CSC/ECE 517 Spring 2024 - E2424. Reimplement the Bookmarks Controller
This page provides a description of the Expertiza based OSS project based on reimplementing the bookmarks controller.
About Expertiza
Expertiza is an open source project based on Ruby on Rails framework. Expertiza allows the instructor to create new assignments and customize new or existing assignments. It also allows the instructor to create a list of topics the students can sign up for. Students can form teams in Expertiza to work on various projects and assignments. Students can also peer review other students' submissions. Expertiza supports submission across various document types, including the URLs and wiki pages.
Problem Statement
The Expertiza application requires the reimplementation of its backend functionality for the BookmarksController. Currently, the system relies on traditional Rails architecture, but the project aims to transition to a more streamlined approach using Rails API. This transition is essential for scalability and flexibility, allowing for separate frontend and backend applications.
The BookmarksController serves as the backbone for bookmark management and user interactions within the Expertiza platform. It facilitates actions such as listing bookmarks associated with specific topics, creating new bookmarks, editing existing ones, and deleting bookmarks. Furthermore, it incorporates authorization rules to ensure users possess appropriate roles and permissions for each action.
The reimplemented BookmarksController will adhere to the Rails API structure, residing in the controller/api/v1 directory. It will maintain the existing functionality, including methods for retrieving bookmark ratings, calculating average scores for specific and total ratings, and managing strong parameters through private methods.
Implementation
Current v/s New Implementation
The problems with the current implementation, which is resolved in the new implementation, is:
1. The new implementation is designed for API use with JSON responses, improving the interaction with API clients by clearly communicating error states and messages.
2. The new controller utilizes structured error handling.
3. Introduction of before_action :set_bookmark in the new controller eliminates redundancy and enhances code reusability by centralizing bookmark fetching for relevant actions.
The current implementation and the new implementation for the CRUD operations is shown below. The new functions return a JSON object instead of rendering an HTML page.
create
def create params[:url] = params[:url].gsub!(%r{http://}, ) if params[:url].start_with?('http://') params[:url] = params[:url].gsub!(%r{https://}, ) if params[:url].start_with?('https://')
begin Bookmark.create(url: create_bookmark_params[:url], title: create_bookmark_params[:title], description: create_bookmark_params[:description], user_id: session[:user].id, topic_id: create_bookmark_params[:topic_id]) ExpertizaLogger.info LoggerMessage.new(controller_name, session[:user].name, 'Your bookmark has been successfully created!', request) flash[:success] = 'Your bookmark has been successfully created!' rescue StandardError ExpertizaLogger.info LoggerMessage.new(controller_name, session[:user].name, $ERROR_INFO, request) flash[:error] = $ERROR_INFO end redirect_to action: 'list', id: params[:topic_id] end
- Handles URL normalization to ensure consistency in bookmark data.
- Utilizes structured error handling for better response communication.
- Implements before_action `:set_bookmark` to centralize bookmark fetching for relevant actions.
# Controller method to create a new bookmark def create begin # Normalize URL if necessary for consistency create_bookmark_params[:url] = create_bookmark_params[:url].gsub!(%r{http://}, ) if create_bookmark_params[:url].present? && create_bookmark_params[:url].start_with?('http://') create_bookmark_params[:url] = create_bookmark_params[:url].gsub!(%r{https://}, ) if create_bookmark_params[:url].present? && create_bookmark_params[:url].start_with?('https://')
# Attempt to save the bookmark @bookmark = Bookmark.new(create_bookmark_params) @bookmark.user_id = @current_user.id @bookmark.save!
# Return JSON response with the created bookmark render json: @bookmark, status: :created and return rescue ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid # Return JSON response with error message if save fails render json: $ERROR_INFO.to_s, status: :unprocessable_entity end end
update
def update @bookmark = Bookmark.find(params[:id]) @bookmark.update_attributes(url: update_bookmark_params[:bookmark][:url], title: update_bookmark_params[:bookmark][:title], description: update_bookmark_params[:bookmark][:description]) ExpertizaLogger.info LoggerMessage.new(controller_name, session[:user].name, 'Your bookmark has been successfully updated!', request) flash[:success] = 'Your bookmark has been successfully updated!' redirect_to action: 'list', id: @bookmark.topic_id end
- Incorporates URL normalization for consistency in bookmark data.
- Returns JSON response with updated bookmark information for improved client-side interactions.
- Provides detailed error messages in case of update failure for better troubleshooting.
# Controller method to update an existing bookmark def update # Normalize URL if necessary for consistency update_bookmark_params[:url] = update_bookmark_params[:url].gsub!(%r{http://}, ) if update_bookmark_params[:url].start_with?('http://') update_bookmark_params[:url] = update_bookmark_params[:url].gsub!(%r{https://}, ) if update_bookmark_params[:url].start_with?('https://')
# Attempt to update the bookmark if @bookmark.update(update_bookmark_params) # Return JSON response with updated bookmark if successful render json: @bookmark, status: :ok else # Return JSON response with error messages if update fails render json: @bookmark.errors.full_messages, status: :unprocessable_entity end end
destroy
def destroy @bookmark = Bookmark.find(params[:id]) @bookmark.destroy ExpertizaLogger.info LoggerMessage.new(controller_name, session[:user].name, 'Your bookmark has been successfully deleted!', request) flash[:success] = 'Your bookmark has been successfully deleted!' redirect_to action: 'list', id: @bookmark.topic_id end
- Utilizes structured error handling to provide informative error responses.
- Implements proper exception handling to gracefully manage record deletion errors.
- Provides clear feedback to users upon successful deletion of a bookmark.
# Controller method to delete a bookmark def destroy # Find the bookmark to delete @bookmark = Bookmark.find(params[:id])
# Attempt to delete the bookmark @bookmark.destroy # Return JSON response indicating successful deletion render json: { message: 'Bookmark successfully deleted' }, status: :ok rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound # Return JSON response with error message if bookmark not found render json: $ERROR_INFO.to_s, status: :not_found end
Testing on Postman
Postman was used to manually test the additional method in impersonate_controller.rb, as well as the actions and routes of the corresponding controllers. Before testing any of these methods with Postman, submit a request to /login using the user_name and password fields, which will send an authentication token. This token must be added to Postman's 'Authorization' tab as a 'Bearer token' before any further requests can be made.
- Login with provided credentials and copy the token
- Copy token to Authorization section of postman and paste as Bearer token
- Create a bookmark
- You cannot read a particular bookmark as it not a feature, you can only list the bookmarks of a topic id
- Update Bookmark
- Delete Bookmark. If you get 204, that means bookmark got deleted
- Save rating for a bookmark
Github
Repository: https://github.com/akshat22/reimplementation-back-end
Pull Request: https://github.com/expertiza/reimplementation-back-end/pull/76
Team
Mentor
Mohammed Ali Qureshi <mquresh@ncsu.edu>
Contributors
Akshat Nitin Savla <asavla@ncsu.edu>
Mitanshu Reshamwala <mresham@ncsu.edu>
Tanay Gandhi <tgandhi@ncsu.edu>
Links
Github Pull Request - https://github.com/expertiza/reimplementation-back-end/pull/76
Repo - https://github.com/akshat22/reimplementation-back-end/tree/dev