Requirements

Let's imagine we're building a Design Library Management System. This system isn't just a file repository; it's a comprehensive tool for designers to discover, share, and collaborate on design assets. Think of it as a sophisticated version of Google Drive, specifically tailored for design workflows and the unique needs of design teams. The system needs to handle different types of assets (images, videos, fonts, templates, etc.), support version control, facilitate collaboration (reviews, comments), and provide a robust search functionality. This system is used by hundreds of designers concurrently, so performance and data consistency are crucial. This system will manage "Design Assets". A Design Asset can be anything from a simple button graphic to a complex UI template. Each asset has metadata such as name, description, tags, and the actual data/file associated with it. Assets are organized into "Collections" or "Folders," which are hierarchical. Users can "Check-out" an asset for modification and "Check-in" the updated version. The system must ensure that only one user can modify an asset at a time. Designers use search to find relevant assets. Search needs to be efficient and return relevant results based on metadata and content (where applicable). # Requirements ## Functional Requirements 1. **Asset Management:** * Create new assets: Support uploading different file types (images, videos, fonts, design templates, etc.). The system needs to identify file types and store the associated data. * Update existing assets: Allow users to modify assets and save new versions. Each version should be retrievable. * Delete assets: Allow users to delete assets (soft delete with archive). * Check-in/Check-out: Support exclusive locking of assets to prevent concurrent modifications. Implement a mechanism to manage check-out timeouts and force check-in in case of user inactivity. * Versioning: Maintain a history of all asset versions. Allow users to retrieve specific versions or compare different versions. * Metadata Management: Allow users to add and edit metadata for assets (name, description, tags, author, creation date, modification date, etc.). Support custom metadata fields based on asset type. * Preview Generation: Generate previews for different asset types (thumbnails for images, previews for videos, font previews, template previews). 2. **Collection Management:** * Create collections (folders): Allow users to create a hierarchical folder structure to organize assets. * Move assets between collections: Allow users to move assets between different folders. * Rename collections: Allow users to rename collections. * Delete collections: Allow users to delete collections (soft delete with archive). * Collection Permissions: Implement access control at the collection level. Allow administrators to grant different permissions to users or groups (read, write, admin). 3. **Search and Discovery:** * Full-text search: Allow users to search for assets based on metadata (name, description, tags) and content (where applicable, e.g., text within design templates). * Faceted search: Allow users to filter search results based on different criteria (asset type, creation date, author, tags). * Tagging: Allow users to tag assets with keywords to improve searchability. * Saved Searches: Ability for users to save commonly used search queries. 4. **Collaboration:** * Commenting: Allow users to add comments to assets and collections. * Review workflows: Implement a review workflow where assets can be submitted for review and approved by designated reviewers. * Notifications: Implement a notification system to inform users about changes to assets or collections they are following (e.g., new version, new comment, review request). * Sharing: Allow users to share assets and collections with other users or groups. 5. **User Management:** * Authentication and Authorization: Secure user authentication and authorization. Integrate with existing authentication providers (e.g., LDAP, SSO). * Role-based access control: Implement role-based access control to restrict access to certain features and data. ## Non-Functional Requirements 1. **Thread Safety:** The system must be thread-safe, ensuring data consistency and preventing race conditions when multiple users access and modify assets concurrently. Employ appropriate locking mechanisms (e.g., synchronized blocks, ReentrantLock) to protect shared resources. 2. **Extensibility:** The system should be designed to easily accommodate new asset types, metadata fields, search algorithms, and collaboration features. Use design patterns like Strategy, Factory, and Observer to achieve extensibility. 3. **Modularity:** The system should be divided into loosely coupled modules with well-defined interfaces. This will improve maintainability and testability. Aim for high cohesion within modules and low coupling between modules. 4. **Testability:** The system should be designed to be easily testable. Use dependency injection to facilitate unit testing and integration testing. 5. **Performance:** The system should be responsive and efficient. Optimize search algorithms, data access patterns, and caching strategies to minimize latency. * Caching needs to be implemented via interfaces and configurable. 6. **Scalability:** The system should be scalable to handle a growing number of assets and users. Consider using a distributed architecture and caching mechanisms. * Scalability primarily refers to in-memory scalability and class design (e.g., avoiding singletons that become bottlenecks). 7. **Security:** Protect the system from unauthorized access and data breaches. Implement appropriate security measures, such as input validation, data encryption, and access control. ## Core Entities 1. **Asset:** Represents a design asset, containing metadata (name, description, tags), the actual file data (or a reference to the file), version history, and check-in/check-out status. 2. **Collection:** Represents a folder or collection of assets, organized in a hierarchical structure. Contains metadata (name, description), a list of assets, and sub-collections. 3. **User:** Represents a user of the system, with authentication credentials, roles, and permissions. 4. **Version:** Represents a specific version of an asset, containing the asset data at a particular point in time. 5. **Metadata:** Encapsulates asset metadata, including standard fields (name, description, tags) and custom fields. 6. **Lock:** Represents a lock on an asset, held by a specific user. This ensures that only one user can modify an asset at a time. The Lock should also contain the timestamp of acquisition so it can expire if a user forgets to check in. 7. **SearchService:** An interface defining search capabilities. Concrete implementations handle different search algorithms (e.g., full-text search, faceted search). 8. **NotificationService:** An interface defining notification sending. Concrete implementations handle different notification channels (e.g., email, push notifications). 9. **Cache:** An interface for caching frequently accessed assets and metadata. Different cache implementations (e.g., in-memory cache, distributed cache) can be used.

Design library management system.

Requirements

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