Backend App for Blog Website

This is a backend application developed using Spring Boot for a feature-rich blog website. The application supports user sign-up, login, profile updates, post creation, commenting, and post reactions. It leverages the power of Spring Boot to provide a reliable and scalable backend infrastructure. Additionally, the application includes Swagger documentation for easy API exploration and testing.

Prerequisites

Before running the application, ensure that you have the following prerequisites installed:

• Java Development Kit (JDK) - Version 17 or higher
• Spring Boot - Latest version
• Maven - Latest version
• Your preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE) - IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, etc.

Setup

1. Clone the repository to your local machine.

2. Open the project in your preferred IDE.

3. Configure the application properties:

   • Open the application.properties file located in the src/main/resources directory.
   • Customize the database connection settings such as URL, username, and password according to your database setup.

4. Build the project:

   • Use Maven to build the project by running the following command in the terminal or command prompt:

     mvn clean install
     

Database Setup

1. Create a database for the application in your preferred database management system (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.).

2. Update the database configuration in the application.properties file with the appropriate database URL, username, and password.

3. Run the application:

   • Use the following command to run the application:

     mvn spring-boot:run
     

Features

The backend application provides the following features for the blog website:

• User Sign-up: Allow users to register and create an account.
• User Login: Enable users to authenticate and log into their accounts.
• Profile Update: Allow users to update their profile information, such as username, email, and profile picture.
• Post Creation: Enable users to create and publish blog posts, including the title, content, and optional images.
• Commenting: Allow users to add comments to blog posts, facilitating engagement and discussions.
• Post Reactions: Enable users to react to blog posts by expressing their emotions, such as liking or disliking.
• Swagger Documentation: Explore and interact with the application's APIs using the Swagger documentation available at http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html#/.

API Endpoints

The backend application exposes the following API endpoints:

• User-related endpoints:

  • POST /api/signup: Register a new user.
  • POST /api/login: Authenticate and log in a user.
  • PUT /api/profile: Update the user's profile.

• Post-related endpoints:

  • POST /api/posts: Create a new blog post.
  • PUT /api/posts/{postId}: Update an existing blog post.

• Comment-related endpoints:

  • POST /api/posts/{postId}/comments: Add a comment to a blog post.
  • PUT /api/posts/{postId}/comments/{commentId}: Update a comment.

• Reaction-related endpoints:

  • POST /api/posts/{postId}/reactions: Add a reaction to a blog post.

Please refer to the Swagger documentation for detailed information about each endpoint's request and response structures.

Conclusion

This backend application, developed using Spring Boot, provides a robust and feature-rich infrastructure for a blog website. With functionality for user sign-up, login, profile updates, post creation, commenting, and post reactions, it offers a comprehensive experience for users. The included Swagger documentation further simplifies API exploration and testing. Feel free to explore and extend the application based on your specific requirements.