obemeuche / social-media-api

ABOUT PROJECT:

1. Project is on the Main branch.
2. Program is written in Java 17.
3. Program runs on port 8080.
4. Spring security is integrated. Signup and Signin endpoints are the only open apis.
5. With jwt generated on sign in, you can put it in the bearer token in Authorization to access other endpoints.
6. Replace the database parameters in the application.properties file.
7. Database name is "prophiussocialsdb".

ARCHITECTURE USED: MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER(MVC): BENEFITS:

1. Separation of Concerns: MVC separates the application into distinct components, each responsible for a specific concern. This makes the codebase more organized, easier to understand, and maintainable.

2. Modularity: MVC promotes modular development by dividing the application into independent modules. Changes to one module have minimal impact on others, allowing for easier updates and enhancements.

3. Reusability: The separation of concerns and modularity facilitate code reuse. For example, a model can be reused across multiple views or controllers.

4. Testability: MVC's separation of concerns makes it easier to write unit tests for each component in isolation. Models, views, and controllers can be tested independently.

5. User Interface Updates: In web applications, changes to the user interface (views) can be made without altering the underlying business logic (models and controllers).

6. Scalability: MVC applications can be designed to scale horizontally (adding more servers) or vertically (adding more resources to a server) based on the specific needs of each component.

Design pattern used: SINGLETON DESIGN PATTERN (BENEFITS):

1. Single Instance: It guarantees that a class has only one instance. This can be useful when you want to control access to a shared resource, such as a database connection, a configuration manager, or a thread pool.

2. Global Point of Access: The Singleton provides a single point of access to its instance, making it easy to manage and control the use of the instance across the application.

3. Lazy Initialization: Singleton instances can be created lazily, meaning that they are only created when they are first needed. This can improve performance by avoiding unnecessary instance creation.

CHALLENGES

1. Complex Data Modeling: Designing the data model for users, posts, comments, and their relationships was quite challenging. I had to carefully plan how to structure the database, considering the efficiency of data retrieval and ensuring data integrity.
2. Authentication and Authorization: Implementing secure authentication and authorization mechanisms was a priority. Ensuring that only authorized users could access certain data or perform specific actions required meticulous implementation of access control.
3. API Design: Designing a user-friendly API with well-defined endpoints and robust error handling was a significant undertaking. I had to think about versioning and backward compatibility to ensure a smooth developer experience.
4. Testing: Writing comprehensive tests to verify the functionality and stability of the API was time-consuming but necessary. I had issues implementing unit test to create post and make comment.