Team Station Assignment Application

This web application allows the dynamic assignment of teams to stations, managing a queue for teams waiting for available stations, and providing real-time updates for both team assignments and the queue.

Features

• Assign Teams to Stations: Teams can be assigned to the highest available active station.
• Queue Management: Teams can be added to the queue when no stations are available.
• Auto-remove: Teams are automatically removed from stations after 5 minutes unless manually removed.
• Real-time Updates: The current team assignments and queue are updated in real-time every 5 seconds without requiring a page refresh.

Requirements

To run this application, you need the following:

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Flask
• Additional Python libraries (threading, time)

Installation and Setup

Step 1: Clone the repository

Clone the repository to your local machine using Git:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/team-station-assignment.git
cd team-station-assignment

Step 2: Install dependencies

It’s recommended to use a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with other projects.

1. Create a virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv venv

2. Activate the virtual environment:

   • On Windows:

     venv\Scripts\activate

   • On Mac/Linux:

     source venv/bin/activate

3. Install required dependencies:

   pip install flask

Step 3: Run the Application

To start the application, run the following command:

python app.py

The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:5000/ by default.

Step 4: Access the Pages

• Main page (/): The home page where you can assign teams to stations and manage station statuses.
• Assignments page (/assignments): A separate page displaying the current station assignments and team queue. This page updates in real-time every 5 seconds.
• Station Status page (/station): A page to where each station can access the information about station assignments and team queues, and alert the main page when a team has arrived to the station and a new team is ready to be assigned.

Real-time Updates

The assignments and station pages uses AJAX polling to fetch the latest team assignments and queue every 1 seconds without requiring a page refresh. This ensures that all users see the most up-to-date data without needing to reload the page manually.

API Endpoints

• /assign: Assign a team to the highest available active station. The team is added to the queue if no stations are available.

  • Method: POST
  • Body: JSON with the team name.
  • Example Request:

    {
      "team": "Team A"
    }

• /remove: Remove a team from a station or queue.

  • Method: POST
  • Body: JSON with the team name.
  • Example Request:

    {
      "team": "Team A"
    }

• /toggle_active: Toggle the active status of a station (activate or deactivate).

  • Method: POST
  • Body: JSON with the station number.
  • Example Request:

    {
      "station": 1
    }

• /get_assignments: Retrieve the current team assignments and the team queue as JSON.

  • Method: GET
  • Example Response:

    {
      "stations": {
        "1": "Team A",
        "2": null,
        "3": "Team B"
      },
      "active_status": {
        "1": true,
        "2": false,
        "3": true
      },
      "team_queue": ["Team C", "Team D"]
    }

Deployment

To deploy this app to a cloud platform (e.g., Vercel, Heroku), follow these steps:

Vercel

1. Install Vercel CLI:

   npm install -g vercel

2. Link your project:

   vercel

3. Follow the prompts to deploy.

4. After deployment, the app will be available at the URL provided by Vercel.

Heroku

1. Install Heroku CLI:

   brew install heroku

2. Create a Procfile with the following content:

   web: python app.py
   

3. Log in to Heroku and create a new app:

   heroku login
   heroku create

4. Deploy your app to Heroku:

   git push heroku master

5. Open the deployed app:

   heroku open

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Any Questions?

Andrew T. Pipo

937-631-5036

atpipo2026@gmail.com

pipoat@mail.uc.edu

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This README provides all necessary information to run, test, and deploy the application. For any issues or contributions, feel free to submit an issue or pull request.