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Deploy a Survey Shiny Application

survey.Rd

Creates and deploys a Shiny application for SurveyJS surveys with database integration, dual logging system, and advanced dynamic configuration. Supports both single surveys and multi-survey applications with URL-based routing.

Usage

survey(
  json = NULL,
  list = NULL,
  show_response = FALSE,
  theme = "defaultV2",
  theme_color = "#003594",
  shiny_config = list(host = "0.0.0.0", port = 3838),
  ldap_config = NULL,
  db_config = list(host = Sys.getenv("DB_HOST"), port =
    as.numeric(Sys.getenv("DB_PORT")), name = Sys.getenv("DB_NAME"), user =
    Sys.getenv("DB_USER"), pass = Sys.getenv("DB_PASS"), write_table = "survey_data",
    log_table = "sjs_logs", auth_table = "sjs_auth", pool_size = 10),
  db_update = NULL,
  db_logic = NULL,
  sjs_auth = "sjs_auth",
  sjs_logs = "sjs_logs",
  cookie_expiration_days = 0,
  custom_css = NULL,
  echo = TRUE
)

Arguments

json

String. JSON survey definition. Use for single survey applications.

list

List. Survey structure(s). Can be:

  • Single survey: List with survey elements (converted to JSON)

  • Multi-survey: Named list where each element is a complete survey (e.g., list("survey_1" = survey1, "survey_2" = survey2))

show_response

Logical. Display responses in a data.table after submission. Default: FALSE.

theme

String. SurveyJS theme: "defaultV2" or "modern". Default: "defaultV2".

theme_color

String. Hex color code for primary theme customization. Default: "#003594".

shiny_config

List. Shiny server configuration:

  • host: Server host address. Default: "0.0.0.0"

  • port: Server port number. Default: 3838

ldap_config

List. Optional LDAP authentication configuration:

  • host: LDAP server hostname

  • base_dn: Base Distinguished Name for LDAP searches

  • port: LDAP port (default: 389)

  • user_attr: User attribute for authentication (default: "uid")

  • domain: Domain for UPN binding (e.g., "pitt.edu") - for Active Directory

  • ssh_tunnel: Local port number for SSH tunnel (assumes tunnel already running, e.g., ssh_tunnel = 3389)

  • logo: URL to logo image to display instead of title text (optional)

db_config

List. Database connection parameters:

  • host: Database host (default: Sys.getenv("DB_HOST"))

  • port: Database port (default: as.numeric(Sys.getenv("DB_PORT")))

  • name: Database name (default: Sys.getenv("DB_NAME"))

  • user: Database username (default: Sys.getenv("DB_USER"))

  • pass: Database password (default: Sys.getenv("DB_PASS"))

  • write_table: Survey data table (default: "survey_data")

  • log_table: Application logs table (default: "sjs_logs")

  • auth_table: Authentication sessions table (default: "sjs_auth")

  • pool_size: Maximum connections in pool (default: 10)

db_update

List. Update configuration for multi-survey workflows. Each element contains:

  • from: Source survey name to update from

  • to: Target survey/table name to update

  • by: Named vector for join columns (e.g., c("source_id" = "target_id"))

db_logic

List. Dynamic database configurations supporting multiple types:

Choice Configuration (type = "choice")

Populates dropdown/radio choices from database tables: * source_tbl: Database table containing choices * source_col: Column with choice values * source_display_col: Optional column for display text (defaults to source_col) * target_tbl: Target survey/table name (for multi-survey filtering) * target_col: Survey field to populate * filter_source: R expression to filter source data (e.g., "is.na(status)") * filter_unique: Logical. Remove choices already used in target table

Parameter Configuration (type = "param")

Validates URL query parameters against database values: * source_tbl: Database table with valid parameter values * target_col: URL parameter name to validate

Uniqueness Validation (type = "unique")

Prevents duplicate entries in database fields: * source_tbl: Database table to check against * source_col: Database column to check for duplicates * target_tbl: Target survey/table name * target_col: Survey field to validate * result: Action on duplicate - "warn" or "stop" * result_field: Survey field for warning display (use hidden HTML element)

sjs_auth

String. Name of authentication sessions table (default: "sjs_auth").

sjs_logs

String. Name of application logs table (default: "sjs_logs").

Numeric. Days to retain survey progress cookies. Default: 0 (no cookies).

custom_css

String. Additional CSS rules to append to the theme.

echo

Logical. Display console logging messages. Default: TRUE.

Value

A Shiny application object

Details

The dual logging system provides:

  • Console logging: Immediate zoned messages for development and monitoring

  • Database logging: Survey metadata including timing, IP addresses, and error tracking

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# Single survey with basic configuration
survey <- list(
  title = "Feedback Survey",
  pages = list(
    list(
      name = "feedback",
      elements = list(
        list(
          type = "radiogroup",
          name = "rating",
          title = "How satisfied are you?",
          choices = c("Very satisfied", "Satisfied", "Neutral", "Dissatisfied")
        )
      )
    )
  )
)

survey(
  list = survey,
  db_config = list(
    host = Sys.getenv("DB_HOST"),
    port = as.numeric(Sys.getenv("DB_PORT")),
    name = Sys.getenv("DB_NAME"),
    user = Sys.getenv("DB_USER"),
    pass = Sys.getenv("DB_PASS"),
    write_table = "survey_data",
    log_table = "sjs_logs",
    auth_table = "sjs_auth",
    pool_size = 10
  )
)
} # }