Assignment #5: Restaurant API

This repository contains your starter code for the Restaurant API assignment focusing on middleware implementation and API documentation.

Getting Started

1. Clone this repository to your local machine
2. Navigate to the project directory
3. Install dependencies:

   npm install

Assignment Overview

You will build a complete restaurant menu management API that demonstrates:

• Custom middleware functions for request logging and input validation
• Professional API documentation using Postman collections
• Proper HTTP status codes and error handling
• Secure API endpoints with input validation and data sanitization

Required Dependencies

Install the following package for validation:

npm install express-validator

Sample Data Structure

Your API will manage menu items with this structure:

{
  id: 1,
  name: "Classic Burger",
  description: "Beef patty with lettuce, tomato, and cheese on a sesame seed bun",
  price: 12.99,
  category: "entree",
  ingredients: ["beef", "lettuce", "tomato", "cheese", "bun"],
  available: true
}

Required API Endpoints

• GET /api/menu - Retrieve all menu items
• GET /api/menu/:id - Retrieve a specific menu item by ID
• POST /api/menu - Add a new menu item
• PUT /api/menu/:id - Update an existing menu item
• DELETE /api/menu/:id - Remove a menu item

Middleware Requirements

Your API must implement two custom middleware functions:

1. Request Logging Middleware

• Log HTTP method, URL, and timestamp for all requests
• Log request body for POST and PUT requests
• Apply to all routes

2. Input Validation Middleware

• Validate all required fields using express-validator
• Apply to POST and PUT endpoints
• Return appropriate error messages for validation failures

Validation Rules

• Name: Required string, minimum 3 characters
• Description: Required string, minimum 10 characters
• Price: Required number, greater than 0
• Category: Required string, must be one of: "appetizer", "entree", "dessert", "beverage"
• Ingredients: Required array with at least 1 ingredient
• Available: Boolean (defaults to true)

HTTP Status Codes

Your API must return appropriate status codes:

• 200 for successful GET, PUT, DELETE requests
• 201 for successful POST requests
• 400 for validation errors
• 404 for not found errors

Documentation Requirements

Create comprehensive API documentation using Postman:

• Create a collection with all API endpoints
• Add clear descriptions for each endpoint
• Include example request bodies for POST/PUT
• Save response examples for both success and error cases
• Publish documentation as a public website

Testing Your Implementation

Use your Postman collection to test:

• All CRUD operations work correctly
• Middleware executes in proper order
• Validation middleware rejects invalid data
• Logging middleware captures all requests
• All endpoints return correct status codes

Submission Requirements

Your final submission should include:

• Complete Express.js API with all CRUD endpoints
• Two custom middleware functions (logging and validation)
• Public URL to your Postman API documentation
• Clean, organized code with meaningful variable names

File Structure

server.js
package.json
README.md

Running the Server

Start your development server:

npm start

Your API will be available at http://localhost:3000