Interview Exercise2

rails_exercise.md

Ruby on Rails Exercise for Interview

Task Description:

In this exercise, you are required to create a simple Ruby on Rails API endpoint. This task is designed to assess your knowledge of Rails routing, controllers, and basic data handling.

Duration:
20 minutes

Objective:

Create a Rails API endpoint that performs the following operations:

1. Endpoint Name: /api/v1/messages
2. HTTP Method: POST
3. Functionality:
   • Accept a JSON request with two parameters: username (string) and message (string).
   • Validates that both username and message are present. If either is missing, the endpoint should return a 400 Bad Request status with a relevant error message.
   • If both parameters are present, the endpoint should return a 200 OK status with a JSON response that includes a timestamp and echoes back the received username and message.

Expected JSON Request Format:

{
  "username": "sampleUser",
  "message": "Hello, Rails!"
}

Expected JSON Response Format:

On Success:

{
  "timestamp": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "username": "sampleUser",
  "message": "Hello, Rails!"
}

On Failure (e.g., missing parameters):

{
  "error": "Missing required parameters"
}

Guidelines:

• Create a new controller named MessagesController.
• Define the POST route in config/routes.rb.
• Implement the logic in the create action of the controller.
• Ensure the response is in JSON format.
• Write clean, readable code and handle potential errors gracefully.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Correct implementation of the endpoint.
• Proper handling of HTTP methods and status codes.
• Code readability and structure.
• Handling of edge cases and errors.

Notes:

• You don't need to set up a database for this exercise. The focus is on routing, controller logic, and data handling.
• Use comments to explain your thought process if needed.