Pet Store - Backend Final Project

Course	Course Name	Professor	Semester / Year
CPSC 449	Backend Engineering	Jayraj Arora	Spring 2024

Developers: Pet Query Group

Name	Email	Contribution
Erwin Medina	erwinmedina@csu.fullerton.edu	Caching, DB, Presentation, Main CRUD
Abel Mendoza	abel_mendoza10@csu.fullerton.edu	Project set up, Bcrypt, JWT, Redis caching, ReadMe, Presentation
Akshat Javiya	akshatjaviya02@csu.fullerton.edu	Load Balancer, Presentation, Main CRUD

Objective

The goal of this project is to develop a scalable and secure backend for a Pet Store application, leveraging advanced technologies to manage user authentication, session management, and high-load operations efficiently. The project builds upon previous work by enhancing security measures and implementing caching mechanisms to handle increased traffic and data interaction demands effectively.

Features

• User Authentication: Securely manage user sessions and data access using Flask-JWT-Extended.
• Password Encryption: Utilize Flask-Bcrypt for hashing and verifying passwords to ensure data security.
• Data Caching: Implement Redis caching to reduce database load and improve response times for frequently accessed data.
• Load Balancing: Utilized Nginx to distribute HTTP requests as a load balancer, improving response times.
• Error Handling: Advanced error handling mechanisms for debugging and smoother user experience.
• API Development: RESTful API endpoints for managing pet store inventory and user interactions.

Technologies Used

• Python: Primary programming language.
• Flask: Web framework for building the API.
• MongoDB: NoSQL database for storing user and product data.
• Redis: In-memory data structure store used as a cache and session store.
• Nginx: Utilized to handle incoming HTTP requests, and distribute them to appropriate servers, serving as a load balancer.

This project is focused on the backend aspect of a Pet Store application. It builds off of the previous assignment, enhancing it by integrating secure authentication, encrypted password storage, and the implementation of advanced scalable strategies to ensure the application can efficiently handle increased loads and maintain high performance.

How to Run

This section will guide you through the steps necessary to get the Pet Store Backend project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• Python 3.8 or newer
• pip (Python package installer)
• MongoDB
• Redis

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

First, clone the repository to your local machine using Git:

git clone https://github.com/erwinmedina/PetStoreBackendProject.git
cd PetStoreBackendProject

2. Setup Virtual Environment

It's recommended to create a virtual environment to manage the dependencies:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Dependencies

Install all the required Python packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Environment Variables

Configure the necessary environment variables:

Create a .env file in the root directory of the project and fill it with the necessary credentials:

MONGO_URI=<your_mongo_database_uri>
REDIS_URL=<your_redis_server_url>
SECRET_KEY=<your_secret_key>
JWT_SECRET_KEY=<your_jwt_secret_key>

Replace the temp keys with the appropriate key values.

5. Run the Application

Start the server using Flask's command:

flask run

The server should now be running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/.

6. Questions/Concerns?

Please contact one of the developers if issues occur 

Usage

Once the server is running, you can interact with the API using tools like Postman or curl to send requests to endpoints defined in the application.

Example Request

Here's an example curl request to add a new pet to the store:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/petstore \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"petname": "Wishbone", "pettype": "dog", "petweight": "20", "petgender": "Male", "petcolor": "White and Brown", "petage": 5}'

Images

Request	Output
Register (POST)
Log In (POST)
All Users (GET)
All Pets (GET)
All Pets with No Authorization (GET)
All Pets with No Cache (GET) [Look at response time]
All Pets with Cache (GET) [Look at response time]
User Saved in MongoDB with Password Encryption

This will add a new pet to the Pet Store and should return the newly created product's details.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Professor Jayraj Arora for guidance and insights throughout the project, helping us understand the intricacies of backend development in a real-world context.