README.md

NoteExchangeAPI

Overview

This API, built with Flask, enables user registration, friend management, and note exchange. It features an RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) system for multi-tier administrators with varying privileges. The database setup includes SQLite3 for unit tests and MariaDB for production, environment settings are managed via a config.toml file.

Features

• User Registration: Register new users.
• Friend Management: Add and manage friends.
• Note Exchange: Exchange notes between users.
• RBAC System: Multi-tier admin roles with different access levels.
• Testing: Uses SQLite3 in-memory database for unit tests.
• Database: Utilizes MariaDB for production environments.
• Configuration: Managed via config.toml.
• Documentation: OpenAPI docs available courtesy of Swagger and Redoc.

MariaDB Setup

1. Install MariaDB from the official website.
2. Create a database and a user:

   mariadb -u root -p
   CREATE DATABASE users;
   CREATE USER 'user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON users.* TO 'user'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;

   Update config.toml if you use different credentials.

Installation & Running

1. Navigate to the note_exchange_api/ folder and create a virtual environment:

   cd note_exchange_api
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Initialize the database:

   python build_database.py

4. Start the development server:

   python run_app.py

5. Access the home page at http://127.0.0.1:8000. API documentation is available at http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/docs.

Running Tests

1. Run the tests:

   python run_unit_tests.py

2. To see unit test coverage:

   python run_coverage_tests.py

Testing with Postman

1. Download and install Postman from the official website.

2. Create a new request in Postman:

   • Set the method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and URL according to your API endpoints.
   • Add necessary headers (e.g., Content-Type: application/json).
   • Include the request body if needed (e.g., JSON data for POST requests).
   • For protected endpoints, provide the Bearer token JWT in the Authorization header:

     Authorization: Bearer <your_jwt_token>
     

3. Send the request and view the response:

   • Use Postman’s interface to send requests and view server responses, making it easier to test and debug the API.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.