Project

Our project, Learnly, aims to simplify personalized interactions by providing a platform for professionals to manage incoming requests for advice or guidance. It allows individuals to connect with professionals and seek personalized interactions, allowing knowledge and wisdom to be shared in a simplified and seamless manner.

Date Created: 11 August 2023
Last Modification Date: 11 Aug 2023
Deployed application URL: https://learnly-io.netlify.app/
GIT URL: https://git.cs.dal.ca/taranjots/csci-5709-grp-10

Authors

Features

The following are the essential features that were supposed to be developed by our team:

Availability Calendar (Taranjot Singh)
Payment Integration (Taranjot Singh)
Booking System (Shivam Lakhanpal)
Ratings & Reviews (Shivam Lakhanpal)
User Profile Management(Amanjot Singh)
Promos & Refer a Friend (Amanjot Singh)
AI Writer (Amanjot Singh)
Queries Management (Shubham Chauhan)
Services Dashboard (Shubham Chauhan)
Raise an Issue (Aadith Shameel)

Out of these 10 features, we were able to develop 7 of them. Ratings & Reviews, Promos & Refer a Friend & AI Writer were not implemented. We did 7/10 features because the Booking System & User Profile Management were too complex, which consumed a lot of time.

While implementing these features, we made a few decisions with proper justifications:

Splitting the Booking System into Mentor Bookings Dashboard & Student Mentor Booking:

In the course of developing the booking module for the Learnly application, it became evident that our initial conception of the feature was too simplistic given the intricacies of its functionality. Given that the booking module serves as the central nexus of the application, interfacing directly with nearly every other feature, it is essential that its design is optimized for both functionality and maintainability.

Splitting the User Profile Management into User Authentication & Profile Management features:

This separation became necessary due to the increased complexity brought about by the inclusion of post-registration pages, where users are prompted to provide additional details about their interests. Furthermore, the creation of unique profile links for each user added another layer of intricacy to the system.

Login Details

- email: billgates@microsoft.com
- password: billgates@microsoft.com
- email: zuck@gmail.com
- password: zuck@gmail.com

Folder Structure

The reason for using a different folder structure in our project is to enhance code organization, maintainability, and reusability. By logically grouping related files into separate folders, we can achieve a decoupled and modular codebase. This allows us to work on specific components or features without affecting others, resulting in a more efficient development process.

For frontend development, the hierarchical folder structure helps us easily locate and manage assets like CSS, JavaScript, images, and fonts. This separation of concerns ensures a clear distinction between different elements of the frontend, making the code more readable and facilitating collaboration with other team members.

Similarly, in backend development, separating TypeScript (development code) and JavaScript (production code) into different folders enables me to distinguish between the two environments. This separation enhances code readability and simplifies the transition from development to production.

Additionally, a well-organized folder structure promotes code reuse. We can easily integrate them into various parts of the application, reducing redundancy and optimizing overall code efficiency.

Responsiveness

Our website is designed to adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes, ensuring an optimal viewing experience on mobile devices, iPads/tablets, and laptop screens. The app currently does not support 4K resolution screens (3840x2160).

This is because most users tend to use laptops, tablets, and mobile phones for browsing the web and using applications. These devices are more common for everyday tasks, so ensuring a responsive design on these devices is crucial to reach a wider audience. Most of these devices have resolutions less than 3840x2160 and therefore it was at the top of our priority to make sure it was responsive on them. Due to the time constraints, we were unable to make the app responsive for 4K resolution.

Development Optimization Techniques

In the Learnly web application, we've adopted a series of cutting-edge optimization techniques to ensure a swift and seamless user experience. By leveraging TypeScript in the backend, we've brought a layer of type safety that not only boosts performance but also aids in early error detection and clearer codebase maintenance. On the frontend, we've integrated Material UI with React, allowing for a responsive, modern, and intuitive user interface. The synergy between Node.js with TypeScript and Express.js bridges the frontend and backend efficiently, ensuring fast data retrieval and streamlined communication. Overall, these selections aim at enhancing both the application's speed and its reliability.

Testing

In the context of my application, the end-to-end tests & coding style tests which I went through are described below:

End to End Tests:

Registration and Valid information (User Profile Management)

a. Test: Registration with Valid Information
- Expectation: The user should be able to successfully register by entering valid personal information, and a new user account should be created in the system. A confirmation email should be sent to the user, and upon clicking the confirmation link, the account should be activated. The user should be able to log in with their registered credentials.
b. Test: Registration with Invalid Email Format
- Expectation: When the user enters an invalid email format, such as missing the '@' symbol, an error message should be displayed indicating the invalid format. The system should allow the user to correct the email format and proceed with the registration process. After successful registration, the user should receive a confirmation email and be able to activate their account.
c. Test: Login with Correct Credentials
- Expectation: Upon entering the correct email and password combination, the system should verify the credentials and grant access to the user's account. The user should be redirected to their account dashboard, indicating a successful login.
d. Test: Login with Incorrect Password
- Expectation: When the user enters the correct email but an incorrect password, the system should detect the incorrect password and display an error message. The user should be allowed to re-enter the correct password and upon successful login, be redirected to their account dashboard.
e. Test: Profile Editing

-Expectation:The user should be able to access the "Account Settings" or "Profile Editing" section and modify their profile information. Changes made to fields such as name, email, about you, and display name should be successfully updated in the system. The updated information should be reflected in the user's profile and account details. Additionally, any validations on the frontend and backend should be in place to ensure data integrity and accuracy during the profile editing process.

f. Test: Account Activation with Expired Confirmation Link
- Expectation: By delaying the click on the confirmation link received via email, the system should recognize and handle the expired link properly. An error message should be displayed indicating the link has expired. The user should be prompted to request a new confirmation email to activate their account, and upon receiving the new email and clicking the confirmation link, the account should be successfully activated.
Saving/Updating Default Schedule (Availability Calendar)

Test: Fill in the necessary fields on the Availability Calendar to set a default schedule, make changes, and click the save button.
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the default schedule has been saved successfully in the MongoDB database. Also, the updated default schedule is reflected on the AvailableCalendar component. Finally, the default schedule will be used for setting up the availability of the mentor, while booking.

Saving/Updating Alternate Schedule (Availability Calendar)

Test: Fill in the necessary fields on the Availability Calendar to set an alternate schedule, make changes, and click the save button.
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the alternate schedule has been saved successfully in the MongoDB database. Also, the updated alternate schedule is reflected on the AvailableCalendar component. Finally, the alternate schedule will be used for setting up the availability of the mentor, while booking.

Saving/Updating Unavailable Dates (Availability Calendar)

Test: Select the necessary dates by clicking "Add Unavailable Dates". Then, select some dates & click "Block Dates".
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the block dates has been saved successfully in the MongoDB database. Also, the updated dates are reflected on the calendar.

Saving/Updating Calendar Settings (Availability Calendar)

Test: Select the necessary fields by clicking "Calendar Settings" & click "Save Calendar Settings".
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the calendar settings has been saved successfully in the MongoDB database. Also, the updated settings are reflected on the calendar.

Creating an Issue (Report an Issue Feature)

Test: Entering issue information by clicking "Report an Issue" button, entering issue title and description, and pressing "Submit" button.
Expectation: Takes input from user, uploads it to the MongoDB database, and sends a success message after being saved. Then the user is sent back to the main issues page.

Update an Issue (Report an Issue Feature)

Test: Clicking on the issue, editing the issue information, pressing the “update” button.
Expectation: Receives info about the issue that the user clicks, gives user the form to update issue, and on press of “update” button saves the updated data.

Delete an Issue (Report an Issue Feature)

Test: Clicking on an issue and pressing the "Delete" button.
Expectation: Receives info about the issue selected by user, and calls the delete API to delete it from the MongoDB database.

Test: Service Selection (Service Dashboard)

Expectation: When a service is selected on the service page, the user is redirected to the booking details page with correct service details transferred.

Test: Booking Creation (Booking System)

Expectation: On the booking details page, the form should require all student information fields to be filled. Upon confirming the booking, the booking should be created in the backend with the 'isPaid' status set to false.

Test: Payment Process (Booking System)

Expectation: The payment page should validate inputs for a 16-digit card number, a 3-digit CVV, and a non-empty card holder's name. Upon successful payment, the app should redirect to the landing page, and a confirmation email should be sent to the user.

Pending Queries Display (Queries Management)

Expectation: When Queries are opened, pending queries for that user should be displayed, providing a clear and organized view of outstanding issues.

Queries Status Update (Queries Management)

Expectation: When a response is sent, queries should be promptly moved to the Answered tab, and the corresponding data must be accurately updated in the DB to ensure efficient query tracking and resolution.

Mail Notification (Queries Management)

Expectation: Upon sending a response to a query, an automatic mail notification should be promptly sent to the user, ensuring that they are informed about the resolution or further action required.

Deletion of Queries (Queries Management)

Expectation: When Queries are deleted, they should be instantly removed from the system's DB, ensuring that irrelevant or resolved queries are not retained unnecessarily, maintaining data cleanliness and storage efficiency.

Booking Cancellation Verification (Booking System)

Expectation: Upon cancellation, the booking's status should immediately reflect as "Cancelled" in the system's DB.

Booking Rescheduling Verification (Booking System)

Expectation: After rescheduling, the system's DB should promptly update to display the new date and time set by the mentor.

Data Integrity Post-Cancellation (Booking System)

Expectation: After a booking is cancelled, no active reminders or notifications related to this booking should exist in the system's DB, ensuring data integrity and cleanliness.

Create Service (Service Dashboard) Expectation: Upon successful creation, the new service should be added to the service list with accurate details and type.
Edit Service (Service Dashboard) Expectation: After editing, the service information should be updated correctly in the system, and the changes should reflect when viewing the service details.
Delete Service (Service Dashboard) Expectation: The selected service should be removed from the service list and database, and its details should no longer be accessible.
Share Service (Service Dashboard) Expectation: The link for the mentor's service page should be opened, and the link for the same should be copied.
Sort Service (Service Dashboard) Expectation: The services should be sorted and displayed according to the selected type (1:1, query, webinar).
Connecting Bank Account (Payment Integration)

Test: Fill in the necessary fields on the payments page like account number, transite number, institution number & email and click the connect button.
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the account has been connected successfully. Also, the user should get an email regarding the same.

Updating Bank Account (Payment Integration)

Test: Update & fill in the necessary fields on the payments page like account number, transite number, institution number & email and click the connect button.
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the new account has been connected successfully. Also, the user should get an email regarding the same.

Transferring Amount (Payment Integration)

Test: Click the checkout button and enter the amount which needs to de deposited. Click the transfer button.
Expectation: Verify that a success message is displayed, indicating that the mentioned amount has been transferred to the bank account. Also, the user should get an email regarding the same. The updated balance will also be displayed on the payments page.

Coding Style Tests:

Code formatting: Ensure that the code follows consistent indentation, spacing, and line wrapping rules. This helps improve code readability and maintainability.

Example: Check that the components use consistent indentation with proper alignment of elements and logical grouping of code blocks.

Naming conventions: Verify that variables, functions, and components follow appropriate naming conventions for clarity and consistency.

Example: Ensure that the names of functions and variables in the AvailableCalendar and Sidebar components are descriptive and follow a consistent naming convention, such as camelCase or PascalCase.

Modularity and organization: Assess how well the code is structured and organized, promoting maintainability and reusability.

Example: Check that the code within the components is logically grouped, with related functions or styles placed together, and that code duplication is minimized.

Deployment

Frontend

To deploy the project environment, We have used Netlify. The steps we followed for the deployment are as follows:

Pushed our code to a GitHub repository.
Login to Netlify account with Github.
Selected the repository we want to deploy.
Configured the site settings, such as providing a name for the site, etc.
Clicked on the "Deploy site" button. The site was deployed within a few minutes. The link to the code and the deployed site is also provided above.

Note: Ensure that the code is properly pushed to the GitHub repository before proceeding with the Netlify deployment.

Backend

To deploy the project environment, We have used Render. The steps we followed for the deployment are as follows:

Pushed our code to a GitHub repository.
Login to Render account with Github.
Selected the repository we want to deploy.
Configured the site settings, such as providing a name for the site, etc.
Clicked on the "Deploy site" button. The site was deployed within a few minutes. The link to the code and the deployed site is also provided above.

Note: Ensure that the code is properly pushed to the GitHub repository before proceeding with the Render deployment.

Known Issues

Upon initial access to the deployed application, please note that it may take a couple of minutes for the rendering APIs to load the app fully. Therefore, we recommend waiting for a short period before trying to access the features. After this initial loading phase, the application and backend APIs should function smoothly and efficiently.
All the accounts created previously might not work properly(due to change in schemas). Please create a new account to test our application.
In mentor bookings page, Iphone13 pro is showing month of the booking is showing undefined. But its working for other phones.
Sometimes the dates from student's booking end & mentor's bookings end can be different because of difference in their time zones.

Built With

Node.js - Dependency Management.
npm - Package Management.
React - Used it to build the user interface (UI) and manage the application's component-based architecture.
Material-UI - Used it's components like FormControlLabel, ThemeProvider, Checkbox, MenuItem, etc to create a visually appealing and responsive web application.
Postman - Backend APIs Testing was done by using Postman.
MongoDB - Document-Oriented NoSQL database.
Firebase - For User-Authentication.
Typescript - For writting the Backend code.

NOTE: We need to have Node.js installed, which includes npm, in order to install and use React and Material-UI in our project.

gabbar23/Learnly