TinyApp

TinyApp is a full-stack web application built with Node.js and Express. It allows users to shorten long URLs, similar to services like bit.ly. This project demonstrates fundamental skills in server-side development, route handling, and session management while implementing features like analytics and user authentication.

Table of Contents

1. Features
2. Getting Started
3. Prerequisites
4. Installation
5. Usage
6. Analytics Features
7. Project Structure
8. Technologies Used
9. Contributing
10. License

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Features

• URL Shortening: Users can create short URLs for any valid web address.
• User Authentication: Registration and login capabilities using encrypted cookies.
• Personalized URL Management: Each user can manage their own URLs (edit/delete).
• Visit Tracking:
  • Total Visits: Track the total number of visits to each short URL.
  • Unique Visitors: Track the number of unique visitors using cookies.
  • Visit Logs: View the full history of visits, including timestamps and visitor IDs.
• Responsive UI: Built with Bootstrap for a clean and responsive design.
• Error Handling: Graceful error messages for invalid actions or inaccessible routes.

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Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get a copy of TinyApp up and running on your local machine.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm (Node package manager)

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ArcaneCipher/tinyapp.git
   cd tinyapp

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the development server:

   npm start

4. Visit the app in your browser at:

   http://localhost:8080

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Usage

1. Register:
   • Navigate to /register to create an account.
2. Log In:
   • Navigate to /login to sign in and access your personalized URL dashboard.
3. Create a Short URL:
   • Click "Create New URL" to shorten a long URL.
4. Manage URLs:
   • Edit or delete your short URLs from the dashboard.
5. Share Short URLs:
   • Share the generated short URL with others for redirection.

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Analytics Features

TinyApp provides in-depth analytics for each URL:

• Visit Count: Displays the total number of visits for each short URL.
• Unique Visitors: Tracks distinct users using cookies to provide a unique count.
• Visit Log: Records each visit with a timestamp and a randomly generated visitor ID.

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Project Structure

tinyapp/
├── docs/ 
│   ├── dashboard.png   # View of /urls showing all user URLs
│   ├── details.png     # View of /urls:id short URL details
│   ├── login.png       # View of /login screen
├── test/               # Testing using mocha/chai
│   ├── helpersTest.js  # Tests for server Helper functions
├── views/              # EJS templates
│   ├── partials/       # Reusable partial templates (header, footer)
|   |   ├── _header.ejs # header template for views
│   ├── urls_index.ejs  # Dashboard for URLs
│   ├── urls_new.ejs    # Form for creating new URLs
│   ├── urls_show.ejs   # URL details with analytics
│   ├── login.ejs       # Login form
│   ├── register.ejs    # Registration form
│   ├── error.ejs       # Clean HTML error page
├── .gitignore          # gitignore to ignore node_modules
├── helpers.js          # Helper functions for the server
├── express_server.js   # Main server file
├── package.json        # Dependencies and scripts
├── package-lock.json   # Dependencies and scripts
└── README.md           # Project documentation

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Technologies Used

• Backend:
  • Node.js
  • Express.js
• Frontend:
  • EJS (Embedded JavaScript templates)
  • Bootstrap
• Authentication:
  • cookie-session for session management
  • bcrypt for password hashing
• Analytics:
  • Session cookies for tracking unique visitors

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Final Product

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute, please:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature-name).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add new feature').
4. Push the branch (git push origin feature-name).
5. Open a pull request.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

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