Go Local: Backend

Table of Contents

• Description
• System Design
• Database Schema
• API Contract
• Technologies Used
• Local Setup
• Learning Goals
• Authors
• Statistics

Description

Go Local allows travelers to experience their destinations like a local by inviting local users to suggest authentic travel experiences for visitors to enjoy. The app follows a Service-Oriented Architecture pattern and consists of:

• a front-end Rails application, which provides a user interface;
• a back-end Rails application, which manages the app's database;
• a Sinatra Places micro-service application to retrieve information from the Google Places API;
• and a Sinatra Cities micro-service application, which retrieves the nearest large city to destinations added by our users.
  

This repository houses the back-end Rails app.

To view the deployed application, please visit Go Local on Heroku

System Design

Database Schema

API Contract

This portion of the application exposes 12 endpoints that allow our front-end application to access our app's database. The back-end app also acts as an intermediary between the front-end app and the Cities and Places micro-services. The responses adhere to the JSON:API v1.0 specifications.

• GET /api/v1/excursions: gets excursions for a traveler to browse
  

  • optional parameters: city (a string in the format of City, ST for limiting results to within 100 miles of the queried city)
  • example query without city parameter: http://go-local-be.herokuapp.com/api/v1/excursions
  • example query with city parameter: http://go-local-be.herokuapp.com/api/v1/excursions?city=Denver,%20CO
  • example response:

  {
      "data": [
          {
              "id": "1",
              "type": "excursion",
              "attributes": {
                  "title": "Cabrini Bridge",
                  "description": "Great spot to enjoy a picnic",
                  "location": "Harding Dr, New Orleans, LA 70119",
                  "user_id": 1,
                  "place_id": null,
                  "nearest_city": "New Orleans, LA"
              }
          },
          {
              "id": "2",
              "type": "excursion",
              "attributes": {
                  "title": "Torchy's Tacos",
                  "description": "Get the breakfast tacos",
                  "location": "1085 N Broadway, Denver, CO 80203",
                  "user_id": 3,
                  "place_id": null,
                  "nearest_city": "Denver, CO"
              }
          },
          {
              "id": "3",
              "type": "excursion",
              "attributes": {
                  "title": "Buffalo Bill Museum",
                  "description": "Haunted museum",
                  "location": "987 1/2 Lookout Mountain Rd, Golden, CO 80401",
                  "user_id": 3,
                  "place_id": null,
                  "nearest_city": "Denver, CO"
              }
          }
      ],
      "meta": {
          "cities": [
              "Denver, CO",
              "New Orleans, LA"
          ]
      }
    }
  

• GET /api/v1/excursions/:id: gets detailed information about an excursion

  • example query: http://go-local-be.herokuapp.com/api/v1/excursions/8
  • example response:

{
    "data": {
        "id": "8",
        "type": "excursion_details",
        "attributes": {
            "id": 8,
            "title": "Museum of Contemporary Art Denver",
            "description": "admission is 1 penny on Saturdays for Colorado residents",
            "updated_at": "2021-03-04T21:16:33.100Z",
            "place_id": "ChIJvcHQQcF4bIcRmDttJRd0FN4",
            "nearest_city": null,
            "formatted_address": "1485 Delgany St, Denver, CO 80202, USA",
            "name": "Museum of Contemporary Art Denver",
            "types": [
                "tourist_attraction",
                "museum",
                "point_of_interest",
                "establishment"
            ],
            "phone_number": "(303) 298-7554",
            "website": "http://www.mcadenver.org/",
            "business_status": "OPERATIONAL",
            "opening_hours": [
                "Monday: Closed",
                "Tuesday: 12:00 – 7:00 PM",
                "Wednesday: 12:00 – 7:00 PM",
                "Thursday: 12:00 – 7:00 PM",
                "Friday: 12:00 – 7:00 PM",
                "Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM",
                "Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM"
            ]
        }
      }
  }

Additional endpoints:

• POST /api/v1/users/:id: adds a user to the database when a new user registers.
• GET /api/v1/:user_id/excursions: gets all of the excursions created by the user
• POST /api/v1/:user_id/excursions: creates a new excursion; this action includes a request from the back-end to the Cities micro-service to locate the nearest metropolitan area
• PATCH /api/v1/:user_id/excursions: updates an existing excursion
• DELETE /api/v1/:user_id/excursions: deletes an excursion
• GET /api/v1/:user_id/favorites: gets all of the excursions which the user has marked as favorites
• POST /api/v1/:user_id/favorites/:excursion_id: records an excursion as a user's 'favorite' by creating a record in the favorites table
• DELETE /api/v1/:user_id/favorites/:excursion_id: removes an excursion from the user's favorites by deleting the record from the favorites table
• GET /api/v1/place_search: passes a search request from the front-end to the Places micro-service, and returns the micro-service's response to the front-end
• GET /api/v1/place_details: passes a request for detailed information about a business or location from the front-end to the Places micro-service, and returns the micro-service's response to the front-end

Technologies Used

• Rails v. 5.2.4
• Ruby v. 2.5.3
• PostgreSQL
• Heroku
• Travis-CI
• Dependencies:
  • Faraday
  • Fast JSON API
• Testing tools:
  • RSpec
  • FactoryBot
  • Faker
  • SimpleCov
  • Webmock
  • VCR

Local Setup

To use the project in your local environment, please follow the instructions below:

1. Clone the repository:
   git clone [email protected]:Team-Go-Local/go_local_backend.git cd go_local_backend
2. Install gem packages
   bundle install
3. Create the database
   rails db:{create,migrate}
4. To launch a local server:
   rails s
   Once the server is running you can send requests to localhost:3000
   ex: http://localhost:3000/api/v1/excursions
5. To run tests and view the test coverage report:
   bundle exec rspec
open coverage/index.html

Learning Goals

• Utilize a Service-Oriented Architecture with a front-end, a back-end, and at least one micro-service
• Consume external APIs
• Build APIs that return JSON responses
• Use an external OAuth provider to authenticate users
• Deploy a production-quality user interface
• Implement an Agile workflow, including sprint planning & reviews and use of GitHub project management & code review tools

Authors

• Cydnee Owens | github | linkedin
• Gus Cunningham | github | linkedin
• Isabelle Villasenor | github | linkedin
• Saundra Catalina | github | linkedin
• Sam Yeo | github | linkedin
• V Arruda | github | linkedin
• Yesi Meza | github | linkedin

Statistics