antonharbers / blog-api-demo

API Demo - The Odin Project: https://www.theodinproject.com/lessons/nodejs-blog-api

Blog API - The Odin Project

A simple backend only API made for the odin project. Made using express, passport and mongoDB.

Frontend App Repo Frontend App Live Author Page Repo Author Page Rest-API Enpoint

Key Concepts

In this Blog API, several key concepts are utilized to ensure a robust, secure, and efficient system. Below are some of the core concepts with examples:

JWT Authentication

JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are used for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. This is implemented in the authentication of users.

Example:

const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');

exports.generateToken = (user) => {
  return jwt.sign(
    { userId: user._id, isAdmin: user.isAdmin },
    process.env.JWT_SECRET,
    { expiresIn: '1h' }
  );
};

Password Hashing

For security, user passwords are hashed using bcrypt before storing in the database.

Example:

const bcrypt = require('bcryptjs');

async function hashPassword(password) {
  return await bcrypt.hash(password, 10);
}

Async/Await for Asynchronous Code

Async/Await is used to handle asynchronous operations, making the code cleaner and more readable.

Example:

async function getUser(id) {
  try {
    return await User.findById(id);
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle error
  }
}

API Route Documentation

This API provides various routes for handling blog-related functionalities:

Authentication Routes

• POST /auth/signup: Registers a new user.
• POST /auth/login: Authenticates a user and returns a JWT.
• GET /auth/logout: Ends the user session (client-side token deletion).
• GET /auth/session: Responds with users logged in status and how long the session will last.

User Routes

• GET /users: Retrieves a list of users (admin only).
• GET /users/:id: Retrieves a specific user's details.
• PUT /users/:id: Updates a user's information.
• DELETE /users/:id: Deletes a user account.

Post Routes

• GET /posts: Retrieves all posts.
• GET /posts/:id: Retrieves a specific post.
• POST /posts: Creates a new post.
• PUT /posts/:id: Updates a post.
• DELETE /posts/:id: Deletes a post.

Comment Routes

• GET /comments: Retrieves all comments.
• GET /comments/:id: Retrieves a specific comment.
• POST /comments: Adds a new comment to a post.
• PUT /comments/:id: Updates a comment.
• DELETE /comments/:id: Deletes a comment.

Final Notes

Through the development of this Blog API, I've gained valuable insights into backend development, especially in Node.js and Express. Key learnings include:

• Security Practices: Implementing JWT for secure authentication and bcrypt for password hashing has emphasized the importance of security in web development.
• Asynchronous Programming: Mastery of async/await has greatly improved the handling of asynchronous operations, making the code more readable and maintainable.
• RESTful API Design: Developing a set of coherent and well-structured API endpoints has taught me the principles of RESTful design, crucial for scalable and efficient web services.

Real-World Applicability

The concepts and practices used in this project are directly applicable to real-world scenarios:

• Building secure and scalable APIs for web applications.
• Implementing authentication and authorization in e-commerce platforms, social networks, or any user-based application.
• Utilizing async/await in managing database operations, external API calls, or any asynchronous tasks in server-side logic.

This project has been a stepping stone in my journey as a backend developer, solidifying my foundation and preparing me for more complex and impactful projects in the future.