/swapi-characters

Primary LanguagePHP

Installed PHP Packages

  • doctrine/dbal: Framework to allow changing table columns in Laravel
  • laravel/ui: Scaffolding to generate front-end and Bootstrap CSS
  • rap2hpoutre/fast-excel: Fast excel for importing CSV Data

Installed JS Packages:

  • axios: HTTP Client for calling REST API
  • formik: Form validation library for React
  • lodash: Library for utility functions
  • react: Main library for rendering front-end
  • yup: Validation Schema for Formik

Initial Setup

  • Navigate to project directory via Terminal
  • Install composer packages: $ composer install
  • Install JS packages: $ npm i
  • Generate environment file via copying the example: $ cp .env.example .env
  • Modify environment values for:
    • DB_HOST= Database Host
    • DB_DATABASE= Database name to use
    • DB_USERNAME= Username to access Database
    • DB_PASSWORD= Password to access Database
  • Generate Laravel Application Key: $ php artisan key:generate
  • Migrate DB: $ php artisan migrate
  • Run Seeder: $ php artisan db:seed

Assumptions & Explanations

  • Developed with PHP 7.4.11
  • Developed with MaridDB 10.5.6
  • Used https://swapi.dev/ for API calls
  • Used Laravel version 7 to satisfy the requirement that application is executable with PHP 7.2
  • Using Laravel Blade template with the exact script name to display HTML as it is the recommended way of utilising Laravel's powerful MVC
  • Created a main service class (App\Services\MainService) which has public methods that execute the individual scripts. This is for easier import and testing
    • public function getAllCharacters --> characters_jedi.php
    • public function getAllMammals --> mammal_homeworlds.php
    • public function importCharactersToDB --> import_characters.php
    • public function updateCharactersToDB --> update_characters.php
    • public function insertCharacterToDB --> create_character.php
  • All SWAPI URLs used are stored in <project-directory>/config/swapi.php
  • When importing all characters from SWAPI into DB:
    • It will follow SWAPI URL pagination to get all characters
    • All received data are validated and sanitised before inserting into DB
    • Before insertion, it will first truncate table swapi_characters
    • It will insert characters in batches of 20 records. (This can be changed in file <project-directory>/config/constant.php under batch_insert)
  • Data validation for importing, updating, and creating characters:
    • height: has to be numeric; if a string is received, the height will be saved as null
    • mass: has to be numeric; if a string is received, the mass will be saved as null
    • birth_year: has to be in the forms of: 13ABY / 13BBY / 13 ABY / 13 BBY; if an invalid value is received, the birth_year will be saved as null
    • homeworld: validated by doing a search API call to SWAPI and checking that only one result is returned
    • species: validated by doing a search API call to SWAPI and checking that only one result is returned
  • When running the DB seeder it will:
    • Use FastExcel to read CSV data located in <project-directory>/storage/imports/updated_characters_data.csv
    • Import read data to table updated_character_data to be used to update records on table swapi_characters
  • When updating characters in table swapi_characters from table updated_character_data:
    • Any invalid value will not get updated i.e. when there is a record in updated_character_data with an invalid mass value, the corresponding record's mass in swapi_characters will not get updated
    • If the script cannot find a record in swapi_characters with the same name, it will not create a new record
  • For create character page:
    • Built in combination of Laravel Blade Template and React.js
    • Added client and server side validation
    • Client side validation is handled via Formik and Yup
    • Server side validation is handled with Laravel Form Request and calling SWAPI for checking homeworld and species name before DB insertion
    • Added CSRF handling in create character page to prevent XSS attack
    • All values in the character data sent to the server must be correct for the the record to be inserted into the Database
    • Any invalid value in the character data will cause the record to not be saved and an alert will show in the page to indicate that it is not saved
  • Using Laravel query builder for any interactions with Database to prevent SQL injection attack

Running the application

  • Navigate to project directory via Terminal
  • Run Laravel Mix: $ npm run dev
  • Run Laravel Server: $ php artisan serve
  • Open web browser
  • To view all character names in the movie Return of the Jedi navigate to: http://localhost:8000/characters_jedi
  • To view all species and their homeworld name in Star Wars film navigate to: http://localhost:8000/mammal_homeworlds
  • To import all people from SWAPI into table swapi_characters:
    • By navigating to: http://localhost:8000/import_characters
    • Or by running Laravel command: php artisan import:characters
  • To update all characters inside table swapi_characters from table updated_character_data:
    • By navigating to: http://localhost:8000/update_characters
    • Or by running Laravel command: php artisan update:characters
    • Important! Make sure seeder has been ran first before navigating to the URL or running the command, otherwise no character will be updated: $ php artisan db:seed
  • To insert a new character into table swapi_characters navigate to: http://localhost:8000/create_character
  • Log file location: <project-directory>/storage/logs/laravel.log

Testing

  • Server unit and feature testing with in-built PHPUnit from Laravel via $ php artisan test

Future Improvements

  • Import & Update Characters script could be improved to use Laravel Job & Queue. This will run the process of importing and updating characters in the background, which would improve performance.
  • Import & Update Characters URLs to be secured with 'auth' middleware so that only authenticated users can access them and prevent unauthorised access:
    • http://localhost:8000/import_characters
    • http://localhost:8000/update_characters
  • Adding progress bar and showing additional console output for commands to import and update characters:
    • php artisan import:characters
    • php artisan update:characters