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Back-end Architecture Overview

The server-side of the Kelowna Islamic Center (KIC) ecosystem is powered by Firebase Cloud Functions, Firestore, and Cloud Tasks.

These backend services handle the automation, scheduling, and delivery of notifications and content to the mobile app, web kiosk, and other client platforms.

This section of the documentation provides a complete reference for how these server-side processes work, how they are structured, and how to extend or troubleshoot them.

Purpose of Server-Side Functions

The KIC mobile and web platforms rely on accurate, timely, and consistent information.
Server-side functions ensure that:

  • Prayer reminders are fetched, scheduled, and delivered without manual intervention.
  • Announcements are instantly broadcast to the community when new updates are posted.
  • Notifications are localized to user preffered languages and properly routed to users who have opted in.
  • System complexity (timezones, retries, scheduling, and message formatting) is all handled automatically in the backend.

Key Components

1. Get Prayer Times

  • Fetches latest Athan and Iqamah times accurately for each prayer.
  • Resolve prayer times based on selected calculation method.
  • See: Prayer Times API

2. Announcements

  • Firestore-backed system for storing announcements.
  • Automatically triggers notifications when new announcements are created.
  • See: Announcements

3. Prayer Reminders

  • Daily scheduler (prayerTimesAlertScheduler) fetches and queues reminders.
  • Task queue processor (sendPrayerAlert) dispatches localized push notifications for Athan and Iqamah.
  • See: Prayer Reminders

4. Supporting Infrastructure

  • Firestore – Persistent storage of announcements.
  • Cloud Tasks – Time-precise delivery of prayer notifications.
  • Cloud Messaging (FCM) – Notification delivery to mobile apps.

Developer Notes

  • All notifications are topic-based (announcements, athanAlert, iqamah*MinuteAlert, etc.), giving clients granular control over what to subscribe to.
  • Timezones are managed differently on client where it is local masjid time (America/Vancouver) and the server where it is server region (America/Chicago).
  • Functions are written to fail gracefully (e.g., no notification if config is missing, retries for transient errors).
  • This system is event-driven and fully automated — once deployed and configured, minimal admin intervention is needed.

Next Steps

Explore each feature in detail: