A modern platform for polls, surveys, discussions and feedback, developed using Ruby, Sinatra, and SQLite.

• Admin: Monitors system activity, manages users
• Organizer: Creates and manages polls
• Voter: Participates in polls anonymously

• Poll Management: Organizers can create polls with single/multiple-choice questions
• Secure Voting: Anonymous voting system for registered users
• Real-time Results: Visualize poll results with progress bars
• User Authentication: Secure login and registration system
• Activity Logging: Comprehensive logging of system activities
• Private Polls: Organizers can create private polls with restricted visibility
• Discussions: Comment on polls and engage in conversations

• Configurable Log Levels: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, FATAL
• Structured Logging: Consistent format with context (user, IP, action details)
• Security Event Tracking: Login attempts, unauthorized access, admin actions
• Performance Monitoring: Request times, database operations, user patterns
• Audit Trail: Complete history of sensitive operations
• Separate Log Files: Application logs and error logs

The application is built around these core models:

• User: Represents users with different roles (admin, organizer, voter)
• Poll: A voting event with questions created by organizers
• Question: Can be single-choice or multiple-choice
• Option: Answer choices for questions
• Vote: Anonymous record of user votes
• Activity: System logs of important events

• Framework: Sinatra (lightweight Ruby web framework)
• Database: SQLite with ActiveRecord ORM
• Authentication: BCrypt for secure password management
• Authorization: Pundit for role-based access control
• Frontend: Slim templating engine with Bootstrap 5
• Styling: Custom CSS for enhanced UI
• Logging: Ruby Logging library for comprehensive monitoring

• Ruby 2.6.10
• SQLite3
• Bundler gem

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd PollHub

2. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

3. Set up the database:

   rake db:migrate
   rake db:seed

   Note: The database configuration uses community_poll_hub.sqlite3 as the database file. If you encounter any database-related issues, ensure the config/database.yml file points to the correct database file path.

4. Configure environment (optional):

   # Set log level (default: info for production, debug for development)
   export LOG_LEVEL=debug
   
   # Set custom session secret (optional - auto-generated if not set)
   export SESSION_SECRET=your_secret_key_here

5. Start the server:

   ruby app.rb

   Or for development with auto-reload:

   bundle exec rerun 'rackup config.ru -p 4567'

6. Visit http://localhost:4567 in your browser

After seeding the database with rake db:seed, you can log in with these pre-configured test accounts:

• Username: admin
• Email: [email protected]
• Password: AdminPassword123!
• Role: Admin (full system access, user management, activity monitoring)

• Username: organizer
• Email: [email protected]
• Password: OrganizerPass123!
• Role: Organizer (can create and manage polls)

• Username: voter1

• Email: [email protected]

• Password: VoterPassword123!

• Role: Voter (can participate in polls)

• Username: voter2

• Email: [email protected]

• Password: VoterPassword123!

• Role: Voter (can participate in polls)

Security Note: All passwords meet the minimum security requirements (12+ characters, uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters).

The application automatically sets log levels based on the environment:

• Development: DEBUG level (detailed debugging information)
• Production: INFO level (general application flow)
• Test: WARN level (warnings and errors only)

You can override the default log level by setting the LOG_LEVEL environment variable.

• logs/application.log: All application logs
• logs/error.log: Error-level logs only

# View recent logs
tail -f logs/application.log

# Search for errors
grep "ERROR" logs/application.log

# Search for security events
grep "Security Event" logs/application.log

For detailed logging documentation, see docs/logging.md.

• Sinatra: https://sinatrarb.com/

  • Lightweight web framework for Ruby
  • RESTful routing and middleware support

• ActiveRecord: https://guides.rubyonrails.org/active_record_basics.html

  • Object-relational mapping for database operations
  • Model associations and validations

• BCrypt: https://github.com/bcrypt-ruby/bcrypt-ruby

  • Secure password hashing and authentication
  • Industry-standard encryption for user passwords

• Pundit: https://github.com/varvet/pundit

  • Object-oriented authorization for Ruby applications
  • Policy-based access control for different user roles

• Slim: http://slim-lang.com/

  • Lightweight templating engine
  • Clean, readable template syntax

• Ruby Logging: https://github.com/TwP/logging
  • Comprehensive logging framework for Ruby
  • Multiple appenders, layouts, and log levels
  • Configurable filtering and formatting

• Rake: https://github.com/ruby/rake

  • Task automation and build tool
  • Database migrations and seeding

• RSpec: https://rspec.info/

  • Behavior-driven development framework
  • Testing framework for Ruby

• Rack Test: https://github.com/rack-test/rack-test

  • Testing framework for Rack-based applications
  • HTTP request simulation for testing

• Follow Ruby style guidelines
• Use meaningful variable and method names
• Document complex methods
• Include appropriate logging statements

1. Use appropriate log levels for different environments
2. Include relevant context (user, IP, action details)
3. Avoid logging sensitive information
4. Use structured logging for consistency
5. Monitor log file sizes and implement rotation

The database design follows best practices:

• Foreign key constraints for relationships
• Indexes for faster queries
• Appropriate data types for each column

Run the test suite with:

rspec

Database errors on first run:

# If you encounter database errors, try:
rake db:drop db:migrate db:seed

Rake commands not working: If rake db:migrate or rake db:seed fail, common issues include:

• Database configuration mismatch: Ensure config/database.yml points to the correct database file
• Password validation errors: All seed passwords must be at least 12 characters and include uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters
• Missing dependencies: Run bundle install first to ensure all required gems are installed

Permission errors with SQLite:

# Ensure the db directory is writable:
chmod 755 db/

Bundle install issues:

# If you have Ruby version conflicts:
rbenv install 2.6.10
rbenv local 2.6.10
bundle install

Port already in use:

# If port 4567 is busy, specify a different port:
ruby app.rb -p 3000
# or
bundle exec rerun 'rackup config.ru -p 3000'

Consider implementing log rotation to manage file sizes:

# Example logrotate configuration
logs/*.log {
    daily
    missingok
    rotate 52
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    create 644 root root
}

The application automatically logs:

• Login attempts and failures
• Unauthorized access attempts
• Admin actions and user management
• Poll access violations
• Security-related events

MIT