About Meeting Cost Calculator

How It Works

Meeting Cost Calculator is a web application built using a combination of modern web technologies and frameworks. Here's a technical overview of how it all comes together:

Backend (Python/Flask)

• The core of the application is built using Flask, a lightweight WSGI web application framework in Python.
• We use SQLite as our database to store meeting submission data, leveraging Python's built-in sqlite3 module for database operations.
• The main application logic is split across several Python files:
  • __init__.py: Initialises the Flask application and sets up necessary configurations.
  • routes.py: Defines the URL routes and their corresponding view functions.
  • models.py: Contains the database models using SQLAlchemy ORM.
  • dash_app.py: Integrates Dash (built on Flask, Plotly.js, and React.js) for interactive data visualisation.

Frontend (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)

• The user interface is built using a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• We use Jinja2 templating engine (integrated with Flask) for rendering dynamic content in our HTML pages.
• Custom CSS (style.css and dash_styles.css) is used for styling, with additional styles from Google Fonts.
• JavaScript is used for client-side interactivity, particularly in the main calculator page.

Data Visualisation (Dash/Plotly)

• The insights page utilises Dash, a Python framework for building analytical web applications.
• Dash is built on top of Flask, Plotly.js, and React.js, allowing for the creation of interactive, web-based data visualisations.
• We use Plotly.js for creating responsive and interactive charts that visualise meeting cost data.

Workflow

1. When a user submits meeting data through the calculator form, a POST request is sent to the server.
2. The server processes this data, calculates the meeting cost, and stores the results in the SQLite database.
3. The results are then displayed to the user, and the data becomes available for the insights page.
4. On the insights page, Dash queries the database and creates interactive visualisations of the aggregated meeting data.
5. Users can filter and interact with these visualisations in real-time, with Dash handling the updates on both the client and server sides.

This architecture allows for a responsive, interactive user experience while maintaining a clean separation between the frontend and backend components of the application.

Data Collection

We value your privacy. This application does not collect or store any personal information. The only data we retain is:

• The remote IP address (for basic analytics and to prevent abuse)
• The calculated meeting cost and duration
• The number of attendees (without any identifying information)

This information is used solely for generating insights and improving the application. No personal or identifying information is ever stored or shared.