System Architecture
Below is a diagram of the current system architecture:
The slackbot is implemented here. We use Slack as our front-end due to simplicity of use, message formatting, search capability, and for its ability to support multiple bots. This allowed us to each our own set of keys to run independent bots that we can all still see and interact with. This allowed us to focus on the back-end and improving our query handling. When the SlackBot Listener receives a message, it makes a POST request to the API. The API uses our Query Router to process the message and queries Elasticsearch appropiately. The response is then parsed and returned to the SlackBot for display.
Please see the Query Router Page
Please see the Elasticsearch Page
The ChrisJones API is a Flask app that effectively acts as a wrapper for chrisjones.py. It allows end-users to make POST requests to our system, rather than needing to import all the files into their own projects. This allows a number of different front-ends to be rapidly developed independently from the core work on this project, such as quickly making a Facebook Messenger bot or application directly on their website if that would be more useful for the Tribune.