 0);
+  // Handle "Present" or ongoing dates
+  if (!dateStr || dateStr.toLowerCase().includes('present') || dateStr.toLowerCase().includes('current')) {
+    return new Date(); // Return current date for ongoing items
   }
-  return new Date(parseInt(cleanDate), 0);
+
+  // Split date ranges (handle en-dash, em-dash, hyphen, "to")
+  const rangeSeparators = ['–', '—', ' - ', ' to '];
+  for (const separator of rangeSeparators) {
+    if (dateStr.includes(separator)) {
+      // Take only the start date from range for sorting purposes
+      const [startDate] = dateStr.split(separator).map(s => s.trim());
+      return parseDate(startDate);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Try multiple date formats
+  const formats = [
+    'yyyy-MM-dd',      // 2023-03-28
+    'yyyy-MM',         // 2022-06
+    'yyyy',            // 2021
+    'MMM yyyy',        // Jun 2022, May 2025
+    'MMMM yyyy',       // January 2022, September 2021
+    'MMM. yyyy',       // Jan. 2024
+  ];
+
+  for (const formatStr of formats) {
+    try {
+      const parsed = parse(dateStr.trim(), formatStr, new Date());
+      // Check if parse was successful (not Invalid Date)
+      if (!isNaN(parsed.getTime())) {
+        return parsed;
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // Continue to next format
+      continue;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Fallback: Try to extract year and use January of that year
+  const yearMatch = dateStr.match(/\d{4}/);
+  if (yearMatch) {
+    return new Date(parseInt(yearMatch[0]), 0);
+  }
+
+  // Last resort: return epoch date
+  console.warn(`Could not parse date: "${dateStr}"`);
+  return new Date(0);
 };
 
 const formatDateForDisplay = (dateStr: string): string => {

scripts/generate-resume.js

@@ -57,7 +57,13 @@ if (!existsSync(sourceYamlPath)) {
 }
 
 const yamlContent = readFileSync(sourceYamlPath, 'utf8');
-const fullData = load(yamlContent);
+const fullData = load(yamlContent, { sortKeys: false });
+
+// Log original section order for debugging
+if (config.build.verbose && fullData.cv?.sections) {
+  const originalSectionNames = Object.keys(fullData.cv.sections);
+  console.log('📋 Original section order from YAML:', originalSectionNames.join(' → '));
+}
 
 console.log('✅ Source YAML loaded successfully\n');
 
@@ -86,7 +92,6 @@ const resumeData = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(fullData)); // Deep clone
 
 // Process each project section defined in config
 for (const sectionName of config.fields.projectSections) {
-  const sectionPath = `cv.sections.${sectionName}`;
   const projects = resumeData.cv?.sections?.[sectionName];
 
   if (projects && Array.isArray(projects)) {
@@ -152,8 +157,14 @@ if (config.build.generatePdf || config.build.generateMarkdown) {
     console.log('📝 Creating temporary YAML for rendercv...');
   }
 
+  // Log section order for debugging
+  if (config.build.verbose && resumeData.cv?.sections) {
+    const sectionNames = Object.keys(resumeData.cv.sections);
+    console.log('📋 Section order:', sectionNames.join(' → '));
+  }
+
   const tempYamlPath = join(rootDir, config.paths.tempYaml);
-  const tempYamlContent = dump(resumeData, { lineWidth: -1, noRefs: true });
+  const tempYamlContent = dump(resumeData, { lineWidth: -1, noRefs: true, sortKeys: false });
   writeFileSync(tempYamlPath, tempYamlContent, 'utf8');
   console.log('✅ Temporary YAML created\n');
 
@@ -267,7 +278,7 @@ if (config.build.generateJson) {
 
   // Convert to JSON with configurable formatting
   const jsonReplacer = config.build.jsonSortKeys
-    ? (key, value) => {
+    ? (_key, value) => {
         if (value && typeof value === 'object' && !Array.isArray(value)) {
           return Object.keys(value).sort().reduce((sorted, k) => {
             sorted[k] = value[k];