By: Team F12-B3      Since: Jan 2018      Licence: MIT

1. Setting up

1.1. Prerequisites

  1. JDK 1.8.0_60 or later

    Having any Java 8 version is not enough.
    This app will not work with earlier versions of Java 8.
  2. IntelliJ IDE

    IntelliJ by default has Gradle and JavaFx plugins installed.
    Do not disable them. If you have disabled them, go to File > Settings > Plugins to re-enable them.

1.2. Setting up the project in your computer

  1. Fork this repo, and clone the fork to your computer

  2. Open IntelliJ (if you are not in the welcome screen, click File > Close Project to close the existing project dialog first)

  3. Set up the correct JDK version for Gradle

    1. Click Configure > Project Defaults > Project Structure

    2. Click New…​ and find the directory of the JDK

  4. Click Import Project

  5. Locate the build.gradle file and select it. Click OK

  6. Click Open as Project

  7. Click OK to accept the default settings

  8. Open a console and run the command gradlew processResources (Mac/Linux: ./gradlew processResources). It should finish with the BUILD SUCCESSFUL message.
    This will generate all resources required by the application and tests.

1.3. Verifying the setup

  1. Run the seedu.address.MainApp and try a few commands

  2. Run the tests to ensure they all pass.

1.4. Configurations to do before writing code

1.4.1. Configuring the coding style

This project follows oss-generic coding standards. IntelliJ’s default style is mostly compliant with ours but it uses a different import order from ours. To rectify,

  1. Go to File > Settings…​ (Windows/Linux), or IntelliJ IDEA > Preferences…​ (macOS)

  2. Select Editor > Code Style > Java

  3. Click on the Imports tab to set the order

    • For Class count to use import with '*' and Names count to use static import with '*': Set to 999 to prevent IntelliJ from contracting the import statements

    • For Import Layout: The order is import static all other imports, import java.*, import javax.*, import org.*, import com.*, import all other imports. Add a <blank line> between each import

Optionally, you can follow the UsingCheckstyle.adoc document to configure Intellij to check style-compliance as you write code.

1.4.2. Updating documentation to match your fork

After forking the repo, links in the documentation will still point to the se-edu/addressbook-level4 repo. If you plan to develop this as a separate product (i.e. instead of contributing to the se-edu/addressbook-level4) , you should replace the URL in the variable repoURL in DeveloperGuide.adoc and UserGuide.adoc with the URL of your fork.

1.4.3. Setting up CI

Set up Travis to perform Continuous Integration (CI) for your fork. See UsingTravis.adoc to learn how to set it up.

After setting up Travis, you can optionally set up coverage reporting for your team fork (see UsingCoveralls.adoc).

Coverage reporting could be useful for a team repository that hosts the final version but it is not that useful for your personal fork.

Optionally, you can set up AppVeyor as a second CI (see UsingAppVeyor.adoc).

Having both Travis and AppVeyor ensures your App works on both Unix-based platforms and Windows-based platforms (Travis is Unix-based and AppVeyor is Windows-based)

1.4.4. Getting started with coding

When you are ready to start coding,

  1. Get some sense of the overall design by reading Section 2.1, “Architecture”.

  2. Take a look at Appendix A, Suggested Programming Tasks to Get Started.

2. Design

2.1. Architecture

Architecture
Figure 1. Architecture Diagram

The Architecture Diagram given above explains the high-level design of the App. Given below is a quick overview of each component.

The .pptx files used to create diagrams in this document can be found in the diagrams folder. To update a diagram, modify the diagram in the pptx file, select the objects of the diagram, and choose Save as picture.

Main has only one class called MainApp. It is responsible for,

  • At app launch: Initializes the components in the correct sequence, and connects them up with each other.

  • At shut down: Shuts down the components and invokes cleanup method where necessary.

Commons represents a collection of classes used by multiple other components. Two of those classes play important roles at the architecture level.

  • EventsCenter : This class (written using Google’s Event Bus library) is used by components to communicate with other components using events (i.e. a form of Event Driven design)

  • LogsCenter : Used by many classes to write log messages to the App’s log file.

The rest of the App consists of four components.

  • UI: The UI of the App.

  • Logic: The command executor.

  • Model: Holds the data of the App in-memory.

  • Storage: Reads data from, and writes data to, the hard disk.

Each of the four components

  • Defines its API in an interface with the same name as the Component.

  • Exposes its functionality using a {Component Name}Manager class.

For example, the Logic component (see the class diagram given below) defines it’s API in the Logic.java interface and exposes its functionality using the LogicManager.java class.

LogicClassDiagram
Figure 2. Class Diagram of the Logic Component

Events-Driven nature of the design

The Sequence Diagram below shows how the components interact for the scenario where the user issues the command delete 1.

SDforDeletePerson
Figure 3. Component interactions for delete 1 command (part 1)
Note how the Model simply raises a AddressBookChangedEvent when the Address Book data are changed, instead of asking the Storage to save the updates to the hard disk.

The diagram below shows how the EventsCenter reacts to that event, which eventually results in the updates being saved to the hard disk and the status bar of the UI being updated to reflect the 'Last Updated' time.

SDforDeletePersonEventHandling
Figure 4. Component interactions for delete 1 command (part 2)
Note how the event is propagated through the EventsCenter to the Storage and UI without Model having to be coupled to either of them. This is an example of how this Event Driven approach helps us reduce direct coupling between components.

The sections below give more details of each component.

2.2. UI component

UiClassDiagram
Figure 5. Structure of the UI Component

API : Ui.java

The UI consists of a MainWindow that is made up of parts e.g.CommandBox, ResultDisplay, PersonListPanel, StatusBarFooter, BrowserPanel etc. All these, including the MainWindow, inherit from the abstract UiPart class.

The UI component uses JavaFx UI framework. The layout of these UI parts are defined in matching .fxml files that are in the src/main/resources/view folder. For example, the layout of the MainWindow is specified in MainWindow.fxml

The UI component,

  • Executes user commands using the Logic component.

  • Binds itself to some data in the Model so that the UI can auto-update when data in the Model change.

  • Responds to events raised from various parts of the App and updates the UI accordingly.

2.3. Logic component

LogicClassDiagram
Figure 6. Structure of the Logic Component
LogicCommandClassDiagram
Figure 7. Structure of Commands in the Logic Component. This diagram shows finer details concerning XYZCommand and Command in Figure 6, “Structure of the Logic Component”

API : Logic.java

  1. Logic uses the AddressBookParser class to parse the user command.

  2. This results in a Command object which is executed by the LogicManager.

  3. The command execution can affect the Model (e.g. adding a person) and/or raise events.

  4. The result of the command execution is encapsulated as a CommandResult object which is passed back to the Ui.

Given below is the Sequence Diagram for interactions within the Logic component for the execute("delete 1") API call.

DeletePersonSdForLogic
Figure 8. Interactions Inside the Logic Component for the delete 1 Command

2.4. Model component

ModelClassDiagram
Figure 9. Structure of the Model Component

API : Model.java

The Model,

  • stores a UserPref object that represents the user’s preferences.

  • stores the Address Book data.

  • exposes an unmodifiable ObservableList<Person> that can be 'observed' e.g. the UI can be bound to this list so that the UI automatically updates when the data in the list change.

  • does not depend on any of the other three components.

2.5. Storage component

StorageClassDiagram
Figure 10. Structure of the Storage Component

API : Storage.java

The Storage component,

  • can save UserPref objects in json format and read it back.

  • can save the Address Book data in xml format and read it back.

2.6. Common classes

Classes used by multiple components are in the seedu.addressbook.commons package.

3. Implementation

This section describes some noteworthy details on how certain features are implemented.

3.1. Undo/Redo feature

3.1.1. Current Implementation

The undo/redo mechanism is facilitated by an UndoRedoStack, which resides inside LogicManager. It supports undoing and redoing of commands that modifies the state of the address book (e.g. add, edit). Such commands will inherit from UndoableCommand.

UndoRedoStack only deals with UndoableCommands. Commands that cannot be undone will inherit from Command instead. The following diagram shows the inheritance diagram for commands:

LogicCommandClassDiagram

As you can see from the diagram, UndoableCommand adds an extra layer between the abstract Command class and concrete commands that can be undone, such as the DeleteCommand. Note that extra tasks need to be done when executing a command in an undoable way, such as saving the state of the address book before execution. UndoableCommand contains the high-level algorithm for those extra tasks while the child classes implements the details of how to execute the specific command. Note that this technique of putting the high-level algorithm in the parent class and lower-level steps of the algorithm in child classes is also known as the template pattern.

Commands that are not undoable are implemented this way:

public class ListCommand extends Command {
    @Override
    public CommandResult execute() {
        // ... list logic ...
    }
}

With the extra layer, the commands that are undoable are implemented this way:

public abstract class UndoableCommand extends Command {
    @Override
    public CommandResult execute() {
        // ... undo logic ...

        executeUndoableCommand();
    }
}

public class DeleteCommand extends UndoableCommand {
    @Override
    public CommandResult executeUndoableCommand() {
        // ... delete logic ...
    }
}

Suppose that the user has just launched the application. The UndoRedoStack will be empty at the beginning.

The user executes a new UndoableCommand, delete 5, to delete the 5th person in the address book. The current state of the address book is saved before the delete 5 command executes. The delete 5 command will then be pushed onto the undoStack (the current state is saved together with the command).

UndoRedoStartingStackDiagram

As the user continues to use the program, more commands are added into the undoStack. For example, the user may execute add n/David …​ to add a new person.

UndoRedoNewCommand1StackDiagram
If a command fails its execution, it will not be pushed to the UndoRedoStack at all.

The user now decides that adding the person was a mistake, and decides to undo that action using undo.

We will pop the most recent command out of the undoStack and push it back to the redoStack. We will restore the address book to the state before the add command executed.

UndoRedoExecuteUndoStackDiagram
If the undoStack is empty, then there are no other commands left to be undone, and an Exception will be thrown when popping the undoStack.

The following sequence diagram shows how the undo operation works:

UndoRedoSequenceDiagram

The redo does the exact opposite (pops from redoStack, push to undoStack, and restores the address book to the state after the command is executed).

If the redoStack is empty, then there are no other commands left to be redone, and an Exception will be thrown when popping the redoStack.

The user now decides to execute a new command, clear. As before, clear will be pushed into the undoStack. This time the redoStack is no longer empty. It will be purged as it no longer make sense to redo the add n/David command (this is the behavior that most modern desktop applications follow).

UndoRedoNewCommand2StackDiagram

Commands that are not undoable are not added into the undoStack. For example, list, which inherits from Command rather than UndoableCommand, will not be added after execution:

UndoRedoNewCommand3StackDiagram

The following activity diagram summarize what happens inside the UndoRedoStack when a user executes a new command:

UndoRedoActivityDiagram

3.1.2. Design Considerations

Aspect: Implementation of UndoableCommand
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Add a new abstract method executeUndoableCommand()

    • Pros: We will not lose any undone/redone functionality as it is now part of the default behaviour. Classes that deal with Command do not have to know that executeUndoableCommand() exist.

    • Cons: Hard for new developers to understand the template pattern.

  • Alternative 2: Just override execute()

    • Pros: Does not involve the template pattern, easier for new developers to understand.

    • Cons: Classes that inherit from UndoableCommand must remember to call super.execute(), or lose the ability to undo/redo.

Aspect: How undo & redo executes
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Saves the entire address book.

    • Pros: Easy to implement.

    • Cons: May have performance issues in terms of memory usage.

  • Alternative 2: Individual command knows how to undo/redo by itself.

    • Pros: Will use less memory (e.g. for delete, just save the person being deleted).

    • Cons: We must ensure that the implementation of each individual command are correct.

Aspect: Type of commands that can be undone/redone
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Only include commands that modifies the address book (add, clear, edit).

    • Pros: We only revert changes that are hard to change back (the view can easily be re-modified as no data are * lost).

    • Cons: User might think that undo also applies when the list is modified (undoing filtering for example), * only to realize that it does not do that, after executing undo.

  • Alternative 2: Include all commands.

    • Pros: Might be more intuitive for the user.

    • Cons: User have no way of skipping such commands if he or she just want to reset the state of the address * book and not the view. Additional Info: See our discussion here.

Aspect: Data structure to support the undo/redo commands
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Use separate stack for undo and redo

    • Pros: Easy to understand for new Computer Science student undergraduates to understand, who are likely to be * the new incoming developers of our project.

    • Cons: Logic is duplicated twice. For example, when a new command is executed, we must remember to update * both HistoryManager and UndoRedoStack.

  • Alternative 2: Use HistoryManager for undo/redo

    • Pros: We do not need to maintain a separate stack, and just reuse what is already in the codebase.

    • Cons: Requires dealing with commands that have already been undone: We must remember to skip these commands. Violates Single Responsibility Principle and Separation of Concerns as HistoryManager now needs to do two * different things.

3.2. Findtag feature

3.2.1. Current Implementation

The 'findtag' feature is implemented with the same mechanism as the 'find' feature. It is used for finding stored persons with their tags instead of names. The key components of the feature are 'FindWithTagCommand', 'FindWithTagCommandParser', and 'TagContainsKeywordsPredicate'.

The main component of 'findtag' is the 'FindWithTagCommand' which resides inside the logic component. It inherit from 'Command', as such, similar to 'find', 'findtag' is not an undoable command. From the class diagram of Logic class, we can see inheritance of 'FindWithTagCommand' in comparison with other types of commands:

FindTagInLogicClassDiagram

The user execute the FindWithTagCommand with the keyword ‘findtag’ following by the tag keywords, separated by whitespace. When the command is executed, the current list of persons shown in the GUI will only contain the persons with the tags same as the tag keywords. The following image shows the result of a 'findtag' execution:

FindtagExecution

Note that the tag keywords are not case sensitive; however, the command keyword is. For example, both 'findtag friends' and 'findtag FrIeNdS' can be executed and return a list of persons with the tag 'friends'. However 'FiNdTaG friends' cannot be executed and will result in a 'Unknown Command' feedback, as shown in the following:

DifferentCaseSize

Since the application does not recognize the command, the list of person displayed will not be changed.

The 'findtag' command can handle multiple input tag keywords and, similar to 'find', 'findtag' is an ‘or’ search. For example, 'findtag friends owesMoney' will find any person with the tag ‘friends’ or ‘owesMoney’ or both.

FindMultipleTags

The following sequence diagram shows how the findtag operation works:

FindTagSequenceDiagram

3.2.2. Design Considerations

Aspect: Implementation of FindWithTagCommand
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Follow the mechanism of FindCommand

    • Pros: 'findtag' works in the same mechanism as 'find', thus will not deviate from the overall architecture of the address book (i.e. Event Driven design).

    • Cons: May generate classes/ methods that are implemented with very similar style, or in the worse case, we may have duplicate codes. Thus, additional attention needds to be given to ensure that the implementation of 'findtag' will not result in duplicate codes.

  • Alternative 2: Implement new mechanism specifically for FindWithTagCommand

    • Pros: Does not generate similar classes/ methods.

    • Cons: Hard to implement, risk deviating away from the overall architecture of the address book.

3.3. Sort feature

3.3.1. Current Implementation

The sort mechanism is facilitated by the SortCommand and is used for sorting all persons found in the address book by name alphabetically. It inherits from UndoableCommand and thus supports the undo/redo mechanism, enabling the ability to reverse the command and return the address book to its previous unsorted state.

When the user executes the SortCommand using the command word sort, the current list of persons shown in the GUI will be retained. As illustrated, a filtered list of persons will be displayed in a sorted manner once the command is executed:

SortFilteredListDiagram

The command can also handle multiple persons with similar names (i.e. different letter-casings) as shown below:

SortSimilarNamesDiagram

During sorting, names of two different persons are compared using the static method, nameComparator, found in the person class:

public static Comparator<Person> nameComparator() {
    return Comparator.comparing((Person p) -> p.getName().toString(), (
        s1, s2) -> (s1.compareToIgnoreCase(s2) == 0) ? s1.compareTo(s2) : s1.compareToIgnoreCase(s2));
}

As seen, casing is ignored when names are first compared with each other. The usual lexicographical order will instead be used when encountering identical names.

The following sequence diagram shows how the sort operation works:

SortCommandSequenceDiagram

3.3.2. Design Considerations

Aspect: Implementation of SortCommand
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Create a custom sorting method for person names

    • Pros: Allows list to be displayed in a uniform manner, such that similar names are also sorted.

    • Cons: Requires extra work to write custom method.

  • Alternative 2: Utilise String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER for sorting

    • Pros: Does not require additional work to write or override compare methods.

    • Cons: List may be inconsistent when sorting multiple persons with similar names.

Aspect: Implementation of Custom Sorting Method
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Use comparators and create one for person names called nameComparator

    • Pros: Potentially enabling the ability to sort different fields other than names.

    • Cons: May be more difficult to write.

  • Alternative 2: Implement comparable and override the compareTo method in person class

    • Pros: Simpler to understand.

    • Cons: Can only define a single sorting sequence when comparing two different persons.

Aspect: Display of person list in GUI
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Retain the current list of persons as shown in GUI but shown in a sorted manner

    • Pros: User would not have to key in the command to filter the list after sorting.

    • Cons: User may think that only the current list is sorted.

  • Alternative 2: Displays the list of all persons found in the address book sorted alphabetically

    • Pros: More properly describes what sort actually does by showing the full list of persons sorted.

    • Cons: Current list is replaced by showing all persons.

3.4. Add Platform feature

3.4.1. Current Implementation

The add platform function makes use of a factory to facilitate the creation of various social media platforms. A platform is created only when users provide a valid profile link; this object will be associated to the particular person found in the list as specified by the user. Currently, only the Facebook and Twitter platforms are available.

The structure of the class diagram is as shown:

SocialMediaPlatformFactoryClassDiagram

As seen, a client can make use of the SocialMediaPlatformFactory to deal with the creation of social media platform objects without the need of specifying the concrete class to construct. Thus, it follows the factory pattern since the creation logic is abstracted away by the factory. The difference here to other implementations of the pattern is the use of an abstract class, SocialMediaPlatform, instead of the usual interface.

In order to properly utilise the factory, a client needs to provide some form of specification:

public final class SocialMediaPlatformFactory {
    // ... class variables, constructor ...

    public static SocialMediaPlatform getSocialMediaPlatform(String type, Link link) throws IllegalValueException {
        // ... social media platform instance creation logic ...
    }
}

From the extract, a String data type and a Link object need to be provided by the caller when using the getSocialMediaPlatform method. The method will then return an instance of the available concrete classes.

The AddPlatformCommand makes use of the implementation of EditCommand as the foundation, editing the Person model to include the newly created social media platforms. Each platform is stored as an entry to the person’s platform map, with the key being the name of the platform. An example is shown below as an illustration:

SocialMediaPlatformMapObjectDiagram

The links provided by the user will be parsed within the AddPlatformCommandParser to convert them into Link objects. From there, AddPlatformCommand will create a new map and add the relevant social media platforms by calling the getSocialMediaPlatform method of SocialMediaPlatformFactory for object creation. To merge the updates with the targeted person, the command would also retrieve all of its information in order to create a new Person object before replacement is done. The sequence of the events is as follows:

AddPlatformCommandSequenceDiagram

In the UI Component, the PersonCard will be updated to show the icons of the platforms added. Suppose the user want to add a Facebook profile to the first person. The AddPlatformCommand would be executed using the addplatform command word. As illustration, the user has successfully added a Facebook platform to the targeted person by typing addplatform 4 l/www.facebook.com/david:

AddPlatformToPersonDiagram

Since the basis of AddPlatformCommand is heavily inspired by the EditCommand, interactions between the various components is exactly the same:

AddPlatformCommandHighLevelSequenceDiagrams

3.4.2. Design Considerations

  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Create social media platform objects with the links as attributes and store into a map

    • Pros: High potential of implementing methods for interactions between the actual profile page using the corresponding API.

    • Cons: Accessing and inputting of data will be more complex.

  • Alternative 2: Store using a set of links

    • Pros: Ease of access to data.

    • Cons: Can only be used for the displaying of pages, no room for other implementations.

Aspect: Usage of Interface or Abstract Class
  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Have SocialMediaPlatform be an abstract class

    • Pros: Allows common methods to be used by classes that extends from it and still provide a means of ensuring critical methods that are abstract be implemented.

    • Cons: Classes that want to make use of the implementations can only extend from it.

  • Alternative 2: Have SocialMediaPlatform be an interface

    • Pros: Higher flexibility for classes since they can implement many interfaces.

    • Cons: Limitations in sharing and utilisation of default methods between classes.

3.5. Search feature

3.5.1. Current Implementation

The implementation of the search feature follows very closely to the Event-Driven architecture. It is used for searching profiles on the social media platforms available in the application. The key components of the feature is the 'SearchPersonEvent' and its handler method.

The 'SearchCommand' class is located within the logic component. It is not an undoable command, hence it inherit from 'Command'.

The search feature is able to perform search on either the input platform or all the available platforms. To execute the search feature, simply input the command keyword "search" followed by an optional declaration of platform to perform the search on, and lastly followed by the profile name to be searched for.

SearchFunction

Similar to most of the other feature in the application, the command keyword is case sensitive while the search name is not. As for platform declaration, only predefined inputs are allowed. These predefined inputs are the names of the platform as well as the aliases. (e.g. facebook, fb, twitter…​) An invalid command format prompt will be shown if the input platform is not one of the predefined inputs, or has a different case size.

InvalidPlatformCases

Upon execution of the search feature with the keyword "search", the validation of input arguments are first checked by the parser, then a SearchPersonEvent will be posted to the event bus. This event is handled by the handleSearchPersonEvent method, which determine the platform to perform the search on and choose the tabs to display.

SearchPersonEvent

3.5.2. Design Considerations

Aspect: Implementation of SearchCommand SearchPersonEvent and the handler method
  • Alternative 1: Implement multiple Command class, Event class, and handler method to facilitate searching on different social media platforms.

    • Pros: Easier to implement since each class only need to handle search on one platform.

    • Cons: High chance of generating similar/duplicated codes.

  • Alternative 2 (current choice): Have a common 'SearchCommand' class for search.

    • Pros: Reduce repeated/similar code.

    • Cons: Harder to implement since the feature now has to determine the platform to search on base on the input form the user.

  • Alternative 1 (current choice): Use the search URL of different platform to perfom the search.

    • Pros: Much easier to implement since we are simply loading the search URL into our browser.

    • Cons: Direct use of search URL uses a lot of resources.

  • Alternative 2: Use a third party code to perform the search.

    • Pros: May consume less resources.

    • Cons: May have to program the UI to display the search result.

3.6. [Proposed] Data Encryption

We are currently looking into the javax.cipher and javax.security packages for encryption of sensitive data. The Apache Commons Crypto library has also been considered. Potentially, data encryption would be used for storing personal profile information, such as social feeds and friend lists of contacts.

3.7. Logging

We are using java.util.logging package for logging. The LogsCenter class is used to manage the logging levels and logging destinations.

  • The logging level can be controlled using the logLevel setting in the configuration file (See Section 3.8, “Configuration”)

  • The Logger for a class can be obtained using LogsCenter.getLogger(Class) which will log messages according to the specified logging level

  • Currently log messages are output through: Console and to a .log file.

Logging Levels

  • SEVERE : Critical problem detected which may possibly cause the termination of the application

  • WARNING : Can continue, but with caution

  • INFO : Information showing the noteworthy actions by the App

  • FINE : Details that is not usually noteworthy but may be useful in debugging e.g. print the actual list instead of just its size

3.8. Configuration

Certain properties of the application can be controlled (e.g App name, logging level) through the configuration file (default: config.json).

4. Documentation

We use asciidoc for writing documentation.

We chose asciidoc over Markdown because asciidoc, although a bit more complex than Markdown, provides more flexibility in formatting.

4.1. Editing Documentation

See UsingGradle.adoc to learn how to render .adoc files locally to preview the end result of your edits. Alternatively, you can download the AsciiDoc plugin for IntelliJ, which allows you to preview the changes you have made to your .adoc files in real-time.

4.2. Publishing Documentation

See UsingTravis.adoc to learn how to deploy GitHub Pages using Travis.

4.3. Converting Documentation to PDF format

We use Google Chrome for converting documentation to PDF format, as Chrome’s PDF engine preserves hyperlinks used in webpages.

Here are the steps to convert the project documentation files to PDF format.

  1. Follow the instructions in UsingGradle.adoc to convert the AsciiDoc files in the docs/ directory to HTML format.

  2. Go to your generated HTML files in the build/docs folder, right click on them and select Open withGoogle Chrome.

  3. Within Chrome, click on the Print option in Chrome’s menu.

  4. Set the destination to Save as PDF, then click Save to save a copy of the file in PDF format. For best results, use the settings indicated in the screenshot below.

chrome save as pdf
Figure 11. Saving documentation as PDF files in Chrome

5. Testing

5.1. Running Tests

There are three ways to run tests.

The most reliable way to run tests is the 3rd one. The first two methods might fail some GUI tests due to platform/resolution-specific idiosyncrasies.

Method 1: Using IntelliJ JUnit test runner

  • To run all tests, right-click on the src/test/java folder and choose Run 'All Tests'

  • To run a subset of tests, you can right-click on a test package, test class, or a test and choose Run 'ABC'

Method 2: Using Gradle

  • Open a console and run the command gradlew clean allTests (Mac/Linux: ./gradlew clean allTests)

See UsingGradle.adoc for more info on how to run tests using Gradle.

Method 3: Using Gradle (headless)

Thanks to the TestFX library we use, our GUI tests can be run in the headless mode. In the headless mode, GUI tests do not show up on the screen. That means the developer can do other things on the Computer while the tests are running.

To run tests in headless mode, open a console and run the command gradlew clean headless allTests (Mac/Linux: ./gradlew clean headless allTests)

5.2. Types of tests

We have two types of tests:

  1. GUI Tests - These are tests involving the GUI. They include,

    1. System Tests that test the entire App by simulating user actions on the GUI. These are in the systemtests package.

    2. Unit tests that test the individual components. These are in seedu.address.ui package.

  2. Non-GUI Tests - These are tests not involving the GUI. They include,

    1. Unit tests targeting the lowest level methods/classes.
      e.g. seedu.address.commons.StringUtilTest

    2. Integration tests that are checking the integration of multiple code units (those code units are assumed to be working).
      e.g. seedu.address.storage.StorageManagerTest

    3. Hybrids of unit and integration tests. These test are checking multiple code units as well as how the are connected together.
      e.g. seedu.address.logic.LogicManagerTest

5.3. Troubleshooting Testing

Problem: HelpWindowTest fails with a NullPointerException.

  • Reason: One of its dependencies, UserGuide.html in src/main/resources/docs is missing.

  • Solution: Execute Gradle task processResources.

6. Dev Ops

6.1. Build Automation

See UsingGradle.adoc to learn how to use Gradle for build automation.

6.2. Continuous Integration

We use Travis CI and AppVeyor to perform Continuous Integration on our projects. See UsingTravis.adoc and UsingAppVeyor.adoc for more details.

6.3. Coverage Reporting

We use Coveralls to track the code coverage of our projects. See UsingCoveralls.adoc for more details.

6.4. Documentation Previews

When a pull request has changes to asciidoc files, you can use Netlify to see a preview of how the HTML version of those asciidoc files will look like when the pull request is merged. See UsingNetlify.adoc for more details.

6.5. Making a Release

Here are the steps to create a new release.

  1. Update the version number in MainApp.java.

  2. Generate a JAR file using Gradle.

  3. Tag the repo with the version number. e.g. v0.1

  4. Create a new release using GitHub and upload the JAR file you created.

6.6. Managing Dependencies

A project often depends on third-party libraries. For example, Address Book depends on the Jackson library for XML parsing. Managing these dependencies can be automated using Gradle. For example, Gradle can download the dependencies automatically, which is better than these alternatives.
a. Include those libraries in the repo (this bloats the repo size)
b. Require developers to download those libraries manually (this creates extra work for developers)

Appendix A: Suggested Programming Tasks to Get Started

Suggested path for new programmers:

  1. First, add small local-impact (i.e. the impact of the change does not go beyond the component) enhancements to one component at a time. Some suggestions are given in Section A.1, “Improving each component”.

  2. Next, add a feature that touches multiple components to learn how to implement an end-to-end feature across all components. Section A.2, “Creating a new command: remark explains how to go about adding such a feature.

A.1. Improving each component

Each individual exercise in this section is component-based (i.e. you would not need to modify the other components to get it to work).

Logic component

Scenario: You are in charge of logic. During dog-fooding, your team realize that it is troublesome for the user to type the whole command in order to execute a command. Your team devise some strategies to help cut down the amount of typing necessary, and one of the suggestions was to implement aliases for the command words. Your job is to implement such aliases.

Do take a look at Section 2.3, “Logic component” before attempting to modify the Logic component.
  1. Add a shorthand equivalent alias for each of the individual commands. For example, besides typing clear, the user can also type c to remove all persons in the list.

    • Hints

    • Solution

      • Modify the switch statement in AddressBookParser#parseCommand(String) such that both the proper command word and alias can be used to execute the same intended command.

      • Add new tests for each of the aliases that you have added.

      • Update the user guide to document the new aliases.

      • See this PR for the full solution.

Model component

Scenario: You are in charge of model. One day, the logic-in-charge approaches you for help. He wants to implement a command such that the user is able to remove a particular tag from everyone in the address book, but the model API does not support such a functionality at the moment. Your job is to implement an API method, so that your teammate can use your API to implement his command.

Do take a look at Section 2.4, “Model component” before attempting to modify the Model component.
  1. Add a removeTag(Tag) method. The specified tag will be removed from everyone in the address book.

    • Hints

      • The Model and the AddressBook API need to be updated.

      • Think about how you can use SLAP to design the method. Where should we place the main logic of deleting tags?

      • Find out which of the existing API methods in AddressBook and Person classes can be used to implement the tag removal logic. AddressBook allows you to update a person, and Person allows you to update the tags.

    • Solution

      • Implement a removeTag(Tag) method in AddressBook. Loop through each person, and remove the tag from each person.

      • Add a new API method deleteTag(Tag) in ModelManager. Your ModelManager should call AddressBook#removeTag(Tag).

      • Add new tests for each of the new public methods that you have added.

      • See this PR for the full solution.

        • The current codebase has a flaw in tags management. Tags no longer in use by anyone may still exist on the AddressBook. This may cause some tests to fail. See issue #753 for more information about this flaw.

        • The solution PR has a temporary fix for the flaw mentioned above in its first commit.

Ui component

Scenario: You are in charge of ui. During a beta testing session, your team is observing how the users use your address book application. You realize that one of the users occasionally tries to delete non-existent tags from a contact, because the tags all look the same visually, and the user got confused. Another user made a typing mistake in his command, but did not realize he had done so because the error message wasn’t prominent enough. A third user keeps scrolling down the list, because he keeps forgetting the index of the last person in the list. Your job is to implement improvements to the UI to solve all these problems.

Do take a look at Section 2.2, “UI component” before attempting to modify the UI component.
  1. Use different colors for different tags inside person cards. For example, friends tags can be all in brown, and colleagues tags can be all in yellow.

    Before

    getting started ui tag before

    After

    getting started ui tag after
    • Hints

      • The tag labels are created inside the PersonCard constructor (new Label(tag.tagName)). JavaFX’s Label class allows you to modify the style of each Label, such as changing its color.

      • Use the .css attribute -fx-background-color to add a color.

      • You may wish to modify DarkTheme.css to include some pre-defined colors using css, especially if you have experience with web-based css.

    • Solution

      • You can modify the existing test methods for PersonCard 's to include testing the tag’s color as well.

      • See this PR for the full solution.

        • The PR uses the hash code of the tag names to generate a color. This is deliberately designed to ensure consistent colors each time the application runs. You may wish to expand on this design to include additional features, such as allowing users to set their own tag colors, and directly saving the colors to storage, so that tags retain their colors even if the hash code algorithm changes.

  2. Modify NewResultAvailableEvent such that ResultDisplay can show a different style on error (currently it shows the same regardless of errors).

    Before

    getting started ui result before

    After

    getting started ui result after
  3. Modify the StatusBarFooter to show the total number of people in the address book.

    Before

    getting started ui status before

    After

    getting started ui status after
    • Hints

      • StatusBarFooter.fxml will need a new StatusBar. Be sure to set the GridPane.columnIndex properly for each StatusBar to avoid misalignment!

      • StatusBarFooter needs to initialize the status bar on application start, and to update it accordingly whenever the address book is updated.

    • Solution

Storage component

Scenario: You are in charge of storage. For your next project milestone, your team plans to implement a new feature of saving the address book to the cloud. However, the current implementation of the application constantly saves the address book after the execution of each command, which is not ideal if the user is working on limited internet connection. Your team decided that the application should instead save the changes to a temporary local backup file first, and only upload to the cloud after the user closes the application. Your job is to implement a backup API for the address book storage.

Do take a look at Section 2.5, “Storage component” before attempting to modify the Storage component.
  1. Add a new method backupAddressBook(ReadOnlyAddressBook), so that the address book can be saved in a fixed temporary location.

A.2. Creating a new command: remark

By creating this command, you will get a chance to learn how to implement a feature end-to-end, touching all major components of the app.

Scenario: You are a software maintainer for addressbook, as the former developer team has moved on to new projects. The current users of your application have a list of new feature requests that they hope the software will eventually have. The most popular request is to allow adding additional comments/notes about a particular contact, by providing a flexible remark field for each contact, rather than relying on tags alone. After designing the specification for the remark command, you are convinced that this feature is worth implementing. Your job is to implement the remark command.

A.2.1. Description

Edits the remark for a person specified in the INDEX.
Format: remark INDEX r/[REMARK]

Examples:

  • remark 1 r/Likes to drink coffee.
    Edits the remark for the first person to Likes to drink coffee.

  • remark 1 r/
    Removes the remark for the first person.

A.2.2. Step-by-step Instructions

[Step 1] Logic: Teach the app to accept 'remark' which does nothing

Let’s start by teaching the application how to parse a remark command. We will add the logic of remark later.

Main:

  1. Add a RemarkCommand that extends UndoableCommand. Upon execution, it should just throw an Exception.

  2. Modify AddressBookParser to accept a RemarkCommand.

Tests:

  1. Add RemarkCommandTest that tests that executeUndoableCommand() throws an Exception.

  2. Add new test method to AddressBookParserTest, which tests that typing "remark" returns an instance of RemarkCommand.

[Step 2] Logic: Teach the app to accept 'remark' arguments

Let’s teach the application to parse arguments that our remark command will accept. E.g. 1 r/Likes to drink coffee.

Main:

  1. Modify RemarkCommand to take in an Index and String and print those two parameters as the error message.

  2. Add RemarkCommandParser that knows how to parse two arguments, one index and one with prefix 'r/'.

  3. Modify AddressBookParser to use the newly implemented RemarkCommandParser.

Tests:

  1. Modify RemarkCommandTest to test the RemarkCommand#equals() method.

  2. Add RemarkCommandParserTest that tests different boundary values for RemarkCommandParser.

  3. Modify AddressBookParserTest to test that the correct command is generated according to the user input.

[Step 3] Ui: Add a placeholder for remark in PersonCard

Let’s add a placeholder on all our PersonCard s to display a remark for each person later.

Main:

  1. Add a Label with any random text inside PersonListCard.fxml.

  2. Add FXML annotation in PersonCard to tie the variable to the actual label.

Tests:

  1. Modify PersonCardHandle so that future tests can read the contents of the remark label.

[Step 4] Model: Add Remark class

We have to properly encapsulate the remark in our Person class. Instead of just using a String, let’s follow the conventional class structure that the codebase already uses by adding a Remark class.

Main:

  1. Add Remark to model component (you can copy from Address, remove the regex and change the names accordingly).

  2. Modify RemarkCommand to now take in a Remark instead of a String.

Tests:

  1. Add test for Remark, to test the Remark#equals() method.

[Step 5] Model: Modify Person to support a Remark field

Now we have the Remark class, we need to actually use it inside Person.

Main:

  1. Add getRemark() in Person.

  2. You may assume that the user will not be able to use the add and edit commands to modify the remarks field (i.e. the person will be created without a remark).

  3. Modify SampleDataUtil to add remarks for the sample data (delete your addressBook.xml so that the application will load the sample data when you launch it.)

[Step 6] Storage: Add Remark field to XmlAdaptedPerson class

We now have Remark s for Person s, but they will be gone when we exit the application. Let’s modify XmlAdaptedPerson to include a Remark field so that it will be saved.

Main:

  1. Add a new Xml field for Remark.

Tests:

  1. Fix invalidAndValidPersonAddressBook.xml, typicalPersonsAddressBook.xml, validAddressBook.xml etc., such that the XML tests will not fail due to a missing <remark> element.

[Step 6b] Test: Add withRemark() for PersonBuilder

Since Person can now have a Remark, we should add a helper method to PersonBuilder, so that users are able to create remarks when building a Person.

Tests:

  1. Add a new method withRemark() for PersonBuilder. This method will create a new Remark for the person that it is currently building.

  2. Try and use the method on any sample Person in TypicalPersons.

[Step 7] Ui: Connect Remark field to PersonCard

Our remark label in PersonCard is still a placeholder. Let’s bring it to life by binding it with the actual remark field.

Main:

  1. Modify PersonCard's constructor to bind the Remark field to the Person 's remark.

Tests:

  1. Modify GuiTestAssert#assertCardDisplaysPerson(…​) so that it will compare the now-functioning remark label.

[Step 8] Logic: Implement RemarkCommand#execute() logic

We now have everything set up…​ but we still can’t modify the remarks. Let’s finish it up by adding in actual logic for our remark command.

Main:

  1. Replace the logic in RemarkCommand#execute() (that currently just throws an Exception), with the actual logic to modify the remarks of a person.

Tests:

  1. Update RemarkCommandTest to test that the execute() logic works.

A.2.3. Full Solution

See this PR for the step-by-step solution.

Appendix B: Product Scope

Target user profile:

  • has a need to keep track a significant number of social media platforms of contacts

  • has a need to view the latest scoop of various people’s social life

  • prefer desktop apps over other types

  • can type fast

  • prefers typing over mouse input

  • is reasonably comfortable using CLI apps

Value proposition: one-stop access to multiple social media platforms

Feature Contribution:

Assignee Major Minor

Seunghwan Choi

  • Updating the UI to show multiple social pages on the application window:

    • With all the links to the different social media pages of a person stored in the user’s address book, the user can view all of the pages in a single window under collapsible tabs (to distinguish the different social media platform pages) when he/she selects the particular person. This simplifies the process of providing the user with his/her daily social media fix.

  • login function:

    • Allows the user to login to all the available social media platforms as given by the application. This feature is essential so that users can perform their required tasks, such as accessing their friends list and viewing the social feeds of friends.

Chuang Cheng Heng

  • search function:

    • Allows user to perform the search action on all the social media platforms available with a single command. This feature improves the product significantly because a user can do search on the application instead of going to the individual social media platform and repeatedly perform the search.

  • findtag command:

    • Allows the user to find persons whose tags contain the input keywords. This can assist users in filtering out people who only use a certain social media platform if they are tagged.

Tan Wei Jie

  • Manage social media platforms of persons function:

    • Allows user to manage the social media platforms of each person through the addplatform and removeplatform commands. This feature allows a user to have the application keep track of all the links to the social media profiles of each person in the address book so that he/she can easily access their profile pages when selected.

  • sort command:

    • Allows the user to sort the address book list alphabetically. This feature organises and arranges the list for easier viewing and searching.

Appendix C: User Stories

Priorities: High (must have) - * * *, Medium (nice to have) - * *, Low (unlikely to have) - *

Priority As a …​ I want to …​ So that I can…​

* * *

new user

see usage instructions

refer to instructions when I forget how to use the App

* * *

user

add a new person

* * *

user

delete a person

remove entries that I no longer need

* * *

user

find a person by name

locate details of persons without having to go through the entire list

* * *

user

see the page of the specified platform of a person

get information of the person with my preferred social media platform

* * *

user

delete one of social media platforms of a person

remove entries that I no longer need

* * *

user

find a person by name with the specified platforms

locate details of persons who have the social media platforms without having to go through the entire list

* * *

user

apply the filter of a social media platform

have a list of persons who are on the platform shown

* * *

user

apply multiple filters regarding social media platforms

have a list of persons who satisfy the filters shown

* * *

user

clear filters applied

get information regardless of them

* * *

social media user

select a person and see the social media platforms they are using

have the option not to go to the various platforms to check

* * *

social media user

store the links to the profiles of a person (friend)

have the app keep track of it for me

* * *

social media user

view the latest feed/status of a person

get up-to-date information about them

* * *

lazy social media user

log out from all my social media account with one command

remove potential unauthorised access effectively

* * *

social media user

log in to my account

access private profiles in my friend list

* * *

social media user

search for profile in all social media platforms with the same command

* * *

social media user

send friend request from the app

* * *

social media user

be able to react to a post (like, comment, etc) from the app directly

* * *

lazy user

be able to remain logged in to my account

* * *

social media user

post and update my statuses

let people know what I’m up to

* *

user

hide private contact details by default

minimize chance of someone else seeing them by accident

* *

advanced user

use shorter versions of a command

type a command faster

* *

user

have the information of my social media accounts encrypted

keep my personal information safe

* *

user

add a new person with private contact details

keep them in secret

* *

user

search a person with the tags

* *

careless user

logout from all my account remotely

ensure my account security will not be compromised in case I lose my device

* *

social media user

be able to customize what is displayed (profile, social media in use, or latest feed/status) when I select a person

personalise the app to my liking

* *

careful user

have an additional authentication system for editing my profile setting

* *

social media user

be able to download files (e.g. images or documents) posted by others

keep a copy and view them offline

* *

social media user

send messages to the people on my friends list

communicate with them

* *

social media user

add people found in my friends list on social media to my address book

create contacts of them and communicate through other means

* *

social media user

find my friends that are near my location

meet up and have fun with them

* *

user

set up planned events with a group of my friends

remember their details and be punctual for them

* *

user

be reminded of important events (e.g. movie outings, birthday celebrations)

be prompted not to miss them

*

user with many persons in the address book

sort persons by name

locate a person easily

Appendix D: Use Cases

(For all use cases below, the System is the AddressBook and the Actor is the user, unless specified otherwise)

Use case: Delete person

MSS

  1. User requests to list persons

  2. AddressBook shows a list of persons

  3. User requests to delete a specific person in the list

  4. AddressBook deletes the person

    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 2a. The list is empty.

    Use case ends.

  • 3a. The given index is invalid.

    • 3a1. AddressBook shows an error message.

      Use case resumes at step 2.

Use case: See the page of person

MSS

  1. User requests to apply the filter of a social media platform

  2. User requests to list persons

  3. AddressBook shows a list of persons with the filter applied

  4. User requests to see the page of a specific person in the list

  5. AddressBook shows the page of the specified platform

    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. There is no filter available.

    Use case ends.

  • 3a. The list is empty.

    Use case ends.

  • 4a. The given index is invalid.

    • 4a1. AddressBook shows an error message.

      Use case resumes at step 3.

{More to be added}

Appendix E: Non Functional Requirements

  1. Should work on any mainstream OS as long as it has Java 1.8.0_60 or higher installed.

  2. Should be able to hold up to 1000 persons without a noticeable sluggishness in performance for typical usage.

  3. A user with above average typing speed for regular English text (i.e. not code, not system admin commands) should be able to accomplish most of the tasks faster using commands than using the mouse.

  4. Should display the social media used by the selected person fast.

  5. The login information of the user should be stored in a secure manner.

  6. Login to the user’s account through the application should be equally fast as to directly login to the social media platform.

  7. The application should have an user friendly interface so that even users that are not familiar with CLI will have minimal problem navigating through the application.

{More to be added}

Appendix F: Glossary

Mainstream OS

Windows, Linux, Unix, OS-X

Private contact detail

A contact detail that is not meant to be shared with others

Social media platform

A platform that makes people distribute information and encourages them to connect with others

Appendix G: Product Survey

Product Name

Author: …​

Pros:

  • …​

  • …​

Cons:

  • …​

  • …​

Appendix H: Instructions for Manual Testing

Given below are instructions to test the app manually.

These instructions only provide a starting point for testers to work on; testers are expected to do more exploratory testing.

H.1. Launch and Shutdown

  1. Initial launch

    1. Download the jar file and copy into an empty folder

    2. Double-click the jar file
      Expected: Shows the GUI with a set of sample contacts. The window size may not be optimum.

  2. Saving window preferences

    1. Resize the window to an optimum size. Move the window to a different location. Close the window.

    2. Re-launch the app by double-clicking the jar file.
      Expected: The most recent window size and location is retained.

{ more test cases …​ }

H.2. Deleting a person

  1. Deleting a person while all persons are listed

    1. Prerequisites: List all persons using the list command. Multiple persons in the list.

    2. Test case: delete 1
      Expected: First contact is deleted from the list. Details of the deleted contact shown in the status message. Timestamp in the status bar is updated.

    3. Test case: delete 0
      Expected: No person is deleted. Error details shown in the status message. Status bar remains the same.

    4. Other incorrect delete commands to try: delete, delete x (where x is larger than the list size) {give more}
      Expected: Similar to previous.

{ more test cases …​ }

H.3. Saving data

  1. Dealing with missing/corrupted data files

    1. {explain how to simulate a missing/corrupted file and the expected behavior}

{ more test cases …​ }