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Sprint 3 @ CACIB - JSON-Avro Tool (1)

Sprint recap [26/08/2024 - 9/09/2024]. Working on the JSON-Avro tool's frontend and backend.

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By Ryo Wijaya
1 min read

Jira Tickets

  1. MVP 1 of the JSON-Avro tool (JSON to Avro conversion)
    • Spillover from last sprint.
  2. MVP 2 of the JSON-Avro tool (Avro to JSON conversion)
    • Involves reversing the data conversions performed in the first MVP.
  3. MVP 3 of the JSON-Avro tool (Thymeleaf UI)
    • Spring MVC controllers for the tool and a Thymeleaf UI (server-side rendering).

Main Activities

  • SonarQube Integration: Integrated SonarQube into the project and addressed code smells.
  • MVP 2 Work: Started working on the Avro-to-JSON conversion.
  • MVP 3 Work: Developed the Thymeleaf UI for the JSON-Avro tool. The tool was dockerized and hosted on Kubernetes by a company architect.
  • Merge Request (MVP 1, 2 and 3): Documented and created merge requests for the JSON-Avro conversion tool.
    • Fixed MR comments regarding code quality.
  • Support: Provided user support for the JSON-Avro conversion tool.
  • Demo: Demo-ed the JSON-Avro conversion tool to internal stakeholders in Singapore and Paris as part of the sprint demo.

Key Challenges/Blockers

  • Unfamiliar Technology: Worked with Thymeleaf & Spring Web MVC for the first time, which took some ramp-up.
  • JSON Un-nesting Complexity: Dealing with un-nesting JSON nodes during the Avro-to-JSON conversion was more challenging than expected.
    • Recursively un-nesting nested types like arrays and records increased complexity.
    • In contrast, converting JSON to Avro mainly involves aligning the JSON structure with the Avro schema.
  • Encoding Differences: Encountered character encoding issues between web and CLI environments.
    • The tool has 2 clients, web and CLI. The web UI defaulted to ISO_8859-1 encoding, while the CLI used UTF-8, which caused a decimal decoding issue.

Learning Outcomes

  • Thymeleaf & Spring MVC: Gained experience with Thymeleaf and Spring Web MVC.
  • Character Encodings: Learned about character encodings and differences between environments.
  • Stepping into the Client’s Shoes: While a developer would be happy to get a full stack-trace whenever an error occurs, a less technically-inclined client would want something more easily understood. It’s possible to make both groups happy though. The solution is setting up a server logging strategy combined with returning friendly error messages to the client.
Crédit Agricole, Sprints
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