BACKEND

Backend API for Team Codex - Blockathon

Introduction

This project is a backend server for a real-time collaborative drawing application. It allows multiple users to draw simultaneously on a shared canvas, facilitating creativity and collaboration.

MetaMuse

Overview

This backend is built to support real-time collaboration for a collaborative drawing application. It uses WebSocket connections to facilitate live drawing sessions where multiple users can see each other’s drawing updates instantly.

Features

  • Real-time communication via WebSocket
  • Data synchronization for collaborative drawing
  • Event broadcasting to all connected clients
  • Simple authentication (if applicable, e.g., JWT tokens)

Tech Stack

  • Server: Node.js, Express
  • WebSocket: ws (or Socket.IO, if preferred)
  • Database: MongoDB (or any database if storing session data, user profiles, etc.)

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v14+ recommended)
  • npm or yarn
  • MongoDB (optional, if using a database)

Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone github.com:ObiomaIkpe/blockathon.git
cd backend-project-name
  1. Install Dependencies
bash
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npm install
# or
yarn install
  1. Configuration Create a .env file in the root directory with the necessary environment variables:
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PORT=3001
MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/drawingApp  # Only if using MongoDB
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret                       # Optional if using authentication
  1. Running the Application To start the server locally:
bash
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npm run dev

This will start the backend server on http://localhost:3001 (or your specified port).

Project Structure graphql

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backend-project-name/
│
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/             # Handlers for different endpoints
│   │   └── canvasController.js   # Logic for WebSocket events
│   ├── models/                  # Database models (if using MongoDB)
│   ├── routes/                  # Express routes (optional)
│   ├── utils/                   # Utility functions (e.g., WebSocket helpers)
│   ├── app.js                   # Express app setup
│   └── server.js                # Server and WebSocket setup
└── README.md                    # Project documentation

API Documentation Endpoints (Optional) POST /auth/login - Authenticates users and issues JWT tokens. POST /auth/register - Registers new users (optional). WebSocket Events draw - Broadcasts the drawing data from one client to all other connected clients. connect - Notifies when a new user connects to the WebSocket server. disconnect - Handles user disconnection. Key Code Snippets Setting Up WebSocket Events In server.js:

Scripts

npm start: Runs the server in production mode.
npm run dev: Runs the server in development mode with auto-reloading (using nodemon).
npm test: in progress (optional).

Testing Use tools like Postman for API testing and WebSocket client tools to simulate real-time data.

Open a WebSocket client (e.g., the WebSocket extension in Postman or an online WebSocket tool). Connect to the WebSocket server at ws://localhost:3001 (or the relevant server URL). Emit drawing data to see if updates are broadcasted to all connected clients. Contributing Feel free to fork the repo and submit pull requests! Please make sure all code is tested and linted before submission.

License This project is licensed under the MIT License.

FRONTENDSMARTCONTRACT