Access Amherst - Centralized Event Hub

Access Amherst is a web application created to connect Amherst College students through organized, accessible, and diverse event updates on campus. The platform provides real-time information on campus events, allowing students to plan their schedules effectively.

Key Features

• Organized Event Updates: Receive updates on the latest campus events in a streamlined format.
• Interactive Event Map: View real-time events displayed on campus buildings.
• Comprehensive Event Calendar: Get a big-picture view of upcoming events to manage your time effectively.
• Additional Features: Many more features to enhance campus engagement.

Getting Started

To clone and set up the application locally, follow the instructions below.

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/ac-i2i-engineering/access-amherst.git
cd access-amherst

Set Up a Virtual Environment

Create and activate a virtual environment to manage dependencies locally.

python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate

Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run Database Migrations

Navigate to the backend directory and apply migrations to set up the database schema.

cd access_amherst_backend
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Start the Development Server

To run the application locally, use the following command:

python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your browser to view the application.

System Architecture & Design

Access Amherst is designed with a modular, scalable architecture. Below is a high-level architecture diagram illustrating the core components and their interactions.

Architecture Components

• EventDB: The central database storing event information accessible to multiple front-end modules.
• Home: Displays the latest events and announcements.
• Dashboard: Provides analytical insights into campus events.
• Map: A geographic interface to see real-time event locations on campus.
• Daily Mammoth: An integration with the campus email system for event notifications.
• The Hub: Search and discovery interface for all campus events.

Functional Design

The following diagram provides a detailed breakdown of the application’s internal components and workflows.

graph TD
    subgraph redis ["Redis for Scheduling Tasks"]
        F1[Schedule periodic tasks]
        F1 --> F2[Execute tasks with Celery]
    end

    subgraph email_scraper ["Email Scraper"]
        F2 --> A1[Fetch Gmail messages]
        A1 --> A2[Extract event details with Llama 3.1]
        A2 --> A3[Clean data]
    end

    subgraph rss_scraper ["RSS Scraper"]
        F2 --> B1[Fetch RSS feed]
        B1 --> B2[Save as XML]
        B2 --> B3[Clean data]
    end

    subgraph database ["Database Operations"]
        A3 --> C1["Save as JSON (for debugging)"]
        B3 --> C1
        C1 --> C2[Check for duplicate events]
        C2 --> C3[Save events to database]
    end

    subgraph backend ["Backend Logic"]
        C3 --> D1[Retrieve events]
    end

    subgraph frontend ["Frontend Logic"]
        D1 --> E1[Display events on homepage]
        D1 --> E2[Show events on map page]
        D1 --> E3[Generate dashboard visualizations]
    end

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Contributing

We welcome contributions to improve Access Amherst. Please follow these guidelines:

1. Code Formatting: Ensure your code adheres to the black style guidelines. You can format your code by running:

   python -m black ./

   A pre-commit hook is set up to enforce this format.

2. Documentation: For adding or updating documentation, please refer to the Access Amherst Backend Documentation Guide in docs/. It includes instructions on using Sphinx to document models and views, creating .rst files, and previewing the documentation.

3. Pull Requests: Before submitting a pull request, ensure that all code is well-documented, tested, and follows our coding standards.

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For any questions or further support, please reach out to our team.