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Notification Type

The Notification type represents notifications sent to users about tracker events and status changes.

Type Definition​

"""
Notification type for user notifications
"""
type Notification {
  """
  Unique identifier for the notification.
  """
  id: ID!

  """
  Notification message content.
  """
  message: String!

  """
  Status of the notification.
  """
  status: String!

  """
  Whether the notification has been read.
  """
  read: Boolean!

  """
  When the notification was created.
  """
  createdAt: DateTime!

  """
  The tracker this notification is about.
  """
  tracker: Tracker
}

Fields​

FieldTypeDescription
idID!Required. Unique identifier
messageString!Required. Notification message content
statusString!Required. Status of the notification
readBoolean!Required. Whether it has been read
createdAtDateTime!Required. Creation timestamp
trackerTrackerOptional. Associated tracker

Notification Preferences​

Users can configure how they receive notifications:

"""
Notification preferences type
"""
type NotificationPreferences {
  """
  Whether to receive email notifications.
  """
  email: Boolean!

  """
  Whether to receive UI notifications.
  """
  ui: Boolean!
}

"""
Input type for updating notification preferences
"""
input NotificationPreferencesInput {
  """
  Whether to receive email notifications.
  """
  email: Boolean!

  """
  Whether to receive UI notifications.
  """
  ui: Boolean!
}

User Extensions​

The User type is extended with notification-related fields:

extend type User {
  """
  User's notification preferences.
  """
  notificationPreferences: NotificationPreferences!

  """
  List of notifications for the user.
  """
  notifications(read: Boolean): [Notification!]!

  """
  Count of unread notifications.
  """
  unreadNotificationCount: Int!

  """
  List of trackers the user is subscribed to.
  """
  trackerSubscriptions: [Tracker!]!
}

Example Queries​

Get User Notifications​

query GetNotifications {
  notifications(read: false) {
    id
    message
    status
    createdAt
    tracker {
      id
      name
      currentStatus
    }
  }

  unreadNotificationCount
}

Get User Notification Preferences​

query GetNotificationPreferences {
  me {
    notificationPreferences {
      email
      ui
    }
    trackerSubscriptions {
      id
      name
    }
  }
}

Example Mutations​

Mark Notification as Read​

mutation MarkAsRead {
  markNotificationAsRead(id: "123")
}

Update Notification Preferences​

mutation UpdatePreferences {
  updateNotificationPreferences(input: { email: true, ui: true })
}

Subscribe to Tracker Notifications​

mutation SubscribeToTracker {
  subscribeToTrackerNotifications(trackerId: "456")
}

Notification System​

The notification system works as follows:

  1. Generation

    • Notifications are generated by system events
    • Common triggers include status changes, geofence events, and system alerts
    • Each notification is associated with a specific tracker and user

  2. Delivery

    • Notifications are delivered based on user preferences
    • UI notifications appear in the application interface
    • Email notifications are sent to the user's email address (if enabled)

  3. Management

    • Users can mark notifications as read
    • Users can subscribe/unsubscribe from specific trackers
    • Notification preferences control delivery methods

Real-time Updates​

Notifications are integrated with the Socket.IO system:

  1. When a notification is created, it's sent to subscribed clients in real-time
  2. The client can update its UI immediately without polling
  3. This provides instant feedback for important events like status changes

Best Practices​

  1. Subscription Management

    • Subscribe only to relevant trackers
    • Consider batch operations for managing multiple subscriptions

  2. Notification Handling

    • Regularly mark notifications as read
    • Use the unread count for UI indicators
    • Filter notifications by read status when appropriate

  3. Preference Configuration

    • Set email notifications only for critical events
    • Use UI notifications for regular updates
  • User
  • Tracker
  • DateTime (Built-in scalar type for ISO 8601 dates)
  • notifications
  • unreadNotificationCount
  • markNotificationAsRead
  • markAllNotificationsAsRead
  • subscribeToTrackerNotifications
  • unsubscribeFromTrackerNotifications
  • updateNotificationPreferences