LEARN

Poll and Survey Creation and Response - Technical Documentation

Generated on 9/18/2025 | AI Workflow Portal

📋 Executive Summary

This report details the architecture and operational workflows of the Xikolo 16_LEARN_PollsSurveys cluster, which governs the creation, display, and response mechanisms for polls and surveys. The system enables users to view upcoming polls, submit votes, and review historical poll data, including results. Key components include the PollsController orchestrating interactions with core data models like Poll::Poll and several Dashboard::Poll ViewComponents for rendering the user interface. The primary objective is to facilitate seamless user engagement with interactive learning elements by providing a robust and responsive polling infrastructure.

🏗️ Architecture Overview

The architecture of the 16_LEARN_PollsSurveys cluster is designed for a responsive user experience, primarily centered around a Ruby on Rails backend interacting with a client-side frontend. The PollsController acts as the central orchestrator for all poll-related requests, inheriting core functionalities from Abstract::FrontendController to ensure user authentication and cache control. Frontend integration is handled by the app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim partial, which initiates AJAX requests to dynamically load poll content. The system leverages Poll::Poll, Poll::Option, and Poll::Response as ActiveRecord models to manage poll data, choices, and user submissions respectively. For presentation, a suite of ViewComponents, including Dashboard::Poll::Widget, Dashboard::Poll::Question, and Dashboard::Poll::Thanks, are utilized to render various stages of the poll lifecycle, from voting interfaces to post-submission confirmations and results. The PollArchivePresenter plays a crucial role in preparing aggregated poll data for display in the archive, determining result visibility and generating contextual messages often using Global::Callout.

Component Descriptions:

  • PollsController: This Rails controller is responsible for handling all HTTP requests related to polls. It fetches polls, processes user votes via poll.vote!, and manages the display of poll archives, interacting extensively with Poll::Poll and rendering various Dashboard::Poll ViewComponents.
  • Poll::Poll: As the central ActiveRecord model, Poll::Poll defines the core structure of a poll, including its question, options, and associated responses. It encapsulates business logic for finding upcoming polls (upcoming_for_user), managing vote submissions (vote!), and determining when results should be revealed (reveal_results?). It has many Poll::Options and Poll::Responses.
  • app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim: This Slim partial serves as the initial entry point for dynamic poll loading on the dashboard. It issues an AJAX GET request to next_poll_path and subsequently updates the #polls HTML element with the server’s response.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Widget: A ViewComponent acting as the primary container for displaying poll content. It receives a Poll::Poll object and utilizes its with_content method to embed other ViewComponents, such as Dashboard::Poll::Question or Dashboard::Poll::Thanks.
  • PollArchivePresenter: This presenter class is specialized in preparing and formatting data for the poll archive view. It initializes with a Poll::Poll object and the current_user, delegating basic attributes to the poll and accessing methods like ended?, reveal_results?, and response_for to determine display logic. It also employs Global::Callout for informational messages.
  • Abstract::FrontendController: This is the base class from which PollsController inherits. It provides essential cross-cutting concerns for frontend controllers, such as ensure_logged_in to enforce user authentication and set_no_cache_headers for appropriate caching behavior. This ensures a consistent security and performance baseline for all user-facing interactions.

Integration Points and Interactions:

  • PollsController inherits from Abstract::FrontendController to leverage common frontend functionalities.
  • app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim initiates interaction by making an AJAX GET request to PollsController#next.
  • PollsController interacts extensively with Poll::Poll to fetch poll data, process votes, and determine poll status.
  • Poll::Poll is associated with Poll::Option (has many) and Poll::Response (has many), forming the core data structure.
  • PollsController renders Dashboard::Poll::Widget which in turn orchestrates Dashboard::Poll::Question (for voting/results) or Dashboard::Poll::Thanks (for post-vote).
  • PollArchivePresenter initializes with a Poll::Poll object and current_user, accessing various methods of the @poll object and using Global::Callout to present relevant messages within the archive view.

Architecture Diagrams

Main Architecture Diagram - Polls and Surveys

graph TD
  abstractController["Abstract::FrontendController"]
  pollsController["PollsController"]
  pollModel["Poll::Poll"]
  dashboardPollsSlim["app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim"]
  pollWidgetVC["Dashboard::Poll::Widget"]
  pollArchivePresenter["PollArchivePresenter"]

  abstractController -->|"inherits from"| pollsController
  dashboardPollsSlim -->|"AJAX GET next_poll_path"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"fetches/updates"| pollModel
  pollsController -->|"renders using"| pollWidgetVC
  pollsController -->|"prepares archive with"| pollArchivePresenter
  pollArchivePresenter -->|"accesses data from"| pollModel

🔄 Component Interactions

Key interactions between components in this cluster:

  • PollsController: Inherits from Abstract::FrontendController.
  • PollsController: Interacts with Poll::Poll model to fetch, find, and process votes.
  • PollArchivePresenter: Initializes with a Poll::Poll object and current_user.
  • PollArchivePresenter: Delegates id and question to the @poll object.
  • app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim: Makes an AJAX GET request to next_poll_path.
  • app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim: Updates the #polls HTML element with the data received from the server.
  • Poll::Poll: Has many Poll::Options.
  • Poll::Poll: Has many Poll::Responses.
  • Poll::Option: Belongs to Poll::Poll.
  • Poll::Response: Belongs to Poll::Poll.
  • Poll::Response: Belongs to User (implicitly via user_id).
  • Dashboard::Poll::Widget: Receives a Poll::Poll object.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Widget: Uses with_content to embed other ViewComponents like Dashboard::Poll::Question or Dashboard::Poll::Thanks.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Question: Receives a Poll::Poll object.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Question: Can receive stats and choices parameters when displaying results.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Thanks: Receives a Poll::Poll object.
  • Dashboard::Poll::Thanks: Receives choices (user’s selections), stats (if results are revealed), and next_poll status.
  • Abstract::FrontendController: Parent class for PollsController.
  • Abstract::FrontendController: Provides ensure_logged_in and set_no_cache_headers before actions.
  • Global::Callout: Used by PollArchivePresenter to display messages regarding poll status or voting requirements.

⚙️ Technical Workflows

1. View Next Available Poll

graph TD
  user["User"]
  dashboardPartial["app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim"]
  pollsController["PollsController#next"]
  pollModel["Poll::Poll"]
  pollWidgetVC["Dashboard::Poll::Widget"]
  pollQuestionVC["Dashboard::Poll::Question"]

  user -->|"accesses dashboard"| dashboardPartial
  dashboardPartial -->|"AJAX GET next_poll_path"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"queries upcoming_for_user"| pollModel
  pollModel -->|"returns poll data"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"renders with"| pollWidgetVC
  pollWidgetVC -->|"embeds"| pollQuestionVC

When a user accesses the dashboard, the system initiates an asynchronous request to retrieve and display the most relevant, unvoted, and active poll. This process begins with client-side JavaScript triggering a GET request to a specific endpoint. Upon receipt, the backend controller queries the Poll::Poll model to identify an eligible poll for the current_user. If a poll is found, the controller marshals the poll data and renders it using a structured ViewComponent hierarchy. This typically involves a wrapper component that then embeds a question component to present the poll to the user. Should no upcoming poll be available, the system responds with a ‘no content’ status, ensuring a graceful handling of empty states without rendering superfluous UI.

2. Vote on a Poll

graph TD
  user["User"]
  pollQuestionVC["Dashboard::Poll::Question"]
  pollsController["PollsController#vote"]
  pollModel["Poll::Poll"]
  pollResponseModel["Poll::Response"]
  pollThanksVC["Dashboard::Poll::Thanks"]

  user -->|"selects options"| pollQuestionVC
  pollQuestionVC -->|"submits choices"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"calls vote! on"| pollModel
  pollModel -->|"creates/updates"| pollResponseModel
  pollResponseModel -->|"confirms"| pollModel
  pollModel -->|"returns status/stats"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"renders with"| pollThanksVC

The voting workflow encompasses a user’s interaction with an active poll and the system’s subsequent processing of their selection. After a poll is displayed, the user selects their desired options. This selection is then submitted via an HTTP POST request to the PollsController. The controller receives these choices along with the poll’s identifier and the current_user.id. It then invokes the vote! method on the corresponding Poll::Poll object, which in turn creates or updates a Poll::Response record, linking the user’s choices to the specific poll. Following the successful recording of the vote, the system determines if there’s another poll available and whether the results of the just-voted poll should be revealed immediately. Finally, a Dashboard::Poll::Thanks ViewComponent is rendered, providing confirmation of the vote and potentially displaying immediate results or a prompt for the next poll.

3. View Poll Archive and Results

graph TD
  user["User"]
  pollsController["PollsController#archive"]
  pollModel["Poll::Poll"]
  pollArchivePresenter["PollArchivePresenter"]
  pollQuestionVC["Dashboard::Poll::Question"]
  globalCallout["Global::Callout"]

  user -->|"navigates to archive"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"fetches latest 20"| pollModel
  pollModel -->|"provides data to"| pollArchivePresenter
  pollArchivePresenter -->|"determines display"| pollsController
  pollsController -->|"renders result/info using"| pollQuestionVC
  pollArchivePresenter -->|"generates messages with"| globalCallout

Users wishing to review past polls and their outcomes access a dedicated archive. This action is handled by the PollsController#archive, which retrieves a predefined number (e.g., 20 latest started) of Poll::Poll records, including their associated Poll::Options. Each retrieved poll is then passed to a PollArchivePresenter. This presenter is crucial for encapsulating the logic to determine how each poll should be displayed within the archive. It evaluates several factors, such as whether the poll has ended?, if the current_user has voted?, and if poll.reveal_results?. Based on these conditions, the presenter decides whether to render actual results using Dashboard::Poll::Question.results or to display informative messages, often through a Global::Callout component, indicating reasons such as the poll not having ended, or results not being available due to insufficient participants.

4. Take a Survey (Conceptual)

graph TD
  student["Student (User)"]
  surveyItem["Survey Item (Foundational Context)"]
  inferredQuestion["Survey::Question (inferred)"]
  inferredSurveyController["SurveyController (inferred)"]
  inferredAnswer["Survey::Answer (inferred)"]
  confirmation["Submission Confirmation"]

  student -->|"interacts with"| surveyItem
  surveyItem -->|"presents"| inferredQuestion
  inferredQuestion -->|"collects answers"| student
  student -->|"submits answers"| inferredSurveyController
  inferredSurveyController -->|"records answers in"| inferredAnswer
  inferredAnswer -->|"confirms submission"| confirmation

While the provided cluster data primarily details poll functionality, the conceptual workflow for taking a survey, as indicated in the broader RAG context, describes a similar interaction pattern. A student encounters a ‘survey item’ within a course, which is likely a distinct ‘Item’ in the platform’s foundational context, possibly with an associated Survey model. This item would present questions, possibly managed by an inferred Question model, and corresponding answer choices. The student would select their answers and submit them. This submission would then be processed, likely by an inferred SurveyController, to record the responses, perhaps in an Answer model. The workflow suggests a shared high-level user experience flow with polls, despite utilizing separate underlying models and components specific to the survey domain, and respecting item-specific attributes such as deadlines.

🔧 Implementation Details

Technical Considerations:

  • Frontend Data Loading: The app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim partial employs direct jQuery $.get for AJAX requests and straightforward DOM manipulation ($('#polls').html(data)) to load poll content. As indicated in the cluster data, this approach, while functional, contrasts with modern frontend practices like using dedicated ViewComponents or React, which are also leveraged elsewhere in the project. This suggests a potential area for refactoring to enhance maintainability and consistency with the overall frontend architecture.
  • Model-View-Controller Separation: The PollsController effectively separates concerns by delegating business logic to the Poll::Poll model (e.g., upcoming_for_user, vote!) and presentation logic to ViewComponents and PollArchivePresenter. This adheres to the MVC pattern by keeping the controller focused on request handling and response generation.
  • Presenter Pattern Usage: The PollArchivePresenter exemplifies the presenter pattern by encapsulating complex display logic for archive polls. It abstracts away conditional rendering of results, voting status, and localized messages from the view, promoting cleaner, more testable code in PollsController and the views.

Dependencies and Integrations:

  • PollsController with Abstract::FrontendController: PollsController explicitly inherits from Abstract::FrontendController. This integration provides foundational functionalities such as before_action :ensure_logged_in and before_action :set_no_cache_headers, ensuring consistent user authentication and HTTP caching strategies across frontend-facing controllers. This reduces boilerplate and centralizes security/performance best practices.
  • Poll::Poll Model Associations: The Poll::Poll model has many Poll::Options and has many Poll::Responses. This ActiveRecord association defines the core relationships within the poll data structure, allowing a poll to comprise multiple selectable options and record multiple user responses.
  • ViewComponent Integration: PollsController directly renders Dashboard::Poll::Widget, which then uses with_content to embed Dashboard::Poll::Question (for voting/results) or Dashboard::Poll::Thanks (for post-vote confirmation). This compositional approach with ViewComponents promotes reusability and modularity in the UI layer.
  • PollArchivePresenter with Global::Callout: PollArchivePresenter utilizes Global::Callout to display dynamic informational messages to the user within the poll archive. This integration allows for standardized, visually consistent alerts or status updates without reimplementing the UI element each time.
  • Poll::Response with User: Poll::Response belongs to User (implicitly via user_id), and validates user_id uniqueness per poll. This interaction ensures that each user can submit only one response per poll, and responses are correctly attributed to the responding user.

Configuration Requirements:

  • Configuration requirements are not explicitly specified in the cluster data, however, the reliance on I18n.t within PollArchivePresenter and Dashboard::Poll::Thanks suggests that localization files (.yml files for polls.archive and polls.widget) are required for internationalization and proper message display. The database schema for Poll::Poll, Poll::Option, and Poll::Response models, as well as the User model, must also be correctly configured and migrated to support the defined attributes and associations (e.g., question, start_at, end_at, text, position, choices, user_id, poll_id).

📚 Technical Sources & References

Components

  • 📄 PollsController app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 PollArchivePresenter app/presenters/poll_archive_presenter.rb
  • 📄 Abstract::FrontendController app/controllers/polls_controller.rb

Configuration

  • 📄 Poll::Poll app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Poll::Poll app/presenters/poll_archive_presenter.rb
  • 📄 Poll::Option app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Poll::Response app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Poll::Response app/presenters/poll_archive_presenter.rb
  • 📄 Dashboard::Poll::Widget app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Dashboard::Poll::Question app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Dashboard::Poll::Question app/presenters/poll_archive_presenter.rb
  • 📄 Dashboard::Poll::Thanks app/controllers/polls_controller.rb
  • 📄 Global::Callout app/presenters/poll_archive_presenter.rb
  • 📄 Configuration config/application.rb, Gemfile, config/database.yml
  • 📄 Process Management Procfile, Procfile.web
  • 📄 Build & Deploy Rakefile, package.json

Other

  • 📄 app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim app/views/dashboard/_polls.html.slim

This documentation is automatically generated from cluster analysis and should be validated against the actual codebase.