/FlixBase

FlixBase is a web application that provides a platform for users to search and access a vast library of movies and TV shows. The application architecture consists of various components that work together to deliver a seamless user experience.

Primary LanguageJavaScript

FlixBase

Project is live at Flixxbase MVP Specification for FlixBase: Components: FlixBase is a web application that provides a platform for users to search and access a vast library of movies and TV shows. The application architecture consists of various components that work together to deliver a seamless user experience. Here is a breakdown of each component and its role within the FlixBase system:

  1. DNS (Domain Name System):
  • Responsible for translating domain names (e.g., FlixBase.com) into IP addresses (e.g., 85.129.83.120) to route user requests to the appropriate server.
  • Provides a key/value lookup for domain names and IP addresses.
  1. Load Balancer:
  • Distributes incoming user requests across multiple web servers to ensure efficient resource utilization and fault tolerance.
  • Routes requests to one of several web servers that run the FlixBase application.
  • Prevents overloading any single server and provides scalability.
  1. Web Application Servers:
  • Execute the core business logic of the FlixBase application.
  • Handle user requests and generate HTML responses.
  • Communicate with backend infrastructure such as databases, caching services, job queues, search services, and other microservices.
  • Multiple web servers are typically used in conjunction with a load balancer.
  1. Database Servers:
  • Store and manage the data used by FlixBase, such as movie and TV show information.
  • Provide ways to define data structures, insert new data, query existing data, and perform computations.
  • Can include both SQL and NoSQL databases, depending on the specific requirements of the application.
  1. Caching Service:
  • Stores frequently accessed data to improve performance and reduce the load on databases.
  • Utilizes a key/value data store for fast retrieval of information.
  • Caches results from expensive computations, database queries, external service calls, and more.
  • Popular caching server technologies include Redis and Memcache.
  1. Job Queue & Servers:
  • Handles asynchronous tasks that are not directly associated with responding to user requests.
  • Consists of a job queue that stores pending tasks and job servers (workers) that process those tasks.
  • Jobs can include encoding videos, processing CSV files, aggregating statistics, sending emails, and more.
  • Enables efficient and scalable background processing of tasks.
  1. Full-text Search Service:
  • Powers the search functionality within FlixBase.
  • Uses an inverted index to quickly retrieve relevant documents based on user queries.
  • Often implemented using dedicated search services like Elasticsearch, Sphinx, or Apache Solr.
  1. Services:
  • Separate applications within the FlixBase ecosystem that are not exposed externally.
  • Used internally by the main application and other services.
  • Examples include account service, content service, payment service, and HTML to PDF service.
  1. Data:
  • Involves collecting, storing, and analyzing data generated by the FlixBase application.
  • Utilizes a data pipeline to ingest, transform, and store data for analysis.
  • Raw data is sent to a data firehose for processing, then saved to cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3).
  • Transformed data is loaded into a data warehouse (e.g., AWS Redshift) for further analysis.
  1. Cloud Storage:
  • Provides scalable and accessible storage for various types of data.
  • Enables interaction with stored data via a RESTful API over the Internet.
  • Commonly used cloud storage platforms include Amazon S3.
  1. CDN (Content Delivery Network):
  • Accelerates the delivery of static assets (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images) to users.
  • Distributes content across edge servers located worldwide.
  • Allows users to download assets from nearby edge servers, reducing latency and improving performance.

User Flow: • User searches on Google for "Comedy Movie" movie on FlixBase. • The first result is from FlixBase, the leading movie database site. • The user clicks the result, which redirects their browser to the movie details page. • The user's browser sends a request to a DNS server to lookup how to contact FlixBase. • The request hits the load balancer, which randomly selects one of the web servers running the site. • The web server receives the request and looks up information about the movie from the caching service. • The web server fetches the remaining data about the movie from the database. • The web server identifies that the genre information for the movie has not been computed yet. • The web server sends a "genre computation" job to the job queue for asynchronous processing. • Job servers process the "genre computation" job, updating the database with the results. • The web server sends a request to the full-text search service to find similar movies using the movie's title. • The web server retrieves the user's account information from the account service since they are logged into FlixBase. • The web server fires off a page view event to the data firehose for recording in the cloud storage system. • The page view event will eventually be loaded into the data warehouse for analysis by the business analysts. • The server renders the view as HTML and sends it back to the user's browser, passing through the load balancer. • The page contains JavaScript and CSS assets that are loaded into the cloud storage system connected to the CDN. • The user's browser contacts the CDN to retrieve the JavaScript and CSS assets. • The browser visibly renders the page, and the user can see the movie details and related content.

This user flow describes the sequence of actions that occur when a user searches for a movie on FlixBase and views the movie details page. It highlights the interactions between the user's browser, DNS server, load balancer, web servers, caching service, job queue, full-text search service, account service, data firehose, cloud storage system, CDN, and data warehouse.

Sitemap for FlixBase:

  1. Home

    • Browse Movies
      • Action
      • Comedy
      • Drama
    • Top Rated Movies
    • New Releases
    • Trending Movies
    • Search

  2. Movie Details

    • Overview
    • Cast & Crew
    • Reviews
    • Related Movies

  3. User Account

    • Login
    • Register
    • Profile
    • Favorites
    • Watchlist
    • History

  4. About Us

    • Mission
    • Team
    • Contact Us

  5. Privacy Policy

    • Terms of Service
    • DMCA Policy

HIGH-LEVEL WEB APP ARCHITECTURE FOR FLIXBASE:

  1. User Interface (UI) Layer:

    • Frontend Framework: React.js
    • UI Components: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
    • Responsiveness: Mobile-first design approach
    • User Experience (UX): Intuitive and user-friendly interface

  2. Application Layer:

    • Backend Framework: Node.js with Express.js
    • RESTful API: Exposes endpoints for data retrieval and manipulation
    • Authentication and Authorization: User registration, login, and session management
    • Input Validation: Ensures data integrity and security
    • Error Handling: Proper handling and logging of errors
    • Caching: Utilize caching mechanisms to improve performance

  3. Database Layer:

    • Database Management System: PostgreSQL
    • Schema Design: Optimal data modeling for movies, users, and related entities
    • Query Optimization: Efficient retrieval and storage of data
    • Indexing: Enhances query performance
    • Data Access Layer: Utilizes an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) library like Sequelize

  4. Content Delivery Network (CDN):

    • Provides fast and efficient content delivery, including static assets like images, CSS, and JavaScript files
    • Improves page load times and reduces server load

  5. External Services:

    • Movie Metadata APIs: Integration with external services to fetch movie details, ratings, and other relevant information
    • Payment Gateway: Integration with a secure payment gateway for subscription or purchase options
    • Job Queue: Asynchronous processing of tasks such as image processing, data updates, and notifications

  6. Infrastructure and Deployment:

    • Cloud Platform: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or similar
    • Load Balancer: Distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers
    • Auto Scaling: Dynamically adjusts server capacity based on demand
    • Containerization: Docker for creating lightweight and scalable containers
    • Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD): Automation for seamless updates and releases
    • Monitoring and Logging: Tools like AWS CloudWatch or ELK stack for monitoring system health and performance