Coding Club Backend

A robust Node.js/Express.js backend for the Coding Club application, providing APIs for user management, events, exams, and more.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Getting Started
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Environment Variables
• API Documentation
• Project Structure
• Security Features
• Performance Optimizations
• Contributing

Features

• User authentication and authorization (JWT-based)
• Admin and regular user roles
• Event management
• Exam creation and evaluation
• Faculty profiles
• Results tracking
• Real-time notifications

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• Authentication: JWT (jsonwebtoken)
• Password Hashing: bcryptjs
• File Storage: Cloudinary
• Email: Nodemailer
• Real-time Communication: WebSockets (ws)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16.x or higher
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies

npm install
# or
yarn

3. Set up environment variables (see below)
4. Start the development server

npm run dev
# or
yarn dev

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

# Server
PORT=3030
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
MONGODB_URL=mongodb+srv://your-mongodb-connection-string
DB_NAME=coding_club

# JWT
ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your-access-token-secret
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY=1d
REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your-refresh-token-secret
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY=10d

# Admin
ADMINSECRETKEY=your-admin-secret-key

# CORS
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173,https://your-frontend-domain.com

# Cloudinary (for file uploads)
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your-cloud-name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your-api-key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your-api-secret

# Email (for notifications)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=[email protected]
SMTP_PASS=your-email-password

API Documentation

Authentication

User Registration

POST /api/v1/users/signup

Request body:

{
  "fullName": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword",
  "phoneNumber": "1234567890",
  "registrationNumber": "CSE123",
  "branch": "CSE",
  "semester": 5
}

User Login

POST /api/v1/users/login

Request body:

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword"
}

Events

Get All Events

GET /api/v1/events

Query parameters:

• page: Page number (default: 1)
• limit: Items per page (default: 10)
• sortBy: Field to sort by (default: "date")
• sortOrder: Sort order ("asc" or "desc", default: "desc")
• category: Filter by category
• status: Filter by status
• isExam: Filter by exam type (true/false)
• skillLevel: Filter by skill level

Get Event by ID

GET /api/v1/events/:id

Exams

Get Exam Responses

GET /api/v1/exams/:examId/responses

Submit Evaluation

POST /api/v1/exams/:examId/responses/:responseId/evaluate

Request body:

{
  "score": 85,
  "feedback": "Good work, but could improve code organization",
  "criteria": [
    {
      "criterionId": "criterion123",
      "score": 4,
      "comment": "Well implemented"
    }
  ]
}

Project Structure

src/
├── app.js                 # Express app setup
├── index.js               # Entry point
├── constants.js           # Application constants
├── controllers/           # Route controllers
├── db/                    # Database connection
├── middlewares/           # Custom middlewares
├── models/                # Mongoose models
├── routes/                # API routes
└── utils/                 # Utility functions

Security Features

• JWT-based authentication
• Password hashing with bcrypt
• Rate limiting for sensitive endpoints
• CORS protection
• Input validation
• Error handling

Performance Optimizations

• Database query optimization
• Pagination for list endpoints
• Request throttling
• Proper error handling
• Efficient MongoDB connection management

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request