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Workshop Mode

In Workshop mode, DECSYS is designed to run self-contained on an "Admin" computer.

Once running, the user of the Admin computer can create and configure Surveys, and then launch them. They do this by accessing the running application via a web browser.

The data is stored locally on the Admin computer in a lightweight database.

Because the application runs a web server, other devices on the same network as the Admin computer can then connect as Participants, wherein they can take Surveys that have been launched by the Admin.

Single Process Architecture​

Although this is a web application with a database, and separate server and client parts, it is all currently run in a single process: You just run the one application and everything else is taken care of.

The .NET Backend API is the single host process for the whole platform:

  • It is provided as a binary that can be run by the Admin user.
  • It hosts and serves the Frontend Web App
  • It hosts and serves any uploaded Images from disk
  • It runs an in-process NoSQL Database, which stores data locally on disk.

This approach aids in the original intended local use of the Platform - on one physical Admin computer on a local network only. It means an easy zero-configuration approach to getting started making and running Surveys.

Database​

The Database used is LiteDB (5.x), which is an embedded NoSQL database for .NET Standard.

  • It uses the MongoDB API and is similarly featured to Mongo, so should be accessible for people used to working with NoSQL.
  • It's embedded, allowing the single-process design to simplify zero-config running of the Survey Platform for Admins.
  • It's for .NET, for which the backend application (the host process) is written.

Currently Survey configuration data and Survey Instance metadata are stored in a primary database called user-surveys.db, and Participant Event Logs are stored in a separate database per Survey Instance. Each of these databases is prefixed events_.