Course Management API

This project is a RESTful API for managing courses, built with Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. It provides CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations for course management.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have met the following requirements:

• You have installed Node.js (version 12.x or later) and npm. You can download them from nodejs.org.
• You have installed MongoDB (version 4.x or later). You can download it from mongodb.com.
• You have a GitHub account and Git installed on your local machine.
• You have a basic understanding of JavaScript and RESTful APIs.

Cloning the Project

To clone this project, follow these steps:

1. Open your terminal (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on macOS or Linux).

2. Navigate to the directory where you want to clone the project.

3. Run the following command:

   git clone https://github.com/TheMarvelFan/Course-Api.git

4. Navigate into the project directory:

   cd Course-Api

Setting Up the Project

After cloning the project, you need to set it up:

1. Install the project dependencies:

   npm install

2. Create a .env file in the root directory of the project:

   touch .env

3. Open the .env file in a text editor and add the following environment variables:

   MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string_here
   PORT=3000
   

   Replace your_mongodb_connection_string_here with your actual MongoDB connection string.

Running the Project

To run the project, follow these steps:

1. Make sure MongoDB is running on your machine.

2. Start the server:

   For production:

   npm start

   For development (with auto-restart on file changes):

   npm run dev

3. The server should now be running on http://localhost:3000 (or the port you specified in the .env file).

Testing the API

You can test the API using tools like Postman or curl. Here are the available endpoints:

• POST /api/courses: Create a new course
• GET /api/courses: Retrieve all courses
• GET /api/courses/:id: Retrieve a specific course by ID
• PUT /api/courses/:id: Update a course by ID
• DELETE /api/courses/:id: Delete a course by ID

Example of creating a new course using curl:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"title":"Introduction to Node.js","description":"Learn the basics of Node.js","duration":120}' http://localhost:3000/api/courses

Adjustments and Customizations

1. Database Connection: If you're using a different MongoDB setup (like a remote database), make sure to update the MONGODB_URI in your .env file accordingly.

2. Port: The default port is set to 3000. If you need to use a different port, you can change it in the .env file.

3. Course Model: If you need to add or modify fields for the course model, you can do so in the models/Course.js file. Remember to update the corresponding route handlers in routes/courses.js if you make changes to the model.

4. Error Handling: The current implementation includes basic error handling. For a production environment, you might want to implement more robust error handling and logging.

5. Authentication: This API doesn't include authentication. For a production application, consider implementing user authentication and authorization.

6. Validation: You may want to add more detailed validation for course data. Consider using a library like express-validator for this purpose.

Screenshots

• POST /api/courses:

• GET /api/courses:

• GET /api/courses/:id:

• PUT /api/courses/:id: https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3f7fae07-9e3d-4af2-9738-28fa8ebdd86e

• DELETE /api/courses/:id: https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3ddf9e1a-7bb6-40f2-8cc6-89b62fd88ecc