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Backend

Created by: James Liu Created time: February 22, 2024 2:23 PM Tags: Backend

Backend Docs​

Backend: Authentication Routes

Backend: Data Fetching Routes

Overview​

Express Setup​

The Express application is initialized and configured with necessary middleware such as JSON parsing, CORS, and cookie parsing:

CORS is handled with React proxy calls to localhost port 5001 (don’t ask why it’s 5001)

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.use(cors());
app.use(cookieParser());

MongoDB Connection​

MongoDB is connected using Mongoose, with connection status logging:

mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGO_URL);
mongoose.connection.on('connected', () => {
    console.log('Mongoose connected to DB.');
});
mongoose.connection.on('error', (err) => {
    console.log('Mongoose connection error:', err);
});

API Endpoints​

Authentication Routes​

Handled by authRoutes.js (see table of contents):

javascriptCopy code
const authRoutes = require('./authRoutes.js');
app.use(authRoutes);

Data Routes​

Handled by dataRoutes.js (see table of contents):

javascriptCopy code
const dataRoutes = require('./dataRoutes.js');
app.use(dataRoutes);

Additional Routes​

GET /api/greet​

Returns a greeting message:

app.get('/api/greet', async (req, res) => {
    res.json({ message: 'Hello from the backend!' });
});

GET /update-database​

Triggers a Python script to update the database:

app.get('/update-database', (req, res) => {
    const pythonProcess = spawn('python3', ['courseScraper.py']);
    pythonProcess.stdout.on('data', (data) => {
        res.send(data.toString());
    });
    pythonProcess.stderr.on('data', (data) => {
        res.send(data.toString());
    });
    pythonProcess.on('close', (code) => {
        console.log(`child process exited with code ${code}`);
    });
});

Database​

Mongoose Models​

Mongoose Models are stored in the schemas folder,

Error Handling​

Ensure proper error handling by logging errors and providing meaningful responses to clients. Implement error handling middleware in Express as needed.

FAQs​

  • Question 1: Answer.
  • Question 2: Answer.

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