/meldcx-code-challenge

A file sharing API server built within 2 days for a code challenge project

Primary LanguageJavaScript

File Sharing API - meldCX Code Challenge

Table of Content

Description

This is a README file serving as a mini documentation of the challenge project that I worked on in the allowed time frame.

  • 👨🏻‍💻 Author: Rui Hu (@logreg-n-coffee)
  • 🌱 Date of Reception: April 15, 2023 7:58 MST (Phoenix, AZ, USA)
  • 🌳 Date of Delivery: by April 17: 2023 7:58 MST (Phoenix, AZ, USA)

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you. 🥳

How to run the server

Just want to have a peek

Install the packages and start:

npm install && npm start

In your browser, get the sample file:

Step-by-Step Instruction

  1. Download or clone the repository.
  2. Locate to the root directory of the project.
  3. Install the required dependencies by running npm install.
  4. Configure environment variables by modifying the .env file in the root folder. (optional)
  5. Start the API server using the npm start command
  6. Run unit and integration tests using the npm test command

TL;DR

To run for the first time:

npm install

To start:

npm start

To run Existing Test:

npm test

API Documentation

The following are the sample requests and responses. Please use the API testing tools as you wish. I usually use Postman to test my APIs. The following is a screenshot of my Postman settings.

Postman Sample

1. POST /files - Upload a file

Upload a file to the server. The API will return a JSON object containing public and private keys for future reference.

Sample Request

POST /files
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="example.txt"
Content-Type: text/plain

< ./path/to/example.txt

Sample Response

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "publicKey": "a6a13488-b469-4488-ad94-9c2391bece68",
    "privateKey": "6603273e-413b-4e04-a106-2085ff7de04c"
}

2. GET /files/:publicKey - Download a file

Download a file from the server. The API will return the content of the file.

Sample Request

GET /files/a6a13488-b469-4488-ad94-9c2391bece68

Sample Response

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/plain

This is the content of the uploaded file.

3. DELETE /files/:privateKey - Delete a file

Delete a file from the server using its private key.

Sample Request

DELETE /files/6603273e-413b-4e04-a106-2085ff7de04c

Sample Response

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "message": "The file has been successfully deleted"
}

Discussion

I attempted the project within the limited timeframe. Due to limited time, I have documented possible improvements to my project.

  1. Error handling and logging:
    • Enhance error handling throughout the application to provide better debugging information and handle edge cases.
    • Consider using a logging library to log important events and errors.
  2. Security:
    • Implement security best practices for API
      • add an authentication layer to protect the endpoints,
      • use helmet middleware for setting various HTTP headers, and
      • sanitize user inputs to prevent potential attacks.
  3. Caching:
    • Implement caching for frequently accessed files to improve performance
      • Use libraries like redis for in-memory caching or
      • memory-cache for a simpler caching mechanism.
  4. Performance optimization:
    • Analyze and optimize the performance of the application.
      • Use profiling tools like node --inspect or
      • libraries like clinic to identify performance bottlenecks and optimize the code.
  5. Scalability:
    • Consider deploying the application to a cloud provider like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure.
      • Make it easier to scale the application as needed, providing better availability and reliability.
  6. Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD):
    • Set up a CI/CD pipeline for the project using services like
      • GitHub Actions,
      • GitLab CI/CD, or
      • Jenkins.
    • This will help automate testing, building, and deploying the application.
      • Ensure that the code remains stable and up-to-date.

Directory Structure

meldcx-code-challenge/
|-- src/
|   |-- config/
|   |   |-- index.js
|   |-- storage/
|   |   |-- index.js
|   |   |-- local-storage.js
|   |   |-- google-cloud-storage.js
|   |-- api/
|   |   |-- index.js
|   |-- utils/
|   |   |-- index.js
|   |-- app.js
|-- test/
|   |-- integration/
|   |   |-- api.test.js
|   |-- unit/
|   |   |-- storage/
|   |   |   |-- local-storage.test.js
|   |   |   |-- google-cloud-storage.test.js
|   |-- sample-file.txt
|-- .env
|-- .env.example
|-- .gitignore
|-- package.json
|-- package-lock.json
|-- README.md
|-- postman-sample.png