SalonBuddy

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Welcome to SalonBuddy, the leading tool for hairdressers for keeping track of haircut appointments.

File Structure

The file structure of SalonBuddy is as follows:

controllers
  | list_controller.rb
  | menu_controller.rb
  | schedule_controller.rb
helpers
  | list_helper.rb
  | schedule_helper.rb
models
  | appoinment.rb
  | haircut.rb
  | schedule.rb
  | shampoohaircut.rb
views
  | list_viewer.rb
  | menu_viewer.rb
  | schedule_viewer.rb
environment.rb
Gemfile
README.md
salonbuddy.rb
sample_run.txt

Controllers

The controllers folder holds the files that are responsible for responding to user inputs, and accessing models/calling views appropriately.

• list_controller.rb: Accesses the Schedule model to retrieve pending appointments and then passing those to the view
• menu_controller.rb: Master controller which handles main menu activities and prompts the list and schedule controllers when given appropriate user input
• schedule_controller.rb: Accesses Schedule, Appointment models, interacts with the view to get incremental information and create an appointment

Helpers

The helpers folder holds the files that are responsible for formatting certain things for the view, and also validations for model instance creation.

• list_helper.rb: Helps format attributes of Appointment model instances when a user wants to list all appointments
• schedule_helper.rb: Helps format attributes of Appointment model for views, validates format and timing for Appointment creation

Models

The models folder holds the files that are responsible for storage of primary, pertinent data to the program, such as appointments.

• appointment.rb: Maintains data for general appointments, such as client name, start/end times, etc.
• haircut.rb: Inherits from appointment, specifies duration of appointment
• schedule.rb: Maintains data for schedule, holds all created appointments and a time table to tell which time slots are booked
• shampoohaircut.rb: Inherits from appointment, specifies duration of appointment

Views

The views folder holds files responsible for displaying all or a portion of the data to the user. They are primarily called by the controller upon appropriate user input.

• list_viewer.rb: Displays list of all appointments
• menu_viewer.rb: Displays welcome message and main menu options
• schedule_viewer.rb: Displays prompts for appointment creation

Root

The root folder holds files responsible for setting up the program and its dependencies.

• environment.rb: Consolidates all dependencies and relevant files
• Gemfile: List of all gem dependencies for gem manager Bundler
• Gemfile.lock: Snapshot of all gems in Gemfile along with their associated dependencies
• salonbuddy.rb: Main file for executing program sequence
• sample_run.txt: Contains sample outputs of program sequence

Please reference sample_run.txt in the root folder to see a sample program sequence, with intentional typo inputs and attempted double-booking to show validations and formatting features.

Running SalonBuddy locally

To run SalonBuddy locally, install the Bundler gem to retrieve all dependencies, then execute salonbuddy.rb:

1. Run gem install bundler to install the Bundler gem manager
2. Run bundle install to install dependencies
3. Run ruby salonbuddy.rb to initiate SalonBuddy

Design Decisions

Some design decisions when writing this program involved implementing using the MVC architecture, creating an environment file to consolidate dependencies, and prioritization of appointment attribute validation.

• MVC Architecture: The MVC style allows for separation of concerns when splitting up business logic, data access, and presentation. Further, MVC encourages adherence to conventions, allowing for maintainability and scalability.
• Environment File: In order to use Ruby's DateTime library most efficiently, I had to require some utility provided by Active Support from Rails. Further, I thought it best to require all files from my program in one file. For these two reasons, I created an environment file to meet these two goals.
• Prioritization of Appointment Attribute Validation: I thought it important for certain validations to exist when creating an appointment, including:
  • Proper formatting of date and time
  • Prevent creating appointment in the past
  • Prevent double-booking appointment times

Next steps in continuing with developing SalonBuddy would involve implementing updating/deletion of appointments in the confirmation screen and list screen.