ProConnect - Professional Networking Platform

A LinkedIn-like professional networking platform built with React, Node.js, Express, and MySQL.

🚀 Features

• User Profiles - Complete professional profiles with experience, education, and skills
• Posts & Feed - Share updates and engage with your network
• Connections - Build your professional network with smart suggestions
• Activity Tracking - Monitor all your interactions and engagement
• Comments & Likes - Engage with posts and comments
• Resume Builder - Create professional resumes from your profile
• Real-time Updates - Automatic count management via database triggers

📋 Recent Updates

✨ New Features

• Activity Page - Track all your posts, comments, likes, and connections
• Connections Page - Manage connections with tabs for pending, sent, and suggestions
• Comment Likes - Like and unlike comments with automatic count updates
• Connection Suggestions - Smart suggestions based on mutual connections
• Automatic Counts - Database triggers handle all like and comment counts

🐛 Fixes

• Feed no longer shows your own posts
• Comment likes now work correctly
• Connection status checking fixed
• All counts are now accurate and automatic

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18
• TypeScript
• Vite
• TailwindCSS
• Shadcn/ui
• React Query
• Zustand
• React Router

Backend

• Node.js
• Express
• MySQL 8.0+
• JWT Authentication
• bcrypt

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• MySQL 8.0+
• npm or yarn

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd ProConnect

2. Setup Backend

cd backend
npm install

Create .env file:

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_NAME=professional_network
PORT=5000
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key

3. Setup Database

For fresh installation:

mysql -u root -p < backend/sql-schema/schema.sql
mysql -u root -p professional_network < backend/sql-schema/sample-entries.sql

For existing database (migration):

mysql -u root -p professional_network < backend/sql-schema/migration-add-triggers.sql

4. Setup Frontend

cd frontend
npm install

5. Start Development Servers

Backend:

cd backend
npm start

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:8080

📚 Documentation

• SETUP_GUIDE.md - Detailed setup and migration instructions
• CHANGES_SUMMARY.md - Complete list of changes and improvements
• QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Quick reference for developers
• ARCHITECTURE.md - System architecture and design decisions
• TESTING_CHECKLIST.md - Comprehensive testing guide
• backend/sql-schema/README.md - Database schema documentation

🎯 Key Features Explained

Automatic Count Management

All likes and comments counts are managed automatically by database triggers. No manual count updates needed in application code!

// Just insert/delete - counts update automatically!
await db.query('INSERT INTO POST_LIKES (POST_ID, USER_ID) VALUES (?, ?)', [postId, userId]);
// LIKES_COUNT automatically increments via trigger

Activity Tracking

Every user action is automatically logged:

• Posts created
• Comments added
• Post likes
• Comment likes
• Connections accepted

View your activity at /activity

Connection Suggestions

Smart suggestions based on your network:

• 2nd degree connections (friends of friends)
• Shows mutual connections count
• Prioritizes users with more mutual connections

Feed Algorithm

• Excludes your own posts
• Shows posts from your connections
• Includes like status for each post
• Optimized with stored procedures

🔗 API Endpoints

Posts

GET    /api/posts                          - Get feed
POST   /api/posts                          - Create post
POST   /api/posts/:postId/like             - Toggle post like
POST   /api/posts/:postId/comments         - Add comment
POST   /api/posts/comments/:commentId/like - Toggle comment like
GET    /api/posts/activity/me              - Get my activity

Connections

GET    /api/connections/:userId            - Get connections
GET    /api/connections/suggestions        - Get suggestions
GET    /api/connections/pending/received   - Get pending requests
POST   /api/connections/request            - Send request
PUT    /api/connections/:connectionId/accept - Accept request

See QUICK_REFERENCE.md for complete API documentation.

🗄️ Database

Tables

• USERS - User profiles
• POSTS - User posts
• COMMENTS - Post comments
• POST_LIKES - Post likes
• COMMENT_LIKES - Comment likes
• CONNECTIONS - User connections
• USER_ACTIVITY - Activity tracking
• EXPERIENCE - Work experience
• EDUCATION - Educational background
• SKILLS - User skills
• PROJECTS - User projects

Triggers (8)

Automatic count management and activity logging

Stored Procedures (4)

Optimized queries for complex operations

See backend/sql-schema/README.md for detailed schema documentation.

🧪 Testing

Run the complete test suite using TESTING_CHECKLIST.md

Quick tests:

# Test backend
curl http://localhost:5000/

# Test database triggers
mysql -u root -p professional_network
> SELECT * FROM USER_ACTIVITY ORDER BY CREATED_AT DESC LIMIT 10;

🚀 Deployment

Backend

• Deploy to AWS EC2, Heroku, or DigitalOcean
• Set environment variables
• Run migration script on production database

Frontend

• Build: npm run build
• Deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or AWS S3
• Set API URL environment variable

Database

• Use AWS RDS, DigitalOcean Managed Database, or similar
• Run migration script
• Set up automated backups

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly using TESTING_CHECKLIST.md
5. Submit a pull request

📝 License

MIT License - feel free to use this project for learning or commercial purposes.

🆘 Support

• Check SETUP_GUIDE.md for setup issues
• Review QUICK_REFERENCE.md for quick answers
• See ARCHITECTURE.md for system design
• Use TESTING_CHECKLIST.md for debugging

🎉 Acknowledgments

Built with modern web technologies and best practices for database management, including:

• Automatic count management via triggers
• Activity tracking system
• Smart connection suggestions
• Optimized queries with stored procedures

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Version: 2.0.0
Last Updated: October 2025
Status: Production Ready ✅