Revive Programmatic Markdown Builder: Phase 1 Guide

by Henrik Larsen 52 views

Hey guys! Let's dive into the exciting journey of reviving and enhancing our programmatic markdown builder. This is a crucial step towards making our report generation more robust and efficient. We're talking about taking our deprecated MarkdownConverter in internal/converter/markdown.go and turning it into a powerhouse for programmatic report generation. Buckle up; it's going to be a fun ride!

Objective

The main objective here is to breathe new life into our existing but deprecated MarkdownConverter. We want to create a solid foundation that allows us to generate reports programmatically. This means we're aiming for a system where we can define the structure and content of our reports using code, making the process more flexible, maintainable, and less prone to errors. Think of it as moving from hand-crafting each report to having a machine that can assemble them perfectly every time. This is essential for scaling our operations and ensuring consistency across all our generated documents.

Tasks

To achieve our objective, we've outlined a series of tasks that will guide our development process. Let's break them down:

1. Revive the Deprecated MarkdownConverter Implementation

First things first, we need to dust off the old MarkdownConverter and get it back in working order. This involves understanding why it was deprecated in the first place and addressing any underlying issues. It’s like rescuing an old car from the garage – we need to check the engine, replace any worn-out parts, and make sure it’s ready to hit the road again. This step is critical because the MarkdownConverter will serve as the base upon which we build our new system. We'll need to carefully review the existing code, identify areas for improvement, and ensure it aligns with our current architectural standards. This might involve refactoring, bug fixing, and adding new features to bring it up to par.

2. Create a Comprehensive ReportBuilder Interface with Core Section Methods

Next up, we're going to design a ReportBuilder interface. This interface will define the blueprint for how we construct our reports. It will include core section methods that represent the fundamental parts of a report, such as system information, network configurations, security settings, and service details. Think of the ReportBuilder as the architect of our reports, dictating the structure and layout. This is where we define the high-level components that make up a report. By using an interface, we ensure flexibility and maintainability, allowing us to swap out different implementations of the builder without affecting the rest of the system. This design decision is key for future extensibility and adaptability.

3. Implement Shared Component Builders for Tables (Firewall Rules, Interfaces, Users)

Reports often contain repetitive elements, such as tables for firewall rules, network interfaces, and user accounts. To avoid duplicating code and ensure consistency, we'll create shared component builders for these tables. These builders will encapsulate the logic for generating tables in a standardized format. It's like having a set of pre-fabricated building blocks that we can use to construct different parts of our reports. This approach not only saves us time and effort but also ensures that our tables look consistent across all reports. This is a significant step towards creating a modular and reusable system.

4. Add Support for Both Standard and Comprehensive Report Formats

Not all reports are created equal. Some require a concise summary, while others need a deep dive into the details. Therefore, we'll add support for both standard and comprehensive report formats. This means our ReportBuilder will be able to generate reports with varying levels of detail, depending on the specific requirements. It’s like having a dial that lets us adjust the intensity of the report, from a quick overview to an exhaustive analysis. This flexibility is crucial for catering to different audiences and use cases. We'll need to design our system to handle these different formats gracefully, ensuring that the right information is included in each type of report. This is an essential feature for making our reports truly versatile.

5. Ensure Type-Safe Field Access with Compile-Time Guarantees

One of the goals is to ensure type safety throughout the report generation process. We want to catch errors early, during compilation, rather than at runtime. This means using strong typing to ensure that we're accessing fields correctly and that the data we're using is of the expected type. Think of it as having a rigorous quality control system that prevents faulty reports from being generated. This approach reduces the risk of unexpected errors and makes our code more reliable. Type safety is paramount for building a robust and maintainable system.

6. Add Unit Tests for Each Builder Method

Last but not least, we're going to write comprehensive unit tests for each builder method. This is a critical step in ensuring the quality and reliability of our system. Unit tests will verify that each component of the ReportBuilder works as expected, catching bugs and preventing regressions. It’s like having a safety net that catches us if we make a mistake. Thorough testing is essential for building confidence in our code and ensuring that our reports are generated correctly. We'll aim for high test coverage, ensuring that every line of code is exercised by our tests.

Implementation Details

Here’s a glimpse of what the ReportBuilder interface might look like in Go:

type ReportBuilder interface {
    // Core sections
    BuildSystemSection(data *model.OpnSenseDocument) string
    BuildNetworkSection(data *model.OpnSenseDocument) string
    BuildSecuritySection(data *model.OpnSenseDocument) string
    BuildServicesSection(data *model.OpnSenseDocument) string
    
    // Shared components
    BuildFirewallRulesTable(rules []model.Rule) *markdown.TableSet
    BuildInterfaceTable(interfaces model.Interfaces) *markdown.TableSet
    BuildUserTable(users []model.User) *markdown.TableSet
}

This interface defines the core methods for building different sections of a report, as well as methods for generating shared components like tables. The BuildSystemSection, BuildNetworkSection, BuildSecuritySection, and BuildServicesSection methods will handle the creation of the main sections of the report, while the BuildFirewallRulesTable, BuildInterfaceTable, and BuildUserTable methods will generate tables for specific data types. This structure allows for a clear separation of concerns and makes the code easier to understand and maintain.

Acceptance Criteria

To ensure we've met our goals, we've defined a set of acceptance criteria:

  1. Programmatic builder achieves feature parity with current template output: Our new builder must be able to generate reports that are functionally equivalent to those produced by our current template-based system. This means that all the information present in the existing reports should also be included in the reports generated by the new builder. This is essential for a smooth transition and ensuring that we don't lose any functionality.
  2. All builder methods have comprehensive unit tests: We need to have thorough unit tests for every method in our ReportBuilder. This ensures that each component works as expected and that we can catch bugs early. Think of it as a safety net that prevents faulty reports from being generated. Comprehensive testing is key for building a robust and reliable system.
  3. No runtime template parsing required for default operation: We want to eliminate the need for runtime template parsing, as this can be a performance bottleneck and a source of errors. Our goal is to generate reports directly from code, without relying on external templates. This approach improves performance and makes our system more predictable. This is a significant improvement over our current approach.
  4. Full IDE support with IntelliSense and refactoring capabilities: Our new system should play nicely with modern IDEs, providing features like IntelliSense (code completion) and refactoring support. This makes development easier and less error-prone. Think of it as having a helpful assistant that guides you as you write code. Full IDE support is essential for a productive development environment.

References

Let's get this done, guys! This is going to be awesome!