CenterForDigitalHumanities / CenterForDigitalHumanities/rerum_server_nodejs
Expansion drops Annotations that carry multiple bodies
- Dominant language
- JavaScript
- Stars
- 3
- Forks
- 6
- Avg merge
- 1h 25m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 3
Description
Split out of the static review of #286 so it does not block that PR.
## What happens now
`assertionsFrom()` in `controllers/crud.js` returns early on an Array `body`:
```javascript
if (!body || typeof body !== "object" || Array.isArray(body)) return assertions
```
An Annotation carrying multiple bodies is still **gathered** by `findLeafAnnotationsFor()` and still **counted** in the `Annotations-Merged` response header, but contributes nothing to the expanded entity. From the client's side that reads as a nonzero merge count with no merged data.
`expand()` in `controllers/gog.js` now skips them explicitly too (added in #286 — previously a one element Array body merged onto the entity under the key `"0"`).
## Why it matters
The W3C model explicitly allows multiple bodies, and each element is usually an ordinary single-key assertion rather than a structural construct. Real examples already in `annotationStore.alpha`:
```json
[{"contributor":{"label":"Dunbar, Paul Laurence","id":"http://viaf.org/viaf/76335432"}},
{"issued":"1895-04-17"},
{"identifier":"Box 1, F1"},
{"uri":"https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/..."}]
```
## Current impact: none
Measured against production at the time of the #286 review:
- 911 leaf Annotations have an Array `body`
- **0** of them target a `rerum.io/v1/id/` URI under any of the six keys in `TARGET_KEYS`
Since `/v1/id/:_id/expanded` only expands RERUM-stored entities, nothing reachable through the endpoint is affected today. This is a gap that surfaces the first time an app writes a multi-body Annotation onto a RERUM entity.
## Possible approach
Each element is typically itself a single assertion, so the existing logic handles them if it recurses:
```javascript
if (Array.isArray(body)) {
for (const one of body) assertions.push(...assertionsFrom({ body: one }))
return assertions
}
```
Worth deciding at the same time:
- whether `Annotations-Merged` should count Annotations gathered or Annotations that actually contributed an assertion
- whether `controllers/gog.js` `expand()` should follow, or stay on single-body-only for its DEER-shaped `valueObject` wrapping
## Related
Multi-key **object** bodies (not Arrays) are also dropped whole rather than partially, by the `keys.length !== 1` check. Only 1 such document exists in production, so it was not worth acting on separately, but it is the same design question.
## Reference
- W3C Web Annotation Data Model, multiple bodies: https://www.w3.org/TR/annotation-model/#multiple-bodies
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with controllers/crud.js and assertionsFrom(), then inspect controllers/gog.js expand(), findLeafAnnotationsFor(), and the Annotations-Merged response handling. Resolve how array and multi-key object bodies should be treated and ensure expansion and the merge count agree; the payload names no test path, so completion should include coverage for the described behavior.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript
- Domain
- api, backend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100