90 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Timestamp Microservice
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---
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## Timestamp Microservice
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---
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 Remember to use <a>**`Read-Search-Ask`**</a> if you get stuck. Try to pair program  and write your own code 
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###  Problem Explanation:
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- You need to write a microservice that will return a JSON with the date in Unix format and in a human-readable date format. The JSON format is like the example output, "{"unix":1451001600000, "utc":"Fri, 25 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT"}".
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- The response depends on the URL. If the API endpoint is hit with no additional information, it returns the JSON with the current time.
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- If the endpoint is hit with a date in unix format, it should calculate the human readable format, and vice versa.
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- Note, the challenge requires a working solution deployed to the internet and a Github repo. You can copy your Glitch intance to your Github, instructions [here:](https://glitch.com/help/github/).
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#### Relevant Links
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- [Date at MDN:](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date)
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##  Hint: 1
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You will need to create the '/api/timestamp/' endpoint separately from the endpoint that reads the date to be parsed from the URL. You won't need a conditional to deal with this endpoint.
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> _try to solve the problem now_
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##  Hint: 2
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Date.valueOf() and Date.toUTCString() will generate the correct strings for unix: and utc:. No need to import the Moment library!
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> _try to solve the problem now_
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##  Hint: 3
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The Javascript Date object checks for dates that are invalid dates under ISO-8601. Use a Javascript REPL or a short Node script to try it out. [Here is a free online service that lets you test some JS code.:]https://repl.it/site/languages/javascript
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> _try to solve the problem now_
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## Spoiler Alert!
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**Solution ahead!**
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##  Basic Code Solution:
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```javascript
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app.get('/api/timestamp/', (req, res) => {
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res.json({ unix: Date.now(), utc: Date() });
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});
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app.get('/api/timestamp/:date_string', (req, res) => {
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let dateString = req.params.date_string;
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//A 4 digit number is a valid ISO-8601 for the beginning of that year
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//5 digits or more must be a unix time, until we reach a year 10,000 problem
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if (/\d{5,}/.test(dateString)) {
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dateInt = parseInt(dateString);
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//Date regards numbers as unix timestamps, strings are processed differently
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res.json({ unix: dateString, utc: new Date(dateInt).toUTCString() });
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}
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let dateObject = new Date(dateString);
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if (dateObject.toString() === 'Invalid Date') {
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res.json({ error: 'Invaid Date' });
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} else {
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res.json({ unix: dateObject.valueOf(), utc: dateObject.toUTCString() });
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}
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});
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```
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### Code Explanation:
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- This is a pretty straightforward application of the lessons, Basic Node and Express - Serve JSON on a Specific Route
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and Basic Node and Express - Get Route Parameter Input from the Client. The added wrinkle is the use of Javascript's native Date object.
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- The route parameter is assigned to the variable dateString, and processed accordingly. If it is a 5-or more digit number, it is assumed to be a UNIX timestamp format, and cast into a number and passed to a Date object. Otherwise, it is passed to the Date object as a string.
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- This code has sequential if and if-else statements instead of a switch statement because it is easier to rely on the Date object's ability to reject invalid date formats.
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That's it. There is no intermediate or advanced solution yet. If you have a better, more elegant solution, help us all out and contribute them!
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##  NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS:
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-  **DO NOT** add solutions that are similar to any existing solutions. If you think it is **_similar but better_**, then try to merge (or replace) the existing similar solution.
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- Add an explanation of your solution.
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- Categorize the solution in one of the following categories -- **Basic**, **Intermediate** and **Advanced**. 
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