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Bootstrap Upgrade for Service Request System Websites

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Most of the Service Request System (SRS) websites at the University of Michigan relies on external Bootstrap libraries for their front-end designs. Every once in a while, newer versions of Bootstrap will appear, deprecating certain features that are only compatible with the older versions and introducing newer ones with more flexible design options. Not keeping up with major Bootstrap upgrades prevents integration of latest features and runs the risk of existing features being outdated and modified.

SRS Intern:

Cindy Zhang

Problem

Service Request System (SRS) websites are currently built on Bootstrap 4.6, an externally hosted website design library. Bootstrap 5.3, the newest version of the library, provides new additional features and deprecated old ones that the websites are still using.

Methods

Results

  • Upgraded base template to Bootstrap 5.3
  • Created root SCSS file that captures all SRS customizations of Bootstrap elements, which dynamically creates one singular CSS file upon compilation
  • Created bypasses and customized classes for deprecated classes and elements
  • Researched alternatives for J-query event watcher to track and respond to user activity

Bootstrap Upgrade

  • Download and host Bootstrap 5.3 source files on SRS github repository
  • Update SRS base HTML template to reference upgraded templates
  • Fix references to other non-Bootstrap libraries compatible with the older version and find alternatives if deprecated

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SASS template implementation

  • Clean up and condense all custom edits of SRS websites made in multiple css files
  • Organize nested hierarchies of elements to ensure proper inheritance of attributes
  • Configure SASS compiler to condense all SCSS files to dynamically generate 1 singular CSS file

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Regression Testing

  • Check all tabs and forms on affected SRS websites to ensure consistent appearance and functionality, edit code as needed along the way

INTERNSHIP

Showcase