The Sinatra Portfolio Project Kicked My Butt

Posted by beckybratu on August 19, 2018

A broken computer and a hefty dose of procrastination meant I didn’t tackle this project in a timely fashion. At one point, I had to abandon it altogether and move ahead through the coursework without completing it. I’d just have a mental block every time I sat down and tried to finish it. Then finally, one day, I decided I could no longer ignore it.

I built an application called Newsstand. Users can sign up to access the Newsstand, where they can browse and read the titles available. Users can also choose to sign up for one of the three subscription levels available (lite, extra, and everything), which will give them access to a certain number of titles selected for them by an editor (five, 12, and unlimited, respectively).

Initially, I had also toyed with the idea of placing the titles into certain categories (such as sports, entertainment, news, etc.), but my associations got too confusing and I couldn’t keep them straight. Plus, having the categories seemed like only a cosmetic choice. So, in the current state, a User “has_many” subscriptions and many titles through the subscription associated with the account.

I think this could be a useful application with some improvements. I am looking forward to working out what those would need to be during my review.