Explanation

Using Ruby and TDD (utilizing Rspec) I was asked to create a menu that could be used in the command line to add, update and delete Address Bloc Users.

Problem

In addition to the creation of the program, the following were required pieces of functionality. The ability for a user to…

• See the current number of total entries
• Add individual entries and import multiple from a CSV file
• View all entries (one by one)
• Search for an entry by name or entry number
• Update existing entries
• Delete individual or all entries
• Exit the program

Solution

I created a Ruby program to handle the address book. I choose to…

• Keep the view basic utilizing the command line and submenus as needed for intuitive navigation.
• Create two models one for individual entries and one to store the entries in an array providing an easy way to add, remove, and count entries.
• Create a controller to display the appropriate menu and process user input that utilizes gets and puts, case statements and multiple custom methods for each action.
• Create methods to import from a CSV file, utilizing the CSV class methods.
• Implement binary search for entries to speed the search

Results

All user requirements were met. I tested it using test cases I created as well as manually testing it.

Conclusion

• This is a good starter project utilizing Ruby to understand some of the MVC structure.
• There are improvements I would make from a UX perspective.
  • When you choose view all you still only see individual entries (per the requested spec) but I would have it display all or rename the selection to set expectations.
  • For the edit method, I would build it so that it populates the current info for each instead of blank being considered “no change”.
  • The entry number doesn’t start with one since it is an array. I would either indicate that or alter it in the backend to make it more intuitive.