Mini Facebook (Django)

This project is a miniature Facebook-like web application built using Django. It allows users to create profiles, post status messages, upload images, manage friendships, and view a custom news feed. The app supports user authentication and was developed incrementally through multiple feature-based assignments.

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Overview

The Mini Facebook app enables users to:

• Create and update personal profiles
• Post and edit status updates with image uploads
• Add and view friends
• Get friend suggestions
• See a personalized news feed
• Register, log in, and log out securely

This Django project leverages Django’s class-based views, form handling, and ORM features to provide a full-stack social experience.

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Components

Models (models.py)

Defines the core data structures:

• Profile: User-linked profile with name, city, email, and image
• StatusMessage: Timestamps and messages tied to a profile
• Image: File uploads associated with status messages
• Friend: Bi-directional friendship relationships between profiles

Views (views.py)

Implements the logic for each page:

• ShowAllProfilesView, ShowProfilePageView
• Profile creation (CreateProfileView) and updates (UpdateProfileView)
• Status message creation, update, and deletion
• Friend adding (CreateFriendView) and suggestions
• News feed display (ShowNewsFeedView)
• Login-required behavior via LoginRequiredMixin

Forms (forms.py)

Handles form input for:

• Profile creation and update
• Status message submission
• User registration via UserCreationForm

Templates

Uses class-based view templates for:

• Creating/updating profiles and posts
• Viewing profiles, friend suggestions, and news feed
• Logging in and out

URLs (urls.py)

Maps routes to views:

• Profile and post management
• Friend handling
• Authentication (login/logout)
• News feed and friend suggestions

Admin (admin.py)

Registers models to the Django admin interface:

• Profile, StatusMessage, Image, and Friend

App Configuration (apps.py)

Defines the app as mini_fb.

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Features

• User registration and login with Django's built-in auth system
• Profile and status management
• Media upload (images) and rendering
• Friendship logic with bidirectional tracking
• Friend suggestion algorithm excluding existing connections
• News feed combining user and friend activity
• Custom get_absolute_url, get_friends, and get_news_feed model methods

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How to Run

1. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   pip install django pillow

2. Apply Migrations

   python manage.py makemigrations
   python manage.py migrate

3. Create a superuser for the admin interface:

   python manage.py createsuperuser

4. Run the server

   python manage.py runserver