Crafting Your Design Diagram: Chat & Vote Features

Hey team! Let's dive deep into crafting a detailed Technical Design Document and a killer Design Class Diagram (DCD) for our app. This document is worth a solid 20 points, so let's make it count. We'll be focusing on the Chat Settings and Vote Answer features, ensuring our design is top-notch and reflects the app's functionality.

Deep Dive into the Design Class Diagram (DCD)

Our DCD is the heart of our design documentation, guys. It needs to clearly illustrate the classes, their attributes, methods, and the relationships between them. Think of it as a blueprint for our app. A well-crafted DCD helps us visualize the architecture and understand how different components interact. We must include all classes and files, detailing their types and the attributes/functions they contain. A commentable and editable version, like the ones provided in Miro, is preferred. This approach will encourage a collaborative effort as we work through the design process.

This diagram must accurately represent our app, incorporating user stories and use cases. This is where we show how all the pieces fit together. Make sure the names, types, and everything else in your DCD aligns with the domain model. This alignment is super important. Remember, our goal is to build a solid foundation that makes future development smoother. For example, if we’re designing the voting feature, we must consider classes like Vote, Answer, and User. The Vote class might have attributes like voteValue (integer), voter (User), and answer (Answer). This level of detail is necessary to illustrate how our code will behave and interact.

We must demonstrate a solid understanding of how design patterns fit into our app. Ensure your DCD reflects the team's planned use of design patterns. For instance, if we're using the Observer pattern for real-time updates in the chat, we need to show the classes involved, their relationships, and how the pattern is implemented. Not demonstrating this will result in points being deducted. It's crucial for our architecture. This detailed representation will show how each component contributes to the overall functionality.

Matching Domain Model

The DCD should build on the names, types, etc. in the domain model. It's like building on a foundation; everything should fit seamlessly. You're welcome to make improvements, but consistency is key. We should ensure that the elements in our design correspond to the domain objects we've defined. For instance, the domain model might include ChatMessage, which is then represented in the DCD with attributes like sender, content, and timestamp. If the model is not consistent with the source code, that will create problems, so make sure everything aligns.

Incorporating External Libraries and React Components

Let’s ensure that the design shows how we use external libraries in our project, like the ones used in the example diagrams. External libraries are essential for our app. They provide crucial functionality, like handling real-time updates with Firebase. So, we need to explicitly show these dependencies in our DCD. We can do this by adding boxes for each library and showing how our classes interact with them. For example, include a box for Firebase and firebase-react-hooks. This demonstrates the external dependencies and their roles in our app.

Missing dependencies, such as required APIs, will cost us points. We can mitigate this by specifying a facade or a “todo” with an example function/method signature for the API, then showing how it's used by the app's components. For example, if we’re using a third-party API for handling votes, include a “todo” that specifies the API endpoint and how our Vote class interacts with it. This adds an extra layer of clarity to our design.

React Components in the Diagram

Lastly, put our React functional-style components onto the diagram as “View” or “ViewController”. This allows us to see how the user interface is structured and how it interacts with the underlying logic. A good DCD clearly illustrates how our app will behave and interact with external services, so it is important to include React functional-style components as “View” or “ViewController” to complete the visual presentation.

Helper Functions and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

When we are designing, it's always good to be able to identify and avoid common pitfalls. One significant one is poor design choices, so remember that each choice could cost us some points. It's also important to make sure to avoid overcomplicating things. Keep things concise and easy to understand.

Helper Functions

If we have any Helper Functions, put them into a filename box, like a class, showing the method name, parameters and types, and return type. This format ensures our DCD is neat and makes it easier for other team members to understand.

Key Considerations for Chat Settings and Vote Answers

Chat Settings Design

Let's consider classes for ChatMessage, ChatRoom, and User. ChatMessage might have attributes like sender, content, and timestamp. ChatRoom could include roomName, participants, and messages. User could have attributes like username and profilePicture. How does each chat setting impact these classes? For example, implementing a read receipt feature could require adding a readBy attribute to the ChatMessage class, which would store the users who have read the message.

Vote Answer Design

For the voting feature, we'll need classes like Vote, Answer, and Question. The Vote class will have voteValue, voter, and answer. The Answer class will contain the answer's text and its associated question. The Question class would consist of questionText, answers, and votes. How do our design choices affect these classes? Will we have different vote types, like upvotes and downvotes? This would require adding an attribute to Vote to represent the vote type. Consider how you will implement this into the classes.

Review and Iteration

Once we have a draft of our DCD, let’s review it together. This collaborative process ensures everyone understands the design and catches any potential issues. Then, we can iterate on the design based on the feedback. The key is to start early and refine the design as we progress. Remember, the DCD is a living document that evolves with our project. Also, be sure to ask any questions if you have them. This process can be challenging, but with teamwork and dedication, we can achieve great results!