Forum Application

A simple forum web application built with Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. This is a beginner-level project demonstrating basic web development concepts including user authentication, CRUD operations, and session management.

🚀 Features

• User Authentication

  • User registration with email validation
  • Secure login/logout functionality
  • Password hashing with bcrypt
  • Session management

• Forum Functionality

  • Post new questions
  • View all questions from other users
  • Response system for questions
  • User-specific content management

• Security

  • Password hashing
  • Session-based authentication
  • Input validation
  • SQL injection protection through MongoDB

🛠 Technologies Used

Backend

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Express.js - Web framework
• MongoDB - NoSQL database
• Mongoose - MongoDB object modeling
• bcrypt - Password hashing
• express-session - Session management
• body-parser - Request body parsing

Frontend

• Pug - Template engine
• CSS3 - Styling
• HTML5 - Structure

Development Tools

• npm - Package manager
• nodemon - Development server (optional)

📁 Project Structure

Forum/
├── app.js                 # Main application file
├── package.json          # Project dependencies
├── controllers/          # Business logic
│   ├── questionController.js
│   ├── responseController.js
│   └── userController.js
├── models/               # Database models
│   ├── User.js
│   ├── Question.js
│   └── Response.js
├── routes/               # Application routes
│   ├── usersRouter.js
│   ├── questionRouter.js
│   └── responseRouter.js
├── middlewares/          # Custom middleware
│   └── auth.js
├── views/                # Pug templates
│   ├── home.pug
│   ├── login.pug
│   ├── register.pug
│   └── question.pug
└── public/               # Static files
    └── css/
        ├── homeStyle.css
        ├── loginStyle.css
        ├── questionStyle.css
        └── registerStyle.css

💾 Database Schema

User Model

{
  nom: String (required),
  email: String (required, unique),
  password: String (required)
}

Question Model

{
  user_id: ObjectId (ref: 'User', required),
  question: String (required),
  date: Date (default: Date.now)
}

Response Model

{
  user_id: ObjectId (ref: 'User', required),
  question_id: ObjectId (ref: 'Question', required),
  response: String (required),
  date: Date (default: Date.now)
}

⚙️ Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (v4.0 or higher)
• npm (comes with Node.js)

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/souilimaa/Forum.git
cd Forum

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Setup MongoDB

Option A: Local MongoDB Installation

1. Install MongoDB on your system
2. Start MongoDB service:

   # On Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo systemctl start mongod
   
   # On macOS (with Homebrew)
   brew services start mongodb-community
   
   # On Windows
   net start MongoDB

Option B: MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)

1. Create a free account at MongoDB Atlas
2. Create a new cluster
3. Get your connection string
4. Update app.js with your Atlas connection string:

   let connectionString = 'your-mongodb-atlas-connection-string';

4. Configure Database Connection

The application connects to MongoDB on localhost:27017 by default. Update the connection string in app.js if needed:

let connectionString = 'mongodb://localhost:27017';

5. Start the Application

node app.js

The application will be available at http://localhost:3000

🖥 Usage

1. Access the Application: Open http://localhost:3000 in your web browser

2. Register a New Account:

   • Click on "login" then "Register?"
   • Fill in your name, email, and password
   • Confirm your password
   • Click "Register"

3. Login:

   • Enter your email and password
   • Click "Login"

4. Post Questions:

   • On the home page, enter your question in the text field
   • Click "Envoyer" to submit

5. View and Respond:

   • Click on "Reponses" next to any question to view or add responses
   • Add your response and submit

6. Logout:

   • Click "Logout" in the top-right corner

🚧 API Endpoints

Authentication Routes

• GET /login - Display login page
• POST /home - Process login
• GET /register - Display registration page
• POST /users - Process registration
• GET /logout - Logout user

Question Routes

• POST /question - Create new question
• GET /question/:id - View specific question with responses

Response Routes

• POST /response - Add response to question

🔧 Development

Running in Development Mode

For development with auto-reload, install nodemon:

npm install -g nodemon
nodemon app.js

Environment Variables

Create a .env file for environment-specific configurations:

PORT=3000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/forum
SESSION_SECRET=your-secret-key-here

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. MongoDB Connection Error

   Error: Connection error undefined
   

   Solution: Ensure MongoDB is running and accessible

2. bcrypt Installation Issues

   Error: Module did not self-register
   

   Solution: Rebuild bcrypt module

   npm rebuild bcrypt

3. Port Already in Use

   Error: listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000
   

   Solution: Kill the process using port 3000 or use a different port

   # Find and kill process using port 3000
   lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

4. Session Issues

   • Clear browser cookies and cache
   • Restart the application

🔐 Security Considerations

This is a beginner project and includes basic security measures:

Implemented Security Features

• Password hashing with bcrypt
• Session-based authentication
• Input validation for forms
• Protection against NoSQL injection via Mongoose

Recommended Enhancements for Production

• Implement CSRF protection
• Add rate limiting
• Use HTTPS
• Implement proper error handling
• Add input sanitization
• Use environment variables for sensitive data
• Implement proper session configuration
• Add logging and monitoring

👤 Author

souilimaa

• GitHub: @souilimaa

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built as a learning project for Node.js and Express.js
• Inspired by basic forum applications
• Uses MongoDB for data persistence
• Styled with basic CSS for simplicity

📚 Learning Resources

If you're new to the technologies used in this project:

• Node.js Documentation
• Express.js Guide
• MongoDB Manual
• Mongoose Documentation
• Pug Template Engine

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Note: This is a beginner-level project created for educational purposes. It demonstrates basic web development concepts and should be enhanced with additional security measures before production use.