Atlas 3.1 Project

Background

The OpenMRS Atlas provides a voluntary registry of OpenMRS implementations all over the world. The server code was originally written using PHP and has been adapted a few times over the past decade. During GSoC 2016 and 2017, a new version of the Atlas server code was written in Node.js as the Atlas 3.0 Project, but this new, node-based server code was never deployed in production. In 2017, the broader OpenMRS infrastructure was migrated and updated so all services are deployed using Docker and single-signon was switched to LDAP. Given users could no longer authenticate to create or update their markers and, by default, untouched markers fade over time, OpenMRS Atlas was literally fading away in disrepair.

Purpose

The goal of this project was to address the remaining tasks to bring the node-based OpenMRS Atlas into production. This included some code changes, some additional features (most importantly, adding LDAP support), and ensuring the application could be deployed and configured by our infrastructure (i.e., using Docker).

Required Skills

• Nodejs
• Ability to write and refactor a REST API
• Familiarity with Docker
• Basic Javascript and HTML
• Basic SQL commands (i.e., MySQL)
• Basic Java programming (if Atlas module needs to be refactored)

Objectives

• Add LDAP support for OpenMRS ID (LDAP functionality should be isolated – i.e., avoid LDAP references spread throughout the code)

• All features, including basic administrative functions should be performed through REST API calls

• Support downloadable images (help users create an image for a slide deck without creating a burden on the server)

• Refactor marker images to be uploaded (confirm type, limit size) so they can be served securely

• Prevent javascript injections (including when displaying user-uploaded images)

Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

• Users can authenticate via LDAP
• Users can add and update markers
• Atlas module works on supported versions of the Reference Application
• Product is deployed to replace Atlas 2.1

Extra Credit

• All external/user URLs should have “rel=nofollow” (https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_a_rel.asp)

• Allow admins to access to disable/delete anything suspicious

• Notify admins when new site is added (including image)

• Atlas module works with new Atlas server on both new and legacy versions of OpenMRS 

Progress TODO List

Primary Goals

• Implement Login through LDAP (Done!)
• Support addition, updating, and deletion of markers (Done!)
• Check and store whether user is an admin (Done!)
• Create an admin page (Done!)
• Get the Atlas Module working (Done!)
• Examine and Document the API (Done, but updates are expected)
• Add some styling to the login page (Done!)
• Make it easier for a user to spot his own markers (By displaying a list/coloring markers/etc.) (Done!)

Additional Goals

• Create an RSS feed (Done!)
• Support upload of marker images
• Support download of map images (Done!)
• Implement downloading of marker data for admins (Done!)
• Allow more than own owner for a marker (Done!)
• Notify users when their marker is fading (Done!)
• Add search for markers (Done!)
• Add basic reporting resource (Done!)
• Add report screen for Atlas (Done!)

Features Implemented / Fixed

• Implemented Login through LDAP 

• Fixed addition, updating and deletion of markers

• Added admin functionality and created an admin page

• Fixed the Atlas module

• Created an RSS feed

• Implemented upload of markers

• Implemented download of map screenshots

• Allowed admins to download marker data

• Allowed markers to have co-owners

• Added Email notifications to notify owners of their fading markers

• Implemented search for markers

• Created a data page

Resources

• Atlas 3.0 Project (also, this thread in OpenMRS Talk)
• Atlas 3.1 Talk Thread
• Blog - Weekly progress on the project is documented here
• openmrs-contrib-atlas - node
• openmrs-contrib-atlas (2.1) - php - current production
• openmrs-contrib-ansible-docker-compose - used to create a local staging LDAP server
• Docker files
• CI build
• JIRA board

Infrastructure provided

• Staging LDAP with users in both atlas-user and atlas-admin groups
• Staging server (docker host)
• Bamboo pipeline deploying image to docker hub AND docker image to staging server
• LDAP credentials
• SMTP credentials
• S3 bucket to store - and serve - images (if desired)
• Backup with current data (atlas 2.1)