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README Guide: Updating the /learn Ecosystem with GitHub Webhooks

This guide outlines the process for managing updates within the /learn ecosystem, our content hub, using GitHub webhooks to automate content updates in our full-text search index and render markdown files in JavaScript.

Overview

Each folder within the /learn ecosystem represents a page or a section. These folders contain markdown files (.md) which constitute the content of the page. When changes are made to these markdown files, a GitHub trigger is activated, sending the updated file to a predefined webhook. This webhook then updates the content in our full-text search index. Finally, the updated markdown content is rendered in JavaScript on the website.

Prerequisites

• A GitHub repository with your markdown content structured in folders.
• Access to your web server or hosting service to set up a webhook listener.
• A full-text search service (like ElasticSearch) set up to index your content.
• Basic knowledge of JavaScript for rendering markdown files on the web.

Step 1: Organizing Your Content

1. Structure your content in folders within the GitHub repository, where each folder represents a page or a section in the /learn ecosystem.
2. Ensure all content is written in markdown files (.md) and properly named to reflect their purpose or content.

Step 2: Setting Up a GitHub Webhook

1. In your GitHub repository, go to Settings > Webhooks > Add webhook.
2. Enter the Payload URL. This URL should point to the webhook listener on your server where updates will be received.
3. Choose the content type as application/json.
4. Select Just the push event for which events would trigger this webhook.
5. Ensure the Active checkbox is selected and create the webhook.

Step 3: Creating the Webhook Listener

1. On your server, create a script that listens for POST requests at the URL specified in the GitHub webhook setup.
2. When a POST request is received, parse the JSON payload to identify the updated markdown files.
3. For each updated file, update its corresponding content in your full-text search index.

Example (pseudo-code):

app.post('/webhook-url', (req, res) => {
  const updatedFiles = req.body.commits.map(commit => commit.modified);
  updatedFiles.forEach(file => {
    updateSearchIndex(file);
  });
  res.status(200).send('Update received');
});

Step 4: Updating the Full-Text Search Index

1. Extract the content from the updated markdown files.
2. Update the content in your full-text search index, ensuring it's searchable and properly indexed.

Step 5: Rendering Markdown in JavaScript

1. Use a JavaScript library like marked.js to convert markdown content to HTML.
2. Fetch the updated markdown content from your full-text search index or directly from the GitHub repository if needed.
3. Render the HTML content on the appropriate page within the /learn ecosystem.

Example (JavaScript):

fetch('path/to/markdown.md')
  .then(response => response.text())
  .then(markdown => {
    const htmlContent = marked(markdown);
    document.getElementById('content').innerHTML = htmlContent;
  });

Conclusion

This guide provides a streamlined approach to automating content updates within the /learn ecosystem using GitHub webhooks, a full-text search index, and JavaScript. By following these steps, you can ensure that your content is always up-to-date and easily searchable by your audience.