Internal Reference (v1)

This page documents the internal workings of the API server.

Data Types (Represented in MongoDB)

Account

A superschema of users and organizations. It represents any sort of registered account on the site. They share the same pool of IDs and similar behaviour.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version of the Account.
id	string	The unique ID of the Account.
email	string	Account’s email; used for sign-in and notifications.
password	string	The hash for the entity’s password.
oauth_token	string	API token for OAuth (Google, Facebook sign-in)
is_email_verified	bool	Whether or not the Account has verified their email (to activate the account).
last_login	int64	Last login time; stored as a Unix timestamp
notifications	Notification array	Stores the list of Notifications that the entity has.
avatar	string	URL to the profile picture of the account.
header	string	URL to the header image of the account.
created_at	int64	Timestamp for when the account was created.
pending_connections	string array	Pending connection requests from other Accounts. Array of IDs.
requested_connections	string array	Pending connection requests to other Accounts. Array of IDs.
posts	string array	List of Post IDs that the Account has posted.
liked	[string, int64] array	List of Post IDs that the Account has liked, with the timestamp of when it was liked.
shared	[string, int64] array	List of Post IDs that the Account has shared, with the timestamp of when it was shared.
settings	AccountSettings	The settings for the Account. Will be inherited schema (UserSettings or OrganizationSettings)
admin_note	string	A note that an admin can leave about an account.

AccountSettings

Schema representing shared account settings between Users and Organizations. This is stored within the Account object.

Field	Type	Description
allow_messages_from_unknown	bool	Whether or not to allow messages from Accounts that are not connected with this Account.
email_notifications	bool	Whether or not the user allows emails regarding notifications.

User (extends Account)

Schema representing registered users on the site. It inherits the fields from Account.

Field	Type	Description
first_name	string	The first name of the user.
middle_name	string	The middle name of the user, if applicable. (Otherwise will be blank)
last_name	string	The last name of the user.
birthday	string	The birthdate of the user (MM/DD/YYYY)
gender	string	Male, female, or other.
personal_info	UserProfile	The personal information of an user.
experiences	Experience array	List of Experiences or “roles” that the user has.

UserSettings (extends AccountSettings)

Schema representing settings specific to Users. This is stored within the Account object.

Field	Type	Description
is_full_name_visible	bool	Whether or not the user allows others to see its full name.
blocked_users	string array	Array of Account IDs for blocked users.

UserProfile

UserProfile represents the personal information of an user. This is stored within the User object.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
interests	string array	Tags that the user is interested in.
biography	string	Biography of the user.
education	undecided	undecided
quote	string	User defined quote.
current_residence	string	City that the user lives in.
certifications	undecided	undecided

Organization (extends Account)

Schema representing registered organizations on the site. It inherits fields from Account.

Field	Type	Description
preferred_name	string	Preferred name of the organization that shows up on their profile.
is_verified	bool	If the organization has been verified to exist, and the account belongs to the real organization.
opportunities	string array	List of Opportunity IDs that the organization has created.
org_info	OrganizationProfile	The organization’s public information.

OrganizationProfile

OrganizationProfile represents organization specific information that is shown on their profile. This is stored within the Organization object.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
mission	string	The organization’s stated mission.
quote	string	The organization’s specified quote.
address	Address	The organization’s headquarters location.
affiliated_orgs	string array	IDs of other organizations this organization is affiliated with.
interests	string array	Tags that the organization is interested in.
experience_validations	array of 2 string pairs (object)	List of User IDs and personal Experience IDs. Represent users seeking validation for their Experience from the organization.

OrganizationSettings (extends AccountSettings)

Settings specific to Organizations. This is stored within the Account object.

Field	Type	Description
is_nonprofit	bool	Whether or not the organization is non-profit.

Post

Represents posts and replies that Accounts create on the website.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
id	string	The unique ID of the post.
account	string	ID of the Account that posted it.
content	string	Text content of the post.
created_at	int64	Timestamp of when the post was created.
reply_to	string	ID of the Post that was replied to, if applicable.
multimedia	Attachment	Links to other media (images/videos/articles) that are attached to the post. Displayed separately.
tags	string array	Tags that the post is categorized under.
likes_count	int32	Number of likes for the post.
comments_count	int32	Number of comments for the post.
shares_count	int32	Number of shares for the post.
likes	[string, int64] array	Array of Account IDs and timestamps representing accounts that have liked the post, and when.
comments	string array	Array of Post IDs that Accounts have posted on the post.
shares	[string, int64] array	Array of Account IDs representing accounts that have shared the post, and the timestamp of when.
visibility	string	Visibility of the post on the account’s profile.

Attachment

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
type	string	The type of the attachment (image, news post, video, etc.)
url	string	URL of the attachment.
description	string	Description of the attachment, if applicable.

Opportunity

An opportunity object represents an opportunity that an organization has for people to sign up for. This can be for an event (Canada Day), or simply a shift for a job (food bank). Organizations can choose whether or not they want to use the built-in mechanism for signing up users. They will have a choice to allow users to either sign up for a shift directly on the site, or to let the organization know which users have expressed their interest for the position.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
organization	string	ID of the Organization that created it.
id	string	ID of the Opportunity.
name	string	Name of the Opportunity.
description	string	Description of the Opportunity.
address	Address	Address of where the Opportunity takes place.
is_signups_enabled	bool	Whether or not the website will handle signups for each shift, or if it will simply only display interested users.
number_of_people_needed	int32	Amount of people needed for the opportunity; only enabled if signups are done on the site.
tags	string array	Categories that this opportunity falls under (ex. #foodbank, #richmondhill)
interested_users	string array	The IDs of the users that have confirmed their interest for the opportunity. If signups are enabled, it will also show their interest for whatever shift they chose. This is only accessible to organization.
shift_times	array of 2 strings pairs (object)	Shift times of the opportunity, if the signups for it are done on the website.
method_of_contact	string	If signups are not enabled, a method of contact (email, messaging) is provided to allow users to contact the organization for more information.
created_at	int64	Timestamp of when the Opportunity was created.

Experience

An experience represents an experience that a user has had. This can include jobs (a shift at McDonald’s), volunteer shifts, and a role that a person has in an organization (club president for DECA at Richmond Hill High). It is optional to get it verified by the organization. Experiences can be tied to existing Opportunity objects, to show that the user has participated in that specific opportunity. Experiences are stored under the corresponding user’s schema.

Field	Type	Description
schema_version	int32	The schema version.
location	Address	Location that the event had taken place.
id	string	ID of the Experience. The IDs are specific to the user.
organization	string	Organization ID if the experience is being tied to an Organization on the site.
opportunity	string	Opportunity ID if the experience is being tied to a specific Organization on the site.
description	string	A user-defined description of the experience. Another description might be provided from an Opportunity if it is tied to one.
when	2 strings (tuple)	When the Experience took place (ex. Sept. 2015 - Aug. 2016)
is_verified	bool	Whether or not this Experience has been verified by the Organization specified. If no organization is specified, it will not show as verified.
email_verify	bool	Whether or not this experience is being verified by email (instead of account).
created_at	int64	Timestamp of when the Experience was created.
hours	int64	Number of hours spent on the experience.
emailjwt	string	JWT for email verification.

Notification

IDs are specific to a user.

Field	Type	Description
id	int64	ID of the notification. Specific to the user.
created_at	int64	Timestamp of when the notification was created.
type	string	The notification type.
content	string	The content of the notification.
account	string	The account that caused the notification, if applicable.

Address

May be replaced by MongoDB Geospatial objects.

Field	Type
street	string
city	string
province	string
country	string
postal_code	string
apt_number	string
geojson	GeoJSON point

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Useful links

• [https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/indexes/]