Feature: Generic Data API

A key architectural feature of the API server is its generic data endpoint, located at /api/v1/data. Instead of having separate endpoints for each data type (e.g., /headlines, /topics), this single, powerful endpoint can manage multiple data models through a simple query parameter.

This approach simplifies the API surface, reduces code duplication, and makes the system highly extensible.

How It Works

A client makes a standard REST request (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to the /api/v1/data endpoint and specifies the target data type using the ?model= query parameter.

Example: Fetching all headlines

GET /api/v1/data?model=headline

Example: Fetching a single topic by its ID

GET /api/v1/data/some-topic-id?model=topic

The Model Registry

The magic behind this generic endpoint is the Model Registry (model_registry.dart). This is a central map that links the string name of a model (e.g., "headline") to a configuration object (ModelConfig).

Each ModelConfig contains all the information the generic endpoint needs to handle a specific model, including:

Deserialization: A function to convert incoming JSON into the correct Dart object.
ID Extraction: A function to get the unique ID from a model instance.
Ownership Information: A function to identify the owner of a user-specific item (like user_app_settings).
Authorization Rules: A detailed permission configuration for every HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), specifying who is allowed to perform each action.

Supported Models

The generic data endpoint can manage the following models out-of-the-box:

headline
topic
source
country
user
user_app_settings
user_content_preferences
remote_config
dashboard_summary