Building a survey application with JavaScript MVC

23 Sep 2023

Are you looking to create a dynamic survey application using JavaScript? Look no further! In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of building a survey application using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture.

What is MVC?

MVC is a software design pattern that separates an application into three interconnected components:

Model: Represents the data and logic of the application.
View: Handles the presentation and user interface.
Controller: Mediates between the model and the view, handling user input and updating the model and view accordingly.

Requirements

To build our survey application, we will be using the following technologies:

JavaScript: The programming language that powers the application logic.
HTML and CSS: For structuring and styling the user interface.
jQuery: A popular JavaScript library that simplifies HTML document traversal, event handling, and animation.
Bootstrap: A CSS framework that provides pre-designed components and styles.

Setting up the Project

Let’s start by creating the basic structure of our survey application. Create an HTML file and include the necessary JavaScript and CSS files.

<html>
  <head>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/bootstrap.min.css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css">
    <script src="js/jquery.min.js"></script>
    <script src="js/app.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <!-- Application markup goes here -->
  </body>
</html>

Designing the User Interface

Now that we have set up the project, it’s time to design the user interface. For simplicity, we will create a survey with multiple choice questions.

<div id="survey-app">
  <h1>Survey Application</h1>
  <div id="survey-container">
    <h2>Question 1: What is your favorite color?</h2>
    <ul class="choices">
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q1" value="red"> Red</label></li>
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q1" value="blue"> Blue</label></li>
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q1" value="green"> Green</label></li>
    </ul>
  
    <h2>Question 2: How would you rate our service?</h2>
    <ul class="choices">
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="excellent"> Excellent</label></li>
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="good"> Good</label></li>
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="average"> Average</label></li>
      <li><label><input type="radio" name="q2" value="poor"> Poor</label></li>
    </ul>
  
    <button id="submit-btn">Submit</button>
  </div>
</div>

Implementing the MVC Architecture

We will now implement the MVC architecture to handle the survey application’s functionality. Let’s start by defining the Model and View.

Model

In our model, we will define the structure of the survey questions and the user’s responses. Create a JavaScript file named model.js and add the following code:

class Model {
  constructor() {
    this.questions = [
      {
        question: "What is your favorite color?",
        choices: ["red", "blue", "green"],
        response: ""
      },
      {
        question: "How would you rate our service?",
        choices: ["excellent", "good", "average", "poor"],
        response: ""
      }
    ];
  }

  setResponse(questionIndex, response) {
    this.questions[questionIndex].response = response;
  }
  
  getQuestions() {
    return this.questions;
  }
  
  getResponses() {
    return this.questions.map(question => question.response);
  }
}

View

Our view will be responsible for rendering the survey questions and capturing user responses. Create a JavaScript file named view.js and add the following code:

class View {
  constructor() {
    this.surveyContainer = document.getElementById("survey-container");
    this.submitButton = document.getElementById("submit-btn");
    this.submitButton.addEventListener("click", () => this.onSubmit());
  }
  
  renderQuestions(questions) {
    questions.forEach((question, index) => {
      const questionElement = document.createElement("h2");
      questionElement.textContent = `Question ${index + 1}: ${question.question}`;
      this.surveyContainer.appendChild(questionElement);
      
      const choicesElement = document.createElement("ul");
      choicesElement.className = "choices";
      
      question.choices.forEach(choice => {
        const choiceElement = document.createElement("li");
        const inputElement = document.createElement("input");
        const labelElement = document.createElement("label");
        
        inputElement.type = "radio";
        inputElement.name = `q${index + 1}`;
        inputElement.value = choice;
        
        labelElement.appendChild(inputElement);
        labelElement.appendChild(document.createTextNode(` ${choice}`));
        choiceElement.appendChild(labelElement);
        
        choicesElement.appendChild(choiceElement);
      });
      
      this.surveyContainer.appendChild(choicesElement);
    });
  }
  
  onSubmit() {
    // Implement logic to handle form submission
  }
}

Controller

To connect the model and view, we need to implement the controller. Create a JavaScript file named controller.js and add the following code:

class Controller {
  constructor(model, view) {
    this.model = model;
    this.view = view;
    this.view.renderQuestions(this.model.getQuestions());
  }
}

// Instantiate the MVC components
const model = new Model();
const view = new View();
const controller = new Controller(model, view);

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully built a survey application using JavaScript MVC. With this application structure, you can easily add more questions, handle form submissions, and perform any other desired functionality.

Remember to organize your JavaScript code into separate files for better maintainability, and consider using a JavaScript bundler like Webpack to optimize your code for production.

Start collecting valuable user feedback and gain insights using your new survey application today! #JavaScriptMVC #SurveyApp