Running LATE
Open two separate terminals and run the frontend hot-reloading server and API server, one in each:
$ npm run frontend$ npm run backend
The backend should go up in a few seconds and tell you what url and port to access it on. It should be something like localhost:3000. Do not use this url.
The frontend will take a lot longer as it is compiling all of the Vue components and linting them. Once it finishes the terminal will be green and will provide the url (usually localhost:8080) to visit the website. THIS IS THE URL YOU USE! Navigate to the given url in Chrome/Firefox.
In development mode, LATE will allow you to login as any user by providing the RPI username (RCS ID) of the student. You can use your own, make one up, or use Frank's matraf since there is already a lot of data in my test account.
Development mode data is totally separate from the production server's data. So mess with it as you please!
If you make a change to a Vue component or any frontend file while the frontend server (:8080) is running, it will automatically recompile and update the page in your browser either silently or refresh the page (if you change any complex stuff). A lot handier than waiting for npm install all the time!
If you make a change on the backend server, you must kill and restart it for changes to take effect. However, in some cases, you'll need to use the backend server for your development (such as working on the splash page)