My Journey: Overcoming Backend Challenges

salim imuzai — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 06:08:40 +0000

My name is Salim Imuzai. A Backend Developer who believes; that for every complex problem, there is an answer that is either clear, simple, or wrong I take pride in finding out. As a backend developer, the excitement of tackling complex problems fuels my passion for coding. Every challenge presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and sharpen my skills. Recently, I encountered a particularly tough issue that tested my problem-solving abilities.

The Challenge: Real-time Notification System
The problem I faced was implementing a real-time notification system for a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) reporting platform. The system needed to notify relevant stakeholders whenever a case was created, updated, or reached specific stages like trial, DPP advice, or judgment. Additionally, the notifications had to be sent promptly without overwhelming the server.

Step-by-Step Solution Breakdown

Step 1: Understanding the Requirements
The first step was to thoroughly understand the requirements. The system needed to:

Detect when a case was created or updated.
Identify the relevant stakeholders (e.g., admins, stakeholders).
Send notifications and emails promptly.
Mark notifications as sent to avoid duplicates.

Step 2: Setting Up the Cron Job
I decided to use a Cron job to periodically check for pending notifications and process them. This ensured that the notifications were sent in a controlled manner without burdening the server.

@Cron('0 * * * * *') // Every minute for demonstration async handleCron() { // Fetch pending notifications and users }
Step 3: Fetching Pending Notifications and Users
Next, I wrote a function to fetch pending notifications and relevant users from the database. This involved using Mongoose to interact with MongoDB.

const pendingNotifications = await this.notificationModel.find({ isSent: false }).exec(); const users = await this.userModel.find({ $or: [{ role: USER_ROLE.ADMIN }, { role: USER_ROLE.STAKEHOLDER }], }).exec();

Step 4: Sending Notifications and Emails
For each pending notification, I iterated over the users and sent the notifications and emails. To ensure reliability, I used a robust email service

for (const notification of pendingNotifications) { for (const user of users) { await this.notificationService.createRecipientNotification({ user: user.id.toString(), message: notification.message, caseNumber: notification.caseNumber, }); await this.sendNewCaseEmail(user.email, notification.caseNumber); } notification.isSent = true; await notification.save(); }
Step 5: Implementing the Email Sending Logic
Finally, I implemented the email sending logic using a hypothetical email service. This part ensured that users were promptly informed about new cases.

async sendNewCaseEmail(email: string, caseNumber: string) { await this.mailService.sendMail({ to: email, subject: 'New Case Created', html:

A new case with case number ${caseNumber} has been created.

,


  });


}

The Journey Ahead

Solving this problem was a rewarding experience that showcased my ability to tackle complex backend issues. However, I know there's always more to learn and achieve. This is why I am excited about tackling complex problems that fuel my passion for coding and exploring programs that offer a unique opportunity to collaborate with experienced professionals, work on real-world projects, and refine my skills, I am eager to contribute, learn, and grow within this any vibrant community of developers.

DEV Community: salim imuzai

My Journey: Overcoming Backend Challenges