ProgramInformationV2

A comprehensive Blazor-based management system for organizing and maintaining educational programs, credentials, courses, and requirement sets.

Overview

ProgramInformationV2 is a modern web application designed to manage academic program information, course catalogs, credentials, and associated data. The system provides a complete solution for educational institutions to organize, search, and maintain their course and program offerings.

Architecture

The solution consists of four main projects:

ProgramInformationV2 (Main Blazor Application)

• Technology: ASP.NET Core 8.0 Blazor Server
• Purpose: Primary web interface for managing programs, credentials, courses, and sections
• Authentication: Microsoft Identity (Azure AD/Entra ID)
• Production URL: https://course.wigg.illinois.edu
• Key Features:
  • Interactive Blazor components for data management
  • Role-based security and access control
  • Rich text editing capabilities
  • File upload and image management
  • Audit logging and reporting
  • Course import functionality
  • Advanced filtering and search

ProgramInformationV2.Function (API Layer)

• Technology: Azure Functions v4 (.NET 8.0)
• Purpose: RESTful API for data access and integrations
• Production URL: https://courseapi.wigg.illinois.edu
• Documentation: Swagger UI available at https://courseapi.wigg.illinois.edu/api/swagger/ui
• Features:
  • OpenAPI/Swagger documentation
  • CORS-enabled endpoints
  • Integration with SQL Server and OpenSearch

ProgramInformationV2.Data (Data Access Layer)

• Technology: .NET 8.0 Class Library
• Purpose: Entity Framework Core data access and business logic
• Features:
  • SQL Server database integration
  • Entity Framework Core migrations
  • Azure Blob Storage integration for file uploads
  • Course import helpers
  • Cache management
  • Field validation and management

ProgramInformationV2.Search (Search Layer)

• Technology: .NET 8.0 Class Library
• Purpose: Search functionality using AWS OpenSearch Service
• Features:
  • OpenSearch client integration
  • AWS SigV4 authentication
  • Index management for courses, programs, credentials, requirement sets, and static codes
  • Search helpers and query builders

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK
• Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code
• SQL Server (Express or higher)
• AWS OpenSearch Service instance
• Azure Storage Account (for file uploads)
• Azure AD tenant (for authentication)

Local Development Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/web-illinois/data-course.git
   cd data-course

2. Configure User Secrets

   Set the ProgramInformationV2 project as the startup project, then configure your connection strings and secrets:

   dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:AppConnection" "Server=YOUR_SERVER;Database=ProgramInfoV2;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True" --project ProgramInformationV2
   dotnet user-secrets set "SearchUrl" "YOUR_OPENSEARCH_URL" --project ProgramInformationV2
   dotnet user-secrets set "AzureStorage" "YOUR_STORAGE_URL" --project ProgramInformationV2
   dotnet user-secrets set "AzureAccountName" "YOUR_ACCOUNT_NAME" --project ProgramInformationV2
   dotnet user-secrets set "AzureAccountKey" "YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY" --project ProgramInformationV2
   dotnet user-secrets set "AzureImageContainerName" "YOUR_CONTAINER_NAME" --project ProgramInformationV2

3. Configure OpenSearch Access

   Ensure your IP address is whitelisted in the AWS OpenSearch Service security group. You can check your IP at http://checkip.amazonaws.com/

4. Initialize the Database

   The application will automatically create database tables on first run. To manually manage migrations:

   # Create a new migration
   Add-Migration -Name YourMigrationName -Project ProgramInformationV2.Data
   
   # Apply migrations to database
   Update-Database -Project ProgramInformationV2.Data

5. Run the Application

   Set ProgramInformationV2 as the startup project and press F5 to run.

Troubleshooting Common Setup Issues

• Certificate Trust Error: Add TrustServerCertificate=True to your SQL Server connection string
• OpenSearch Connection: Verify your IP is whitelisted and the SearchUrl is correct
• Azure AD Authentication: Ensure your AzureAd configuration in appsettings.json matches your tenant

?? Entity Framework Core Migrations

Always ensure ProgramInformationV2 is set as the startup project when running EF Core commands:

# Add a new migration
Add-Migration -Name MigrationName -Project ProgramInformationV2.Data

# Update database to latest migration
Update-Database -Project ProgramInformationV2.Data

# Rollback to a specific migration
Update-Database -Migration MigrationName -Project ProgramInformationV2.Data

OpenSearch Management

Index Structure

• pcr2_courses - Course catalog data
• pcr2_programs - Academic programs
• pcr2_requirementsets - Requirement sets and course groupings
• pcr2_staticcode - Static code lookups
• pcr2_credentials - Credential information

Delete Test Data

Use these OpenSearch queries to remove test data:

POST /pcr2_courses/_delete_by_query
{ "query": { "match": { "source": "test" } } }

POST /pcr2_requirementsets/_delete_by_query
{ "query": { "match": { "source": "test" } } }

POST /pcr2_programs/_delete_by_query
{ "query": { "match": { "source": "test" } } }

POST /pcr2_staticcode/_delete_by_query
{ "query": { "match": { "source": "test" } } }

POST /pcr2_credentials/_delete_by_query
{ "query": { "match": { "source": "test" } } }

Database Maintenance

Delete Sources Marked for Deletion

DELETE FROM dbo.FieldSources WHERE SourceId IN (SELECT ID FROM Sources WHERE RequestDeletion = 1);
DELETE FROM dbo.Logs WHERE SourceId IN (SELECT ID FROM Sources WHERE RequestDeletion = 1);
DELETE FROM dbo.SecurityEntries WHERE SourceId IN (SELECT ID FROM Sources WHERE RequestDeletion = 1);
DELETE FROM dbo.TagSources WHERE SourceId IN (SELECT ID FROM Sources WHERE RequestDeletion = 1);
DELETE FROM Sources WHERE RequestDeletion = 1;

Deployment

Production Deployment

• Method: CI/CD pipeline (automated)
• Blazor App: Deployed to Azure App Service
• Azure Functions: Deployed to Azure Functions hosting
• Database: Azure SQL Database or SQL Server
• Search: AWS OpenSearch Service
• Storage: Azure Blob Storage

Development/Staging

Development is primarily done on local machines. Temporary staging sites can be deployed when end users need to review work in progress.

Key Features

• Program Management: Create and manage academic programs with credentials and courses
• Credential Management: Define credentials, requirements, and course associations
• Course Catalog: Comprehensive course information including sections, faculty, schedules
• Requirement Sets: Build and manage curriculum requirements and course groupings
• Search Functionality: Advanced search across programs, courses, credentials using OpenSearch
• Security & Access Control: Role-based security with source-level permissions
• Audit Trail: Complete logging of changes and user actions
• Course Import: Import course data from external systems
• Filters: Advanced filtering capabilities for courses and programs
• Configuration Management: JSON import/export for backup and migration

Technology Stack

• Frontend: Blazor Server (ASP.NET Core 8.0)
• Backend: Azure Functions v4
• Database: SQL Server with Entity Framework Core 8.0
• Search: AWS OpenSearch Service (with OpenSearch.Client 1.8.0)
• Authentication: Microsoft Identity Web (Azure AD)
• Storage: Azure Blob Storage
• UI Components: Illinois Web Components, Blazored TextEditor
• Bundling: WebOptimizer

Project Structure

ProgramInformationV2/
??? Components/
?   ??? Controls/          # Reusable Blazor components
?   ??? Layout/            # Layout components (MainLayout, Sidebar, etc.)
?   ??? Pages/             # Page components organized by feature
?       ??? Course/        # Course management pages
?       ??? Program/       # Program management pages
?       ??? Credential/    # Credential management pages
?       ??? RequirementSet/# Requirement set pages
?       ??? Configuration/ # Admin configuration
?       ??? Audit/         # Audit and reporting
?       ??? FieldsUsed/    # Field usage tracking
??? Controllers/           # MVC controllers
??? Helpers/              # Utility helpers

ProgramInformationV2.Data/
??? DataContext/          # EF Core DbContext
??? DataHelpers/          # Data access helpers
??? Migrations/           # EF Core migrations
??? Models/               # Entity models

ProgramInformationV2.Search/
??? Models/               # Search model definitions
??? Getters/              # Search query helpers
??? Setters/              # Index update helpers

ProgramInformationV2.Function/
??? Functions/            # Azure Function endpoints

Contributing

This is a project by IT Partners at the University of Illinois. For contribution guidelines or questions, please contact the development team.

Support

For issues or questions:

• Check the Swagger API documentation at https://courseapi.wigg.illinois.edu/api/swagger/ui
• Contact the IT Partners development team
• Review audit logs in the application for troubleshooting