View Your Coding Time: A Web Dashboard Guide

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View Your Coding Time: A Web Dashboard Guide

Hey guys! Ever wish you had a simple way to track your coding time without all the fuss? Well, this article is for you. We're diving into how to build a super handy web dashboard that shows you exactly how much time you've spent coding today. We'll cover everything from the basic user story to the nitty-gritty technical details. So, buckle up, and let's get started on building a cool tool to boost your productivity.

The User Story: Why We're Building This

As a developer, I want to see my coding time in a web dashboard, so I have a visual interface instead of using curl. That's the core of what we're trying to achieve. Instead of digging through logs or using clunky command-line tools, we want a clean, user-friendly interface. Think of it like a fitness tracker for your coding habits. This dashboard will give you a quick, easy-to-read overview of your daily coding efforts. It's all about making your life easier and helping you stay on top of your coding game.

This isn't just about pretty visuals, though those are nice. It's about empowering you with information. By seeing your coding time at a glance, you can start to understand your work patterns. Are you most productive in the morning? Do you hit a wall in the afternoon? Knowing this can help you optimize your schedule, take breaks when you need them, and ultimately, become a more efficient coder. Plus, it's a great motivator. Seeing that number tick up can be pretty satisfying, encouraging you to keep going and reach your daily goals. We will be focused on creating a React app that will be accessible at http://localhost:8080. This app will display the total coding time for the current day. While the data is being fetched, we'll have a loading state to indicate activity, and in case the API encounters issues, we will show an error message. The dashboard will either auto-refresh or have a manual refresh button. So, it is something everyone can use.

Acceptance Criteria: What Success Looks Like

Let's break down the criteria for a successful web dashboard. We want something that's not only functional but also user-friendly and reliable. Here's a checklist of what we need to see happen:

  • A React app accessible at http://localhost:8080 – This is our home base.
  • Displays total coding time for today – The main goal. We need that number front and center.
  • Shows a loading state while fetching data – No blank screens! We want users to know something's happening.
  • Shows an error message if the API fails – Graceful handling of potential issues.
  • Auto-refreshes or has a manual refresh button – Keeping the data up-to-date.

Basically, the web dashboard should work flawlessly. From the moment you open it up to the display of your total coding time, everything has to work as intended. We want a smooth and intuitive user experience. We will be making sure that the page loads fast, shows loading states correctly, and handles API failures without any hitches. The aim is to create a reliable tool that you can depend on daily to track your coding efforts.

Technical Details: Diving into the Code

Now, let's get into the technical nitty-gritty. This is where we talk about the tools, the setup, and how everything works together. We'll cover the React setup, where we will be using Vite, TypeScript, and fetching data from the Bridge API (/api/summary). Then, we'll explore some questions about styling, and serving, as well as the development workflow.

React Setup

We will be using Vite for fast development, and this is a build tool that is known for its speed and efficiency, making the development process much smoother. Alongside Vite, we'll be using TypeScript, which helps catch errors early on and keeps your code organized. And of course, the heart of our application will be built using React, a popular and powerful library. We will also fetch data from the Bridge API which will be located at /api/summary.

Questions to Think Through

  1. Styling: TailwindCSS now or start unstyled? -- This is about choosing our styling approach. Do we go with a utility-first CSS framework like TailwindCSS right away, or do we start with a simpler, unstyled approach and add styling later? The benefit of TailwindCSS is that it allows us to style faster by providing pre-made classes and components. However, it can add complexity. Starting unstyled is more straightforward, but you will need to do all the styling yourself.
  2. Serving: How does Go serve the React build output? -- We will have a Go backend that will serve our React application. The question is, how does Go handle the React build output? Will it serve static files, or will it need a specific configuration? If you serve the application, it will determine how to build and deploy your React app, as well as integrating it with the Go backend.
  3. Development workflow: How to run the React dev server while developing? -- How will you run the React development server while developing? Do we use a separate server, or will it be integrated with the Go backend? This impacts your workflow, as well as how you can test your changes while developing the app.

Minimal UI Components

Now, let's talk about the UI components. We'll be keeping things simple initially, with:

  • Header with app title – The top of the page, where we display the app's name.
  • Card showing total time – The central element, which displays the main data.
  • Loading spinner – To indicate data loading.
  • Error message component – For displaying errors.

These components will form the foundation of our dashboard. As the project evolves, we can add more complex components, but for now, we'll focus on the essential building blocks.

Definition of Done: Reaching the Finish Line

What does it take to call this project complete? Here's the checklist:

  • npm run dev starts React dev server – Making sure the development environment works.
  • Dashboard displays data from Bridge API – The core functionality working.
  • Shows loading state correctly – A smooth user experience during data retrieval.
  • Shows error state if the API is unavailable – Graceful handling of errors.
  • Production build integrates with Go server – How the app will be deployed.
  • Accessible at localhost:8080 via Docker Compose – Where you can access the app.

We need to make sure that the app is fully functional, easy to use, and reliable.

Dependencies and Notes: The Road Ahead

  • Issue #2 (Bridge API) must be completed. -- The app depends on the Bridge API to function correctly. This is a critical requirement.

Notes

  • Keep it simple for Week 1 - just one number displayed nicely -- Initially, the focus is on displaying the core functionality: The total coding time. Charts and more advanced features will be added later.
  • Polish and charts come later -- Once the basic functionality is in place, we can move on to add-ons like charts and other enhancements. This ensures a great user experience.

This is just the first step. As we move forward, we'll refine the design, add more features, and make sure everything is running smoothly. Your web dashboard will become a valuable tool for tracking your coding time and boosting your overall productivity. So, get ready to build and enjoy!