# Architecture guide A walkthrough of how this app is organised and, especially, **how state is managed** — written for a developer who has *not* done functional programming before. No prior FP knowledge assumed. Where we use an FP idea, we explain it in plain language first. This is a demo of a Dutch BIG-register self-service portal (a healthcare professional logs in, sees their registration, and can apply for re-registration — "herregistratie"). --- ## 1. The big picture: three "contexts", four "layers" The code is split first by **business area** (a "bounded context" in DDD terms), then inside each area by **layer**. ``` src/app/ shared/ things every context reuses (no business logic of its own) auth/ logging in / the current session registratie/ the user's BIG registration + personal data herregistratie/ the re-registration application flow showcase/ a teaching page; not a real feature ``` Inside a context you'll see the same four folders. They answer four different questions: | Layer | Answers… | May import Angular? | Example here | |------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------|--------------| | `domain/` | What are the business rules and data? | **No** (pure TS) | `registration.ts`, `registration.policy.ts` | | `application/` | How do we coordinate a task / state? | Yes (signals) | `big-profile.store.ts` | | `infrastructure/`| Where does data come from? | Yes (HTTP) | `big-register.adapter.ts`, `brp.adapter.ts` | | `ui/` | How does it look? | Yes (components) | `dashboard.page.ts` | **The one rule that keeps it sane: dependencies only point *inward*.** UI may use application, application may use domain, everyone may use `shared`. Never the other way around. The `domain/` layer imports nothing from Angular, so the business rules are plain functions you can read and test in isolation. Allowed direction: `herregistratie → registratie → shared`, `auth → shared`. ### Why the `shared/` kernel is split too - `shared/kernel/` — tiny generic helpers (no Angular). - `shared/application/` — generic state tools (RemoteData, the store). - `shared/ui/` — the atomic-design building blocks (buttons, inputs, the async renderer). These know nothing about BIG-register. - `shared/layout/` — page chrome (header, footer, shells). - `shared/infrastructure/` — the demo HTTP interceptor. Imports use path aliases so they read as direction statements: `@shared/*`, `@auth/*`, `@registratie/*`, `@herregistratie/*`. --- ## 2. The state-management ideas (the important part) Most UI bugs come from **state that can lie** — two booleans that disagree, data that's shown while an error is also showing, a "submit" that fires while a field is invalid. The whole strategy here is: **make those impossible by choosing better types.** Three tools do the work. ### 2a. `RemoteData` — one value instead of three booleans The naive way to track a network call: ```ts isLoading = signal(true); error = signal(null); data = signal(null); ``` Three signals = eight combinations, and most are nonsense (loading **and** has data **and** has an error?). You end up writing defensive `if`s everywhere. Instead we use **one** value that is *exactly one of* four shapes (`shared/application/remote-data.ts`): ```ts type RemoteData = | { tag: 'Loading' } | { tag: 'Empty' } | { tag: 'Failure'; error: E } // only this shape has an error | { tag: 'Success'; value: T }; // only this shape has a value ``` This is called a **discriminated union** (a.k.a. "tagged union" or "sum type"): a value that is one of several labelled shapes, where the `tag` tells you which. Notice the data lives *on* the shape — you literally cannot read `.value` unless you're in the `Success` case, so "loaded but no data" can't be written down. To use it, you handle every case once. The `` component (`shared/ui/async/async.component.ts`) does this for you: you give it a `RemoteData` (or a raw `httpResource`) and four templates, and it shows exactly one. There's also `foldRemote(rd, { loading, empty, failure, success })` for doing the same in TypeScript — the compiler makes you cover all four. > **FP term:** a *pure function* is one whose output depends only on its inputs > and which changes nothing else (no network, no writing to variables outside > it). Pure functions are easy to test and reason about. We push impure things > (HTTP, timers) to the edges. ### 2b. Combining sources with `map2` — two services, one state The dashboard needs data from **two** services: the BIG-register (status, specialisms) and the BRP (name, address). Each is its own `RemoteData`. Tracking both by hand means juggling two loading flags, two errors… `map2` folds them into **one** `RemoteData` (`big-profile.store.ts`): ```ts profile = computed(() => map2( fromResource(this.registrationRes), // RemoteData from service A fromResource(this.personRes), // RemoteData from service B (registration, person) => ({ registration, person }), // runs only if BOTH succeeded ), ); ``` The rule baked into `map2`: the combined result is a **Failure if either failed**, **Loading if either is still loading**, and only **Success when both succeeded**. So the page renders one state and the combiner callback only runs when it's safe. (`map`, `map3`, `andThen` are variations on the same idea.) ### 2c. The store — "all state changes go through one pure function" This is the "Elm-style" pattern. The idea in one sentence: > **Keep all state in one value (the *Model*). The only way to change it is to > send a *message* (*Msg*) to a pure function `update(model, msg)` that returns > the next Model.** Why bother? Because to understand *every* way the screen can change, you read *one* function. No state is mutated anywhere else. The wizard (`herregistratie/domain/herregistratie.machine.ts`) is the clearest example. Its Model is a discriminated union: ```ts type WizardState = | { tag: 'Editing'; step: 1 | 2; draft: Draft; errors: {...} } | { tag: 'Submitting'; data: Valid } // carries ONLY validated data | { tag: 'Submitted'; data: Valid } | { tag: 'Failed'; data: Valid; error: string }; ``` Because `step` and `errors` exist *only* on `Editing`, and the other states carry already-validated `data`, "submitting with validation errors showing" is not expressible. The messages and the pure reducer: ```ts type WizardMsg = | { tag: 'SetField'; key; value } | { tag: 'Next' } | { tag: 'Back' } | { tag: 'Submit' } | { tag: 'Retry' } | { tag: 'SubmitConfirmed' } | { tag: 'SubmitFailed'; error }; function reduce(state, msg) { /* returns the next state; no side effects */ } ``` The component (`herregistratie-wizard.component.ts`) wires it to a signal with the tiny helper in `shared/application/store.ts`: ```ts private store = createStore(initial, reduce); state = this.store.model; // a read-only signal of the current Model dispatch = this.store.dispatch; // send a Msg ``` In the template you don't mutate anything — you send messages: `(click)="dispatch({ tag: 'Back' })"`. ### 2d. Side effects (HTTP) without polluting the reducer `reduce` is pure — it must not call the network. So how does a submit happen? The component has a small **command** method that does the impure work and then sends messages describing the outcome: ```ts async runIfSubmitting() { if (this.state().tag !== 'Submitting') return; this.profile.beginHerregistratie(); // 1. optimistic (see below) const r = await submitHerregistratie(s.data); // 2. the actual call if (r.ok) { this.dispatch({ tag: 'SubmitConfirmed' }); this.profile.confirmHerregistratie(); } else { this.dispatch({ tag: 'SubmitFailed', error: r.error }); this.profile.rollbackHerregistratie(); } } ``` So the split is: **reducer = "what the new state is", command = "go do the thing, then tell the reducer what happened."** ### 2e. Optimistic update + rollback, and shared state across pages `BigProfileStore` is marked `providedIn: 'root'`, which means Angular creates **one** instance for the whole app. Every page that injects it sees the same signals. That single shared instance *is* our cross-page state — no extra library needed. When the user submits a herregistratie: 1. **Optimistic:** `beginHerregistratie()` flips a `pendingHerregistratie` signal **before** the server answers. The dashboard already reads that signal, so it instantly shows "in behandeling" (in progress). The UI feels fast. 2. **On success:** `confirmHerregistratie()` clears the flag and calls `resource.reload()` — that re-fetches the registration so the screen shows the real, updated server data. ("Invalidation": throw away the stale copy, fetch fresh.) 3. **On failure:** `rollbackHerregistratie()` clears the flag, undoing the optimistic guess so the UI matches reality again. ### 2f. Auth/session + the route guard `SessionStore` (`auth/application/session.store.ts`) holds `Session | null`, also a root singleton. `login()` is a command that calls the (mock) DigiD adapter and stores the result. The route guard (`auth/auth.guard.ts`) just reads `store.isAuthenticated()` and redirects to `/login` if you're not signed in. Protected routes list `canActivate: [authGuard]` in `app.routes.ts`. --- ## 3. "Parse, don't validate" — value objects A raw `string` could be anything. After you've checked a postcode is valid, the *type* should remember that. So we have a `Postcode` type that can only be created by `parsePostcode`, which returns a `Result` (success-or-error) (`registratie/domain/value-objects/`): ```ts const r = parsePostcode(userInput); if (r.ok) save(r.value); // r.value is a Postcode — guaranteed well-formed else showError(r.error); // r.error is the message ``` Once something hands you a `Postcode`, you never re-check it. The validity is baked into the type. Same idea for `Uren` and `BigNummer`. > **FP term:** `Result` is "either an error `E` or a value `T`" — a > discriminated union with `{ ok: true, value }` or `{ ok: false, error }`. It's > how a function reports failure without throwing. --- ## 4. How to add a new feature (recipe) 1. **Domain first.** Add the types and pure rules in the right context's `domain/`. No Angular. Write a `.spec.ts` next to it. 2. **Infrastructure.** If you need data, add an adapter in `infrastructure/` returning an `httpResource` (or a command function returning a `Result`). 3. **Application.** If there's state to coordinate, add/extend a store (`providedIn: 'root'` if it must be shared across pages). Model state as a discriminated union; change it only through a pure `update`/`reduce`. 4. **UI last.** Build the page/organism from `shared/ui` atoms. Render async state through ``. Send messages; don't mutate. If you're tempted to add a third boolean to track state — stop and model it as a discriminated union instead. --- ## 5. Mini-glossary - **Pure function** — output depends only on inputs; no side effects. Easy to test. - **Discriminated / tagged union (sum type)** — a value that is exactly one of several labelled shapes (`{ tag: 'A'; ... } | { tag: 'B'; ... }`). The `tag` says which; each shape carries only the data that makes sense for it. - **`RemoteData`** — a tagged union for an async value: Loading / Empty / Failure / Success. - **`Result`** — a tagged union for success-or-error. - **Value object** — a small type whose validity is guaranteed by its constructor (e.g. `Postcode`). - **Reducer (`update`/`reduce`)** — the one pure function that maps `(state, message) → next state`. - **Command** — an impure function that does I/O (HTTP, timer) and then dispatches messages with the outcome. - **Optimistic update** — show the expected result immediately, then confirm or roll back when the server answers. - **Bounded context** — a self-contained business area with its own language and folder (`auth`, `registratie`, `herregistratie`). - **`signal` / `computed`** — Angular's reactive values; `computed` recalculates automatically when the signals it reads change.