Poster App

A simple social media posting application built with Node.js and a custom web framework called "Butter".

Overview

Poster is a lightweight web application that allows users to:

• Create an account and log in
• View posts from other users
• Create new posts
• Update their profile information
• Log out securely

Features

• Authentication System: Token-based authentication with secure session management
• User Management: Create, read, and update user profiles
• Posting System: Create and view posts with author information
• Custom Framework: Built on top of a custom Node.js web framework called "Butter"
• Responsive Frontend: Clean, modern UI with vanilla JavaScript

Architecture

Backend

• Custom Framework: Butter - A lightweight Express-like web framework built with Node.js
• Authentication: Token-based sessions stored in memory
• Data Storage: In-memory arrays for users, posts, and sessions
• Middleware: Custom middleware for authentication, JSON parsing, and routing

Frontend

• Single Page Application: Vanilla JavaScript with client-side routing
• Responsive Design: Modern CSS with mobile-friendly layout
• Dynamic Content: Dynamic DOM manipulation for posts and user interactions

Project Structure

poster-app/
├── server.js          # Main application server
├── butter.js          # Custom web framework
├── public/            # Static files
│   ├── index.html     # Main HTML template
│   ├── styles.css     # Application styles
│   └── scripts.js     # Client-side JavaScript
└── README.md          # This file

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/login - User login
• DELETE /api/logout - User logout

User Management

• GET /api/user - Get current user information
• PUT /api/user - Update user profile

Posts

• GET /api/posts - Get all posts with author information
• POST /api/posts - Create a new post (requires authentication)

Static Files

• GET /styles.css - CSS stylesheet
• GET /scripts.js - Client-side JavaScript
• GET / - Main application (serves index.html)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 14 or higher)
• npm (usually comes with Node.js)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/vasylpryimakdev/node-js-poster.git
cd node-js-poster

2. Start the application:

node server.js

3. Open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:8000

Default Users

The application comes with pre-configured test users:

Username	Password	Name
liam23	string	Liam Brown
merit.sky	string	Meredith Green
ben.poet	string	Ben Adams

Technical Details

Butter Framework Features

• Routing: Simple route registration with HTTP methods
• Middleware: BeforeEach middleware for cross-cutting concerns
• Response Helpers: Built-in methods for JSON, file serving, and status codes
• Request Parsing: Automatic JSON body parsing

Security Features

• Token-based authentication
• Secure cookie handling
• Route protection with middleware
• Session management

Data Models

User

{
  id: Number,
  name: String,
  username: String,
  password: String
}

Post

{
  id: Number,
  title: String,
  body: String,
  userId: Number,
  author: String (populated from user data)
}

Session

{
  userId: Number,
  token: String
}

Development Notes

• The application uses in-memory storage, so data is lost when the server restarts
• Passwords are stored in plain text (for demonstration purposes only)
• The Butter framework is a simplified version of Express.js for educational purposes
• The frontend is a single-page application with client-side routing

Future Improvements

• Persistent data storage (database integration)
• Password hashing and security improvements
• Error handling and validation
• Test coverage
• Docker containerization
• Production deployment configuration