shortURL

unit tested url-shortening framework operating with zappa js and mongo-db with mongoose reliably creates "shortURICodes" from "redirectURIs"

structure:

• application uses /routes/shorturl.coffee to handle /shorten and /* (unshorten) requests
• /routes/shorturl.coffee calls /model/shorturl.coffee to handle shorten and retrieve

interface for shorturl.shorten (/model/shorturl.coffee):

shorturl.shorten = (shorteningURI, minLength, domain, shouldReuseCode, customCode, userInfo, callback) -> #callback(err, shortURL<object>)  
shorteningURI - url to shorten  
minLength - min short-code length, length may be longer if too many intersections happen on generation  
domain - callback will error if shorteningURI does not begin with domain string   
shouldReuseCode - callback will return old code for same shorteningURI if the prior code wasn't a "customCode"  
customCode - a custom code for the short-code, callback will error if the code is used   
userInfo - any data you want to include about the user shortening the uri   
callback - passes (err, and shortURL)   
-- err - error if shortening failed   
-- shortURL - an object containing 'shortURICode' and 'redirectURI' properties, among others (see /model/shorturl.coffee)  

interface for shorturl.retrieve:

shorturl.retrieve = (shortURICode, userInfo, callback) -> #callback(err, shortURL)
shortURICode - short code that corresponds to redirectURI which you've already shortened
userInfo - any data you want to include about the user retrieving the uri   
callback - passes (err, and shortURL)   
-- err - error if shortening failed   
-- shortURL - an object containing 'shortURICode' and 'redirectURI' properties, among others (see /model/shorturl.coffee)  

pre-reqs:

• zappa, or some coffee-script compiling software built ontop of express js
• mongoose used as adaptor for mongodb
• secrets.coffee file kept in root of directory, with connection info within exports.mongoDBConnectURLSecret

setup:

1. in your main coffeescript file, eg appname.coffee, import short url: shorturl = require('./routes/shorturl')

2. to support generation of short-urls by website users, add the following anywhere as route: @get '/shorten/*', shorturl.shorten

3. add the following before your catch-all (eg, 404) route: @get '/*', shorturl.unShortenRedir

to use:

coffee short.coffee, or supervisor short.coffee
then go to
localhost:3000/shorten/urltoshorten
then aftwards, you're able to go to localhost:3000/code to redirect

tests:

• tests were done with mocha using should expressive assertions
• find the test at /test/