README

Polaris Notifications Package

A Laravel package for tracking and analyzing Polaris ILS notification delivery across multiple channels (Email, SMS, Voice, Mail) with Shoutbomb integration.

Features

✅ Built-in Dashboard: Visualize notification data out-of-the-box with charts and metrics
✅ RESTful API: Access data programmatically for custom integrations
✅ Direct MSSQL Connection: Connect to Polaris ILS database
✅ Shoutbomb Integration: Import SMS/Voice delivery reports via FTP
✅ Email Report Ingester: Automated IMAP email fetching and parsing for Shoutbomb reports
✅ Automated Imports: Schedule daily/hourly imports via Laravel scheduler
✅ Real-time Tracking: Track notification delivery across all channels
✅ Historical Analysis: Aggregated summaries and trend analysis
✅ Comprehensive Commands: Artisan commands for all operations
✅ Fully Customizable: Publish views, disable components, use API only
✅ Docker Ready: Complete Docker setup with SQL Server driver pre-installed

Installation

🐳 Using Docker? See Docker Setup Guide for a complete Docker-based installation with the SQL Server driver pre-configured.

Standard Installation

1. Install the package via Composer

composer require dcplibrary/notifications

2. Publish configuration file

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=notifications-config

This creates config/notifications.php where you can configure database connections, FTP settings, and other options.

3. Configure environment variables

Add the following to your .env file:

# Polaris MSSQL Database
POLARIS_DB_DRIVER=dblib  # Use 'dblib' for Linux/FreeTDS or 'sqlsrv' for Windows
POLARIS_DB_HOST=your-polaris-server.local
POLARIS_DB_PORT=1433
POLARIS_DB_DATABASE=Polaris
POLARIS_DB_USERNAME=your-username
POLARIS_DB_PASSWORD=your-password
POLARIS_REPORTING_ORG_ID=3

# Shoutbomb FTP (optional)
SHOUTBOMB_ENABLED=true
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_HOST=ftp.shoutbomb.com
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_PORT=21
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_USERNAME=your-username
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_PASSWORD=your-password
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_PASSIVE=true
SHOUTBOMB_FTP_SSL=false

# Email Reports (optional)
EMAIL_REPORTS_ENABLED=true
EMAIL_HOST=imap.example.com
EMAIL_PORT=993
EMAIL_USERNAME=your-email@example.com
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your-password
EMAIL_ENCRYPTION=ssl
EMAIL_MAILBOX=INBOX
EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=shoutbomb

4. Run migrations

php artisan migrate

This creates the following tables:

notification_logs - Main notification tracking table
shoutbomb_deliveries - SMS/Voice delivery tracking
shoutbomb_keyword_usage - Patron keyword interactions
shoutbomb_registrations - Subscriber statistics
daily_notification_summary - Aggregated daily summaries

Usage

Test Connections

Before importing data, test your connections:

php artisan notifications:test-connections

Test specific connections:

php artisan notifications:test-connections --polaris
php artisan notifications:test-connections --shoutbomb
php artisan notifications:test-connections --email

Import Polaris Notifications

Import notifications from the last 24 hours (default):

php artisan notifications:import-notifications

Import from the last 7 days:

php artisan notifications:import-notifications --days=7

Import a specific date range:

php artisan notifications:import-notifications --start-date=2025-01-01 --end-date=2025-01-31

Import all historical data:

php artisan notifications:import-notifications --full

Import Shoutbomb Reports

Import all Shoutbomb reports from FTP:

php artisan notifications:import-shoutbomb

Import specific report types:

php artisan notifications:import-shoutbomb --type=monthly
php artisan notifications:import-shoutbomb --type=weekly
php artisan notifications:import-shoutbomb --type=daily-invalid
php artisan notifications:import-shoutbomb --type=daily-undelivered

Import Email Reports

Import Shoutbomb reports from email inbox (opt-outs, invalid phones, undelivered voice):

php artisan notifications:import-email-reports

Options:

php artisan notifications:import-email-reports --mark-read  # Mark emails as read after import
php artisan notifications:import-email-reports --move-to=Processed  # Move to folder after import
php artisan notifications:import-email-reports --limit=100  # Process max 100 emails

Aggregate Notification Data

Aggregate yesterday's notifications (typical nightly job):

php artisan notifications:aggregate-notifications

Aggregate a specific date:

php artisan notifications:aggregate-notifications --date=2025-01-15

Aggregate a date range:

php artisan notifications:aggregate-notifications --start-date=2025-01-01 --end-date=2025-01-31

Re-aggregate all historical data:

php artisan notifications:aggregate-notifications --all

Scheduled Tasks

Add these to your app/Console/Kernel.php for automated imports:

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    // Import Polaris notifications hourly
    $schedule->command('notifications:import-notifications --days=1')
        ->hourly()
        ->withoutOverlapping();

    // Import Shoutbomb reports daily at 9 AM
    $schedule->command('notifications:import-shoutbomb')
        ->dailyAt('09:00')
        ->withoutOverlapping();

    // Import email reports daily at 9:30 AM
    $schedule->command('notifications:import-email-reports --mark-read')
        ->dailyAt('09:30')
        ->withoutOverlapping();

    // Aggregate yesterday's data at midnight
    $schedule->command('notifications:aggregate-notifications')
        ->dailyAt('00:30')
        ->withoutOverlapping();
}

Dashboard

This package includes a built-in dashboard for visualizing notification data. The dashboard works out-of-the-box and can be customized.

Accessing the Dashboard

After installation, visit:

https://yourapp.com/notifications

Note: Dashboard requires authentication by default (configure in config/notifications.php).

See docs/DASHBOARD.md for detailed documentation and docs/SCREENSHOTS.md for adding images.

Dashboard Features

Overview: Key metrics, trends, type/delivery distribution
Notifications List: Filterable table of individual notifications
Analytics: Success rates, detailed breakdowns, performance metrics
Shoutbomb: Subscriber statistics and growth trends

Customization

Publish and modify the views:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=notifications-views

Views will be in resources/views/vendor/notifications/.

For detailed dashboard customization, see docs/DASHBOARD.md.

Disabling the Dashboard

If building a custom UI using the API:

// config/notifications.php
'dashboard' => [
    'enabled' => false,
],

API

The package provides a RESTful API for accessing notification data. Perfect for building custom dashboards or integrating with other systems.

API Endpoints

All endpoints are prefixed with /api/notifications:

# Get notifications (with filters)
GET /api/notifications/notifications?days=7&successful=1

# Get daily summaries
GET /api/notifications/summaries

# Get analytics overview
GET /api/notifications/analytics/overview?days=30

# Get Shoutbomb data
GET /api/notifications/shoutbomb/deliveries
GET /api/notifications/shoutbomb/keyword-usage
GET /api/notifications/shoutbomb/registrations/latest

Authentication

API routes use Laravel Sanctum by default:

curl -X GET "https://yourapp.com/api/notifications/notifications" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Example: Fetch Notification Stats

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

$response = Http::withToken('YOUR_TOKEN')
    ->get('/api/notifications/notifications/stats', [
        'days' => 30
    ]);

$stats = $response->json();
// ['total' => 1000, 'successful' => 950, 'failed' => 50, ...]

For complete API documentation, see docs/API.md.

Demo Data

Generate realistic demo data for testing the dashboard:

# Generate 30 days of demo data
php artisan notifications:seed-demo

# Generate 60 days
php artisan notifications:seed-demo --days=60

# Clear existing data and seed fresh
php artisan notifications:seed-demo --fresh

This creates sample notifications, summaries, Shoutbomb deliveries, keyword usage, and registration snapshots.

Models

NotificationLog

Main notification tracking model with scopes for common queries:

use Dcplibrary\Notifications\Models\NotificationLog;

// Get recent notifications
$recent = NotificationLog::recent(7)->get();

// Get successful email notifications
$emails = NotificationLog::successful()
    ->byDeliveryMethod(2) // 2 = Email
    ->get();

// Get notifications for a patron
$patronNotifications = NotificationLog::forPatron($patronId)->get();

// Get notifications by type
$holds = NotificationLog::ofType(2)->get(); // 2 = Hold Ready

DailyNotificationSummary

Aggregated data for dashboard queries:

use Dcplibrary\Notifications\Models\DailyNotificationSummary;
use Carbon\Carbon;

// Get summary for date range
$summaries = DailyNotificationSummary::dateRange(
    Carbon::parse('2025-01-01'),
    Carbon::parse('2025-01-31')
)->get();

// Get breakdown by notification type
$breakdown = DailyNotificationSummary::getBreakdownByType(
    $startDate,
    $endDate
);

// Get breakdown by delivery method
$deliveryBreakdown = DailyNotificationSummary::getBreakdownByDelivery(
    $startDate,
    $endDate
);

ShoutbombDelivery

SMS/Voice delivery tracking:

use Dcplibrary\Notifications\Models\ShoutbombDelivery;

// Get failed SMS deliveries
$failed = ShoutbombDelivery::sms()->failed()->get();

// Get invalid phone numbers
$invalid = ShoutbombDelivery::invalid()->get();

// Get recent Voice deliveries
$voice = ShoutbombDelivery::voice()->recent(7)->get();

ShoutbombKeywordUsage

Track patron keyword interactions (RHL, RA, OI, etc.):

use Dcplibrary\Notifications\Models\ShoutbombKeywordUsage;

// Get keyword statistics
$stats = ShoutbombKeywordUsage::getKeywordStats($startDate, $endDate);

// Get total usage for a keyword
$rhlUsage = ShoutbombKeywordUsage::getTotalUsageByKeyword('RHL', $startDate, $endDate);

Configuration

The config/notifications.php file contains all configuration options:

polaris_connection: MSSQL connection settings
import: Batch size, default days, duplicate handling
shoutbomb: FTP connection and path settings
reporting_org_id: Your library's organization ID
dashboard: Display preferences for dashboards
notification_types: Lookup table for notification types
delivery_options: Lookup table for delivery methods
notification_statuses: Lookup table for statuses

Architecture

This package uses a hybrid architecture:

Polaris MSSQL: Direct connection for notification logs (what was sent)
Shoutbomb FTP: File import for delivery confirmation (what was delivered)
Local MySQL: Cached data for fast dashboard queries

Data Flow

Polaris MSSQL → Import Service → notification_logs (MySQL)
                                         ↓
Shoutbomb FTP → Parser → shoutbomb_* tables (MySQL)
                                         ↓
                            Aggregator Service
                                         ↓
                          daily_notification_summary
                                         ↓
                                    Dashboard

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation is available in the docs/ directory:

Setup & Deployment

Docker Setup Guide - Complete Docker-based installation
Deployment Checklist - Production deployment guide
SQL Server Driver Installation - Fixing "could not find driver" error

Usage & Development

Dashboard Guide - Using and customizing the built-in dashboard
API Reference - Complete API endpoint documentation
Integration Guide - Integrating with authentication systems
Testing Guide - Running tests and writing new tests
Screenshots Guide - Adding visual documentation

Requirements

PHP 8.1 or higher
Laravel 10.x or 11.x
MSSQL Server (for Polaris database)
MySQL/MariaDB (for local cache)
FTP extension enabled (for Shoutbomb imports)
SQL Server PDO driver (see Troubleshooting below)

Troubleshooting

❌ "could not find driver" error

If you see could not find driver when testing the Polaris connection, the SQL Server PDO driver is not installed.

Quick Fix (Linux):

# Option 1: Install version-specific package
sudo apt-get install php8.4-sybase freetds-common

# Option 2: Install generic package (if php8.4-sybase unavailable)
sudo apt-get install php-sybase freetds-common

# Restart PHP-FPM
sudo service php8.4-fpm restart

# Update .env file
POLARIS_DB_DRIVER=dblib

Note: If you encounter repository errors (403, package not available), see the detailed installation guide below for alternative methods.

Detailed Installation Guide:

See docs/SQL_SERVER_DRIVER_INSTALLATION.md for:

Complete installation instructions for all platforms
Driver comparison (FreeTDS vs Microsoft ODBC)
Configuration examples
Advanced troubleshooting

Other Common Issues

Connection timeout:

Verify SQL Server is accessible: telnet your-server 1433
Check firewall rules
Verify credentials in .env

No data imported:

Check POLARIS_REPORTING_ORG_ID matches your library's ID
Verify date range: --days=7 or --start-date/--end-date
Check Laravel logs: storage/logs/laravel.log

Dashboard blank:

Run: php artisan notifications:import-notifications
Then: php artisan notifications:aggregate
Verify data exists: Check notification_logs table

License

MIT License

Author

Brian Lashbrook - Daviess County Public Library

Support

For issues or questions, please contact the developer or open an issue in the project repository.

dcplibrary / notifications

Maintainers

Details