1. Project Description
2. Technologies Used
3. Setup Instructions
4. Test Instructions
5. API Endpoints
6. Running with Docker
7. Known Limitations & Future Improvements

This technical test is designed for Norma's Teaching Online English academy.

It involves developing a REST API application using Node.js, pnpm, and TypeScript. The API will provide endpoints to manage a list of user favorites that are obtained from a search feature.

Key features include:

• User Interaction: Allow users to search and retrieve images.
• Unsplash Integration: The search endpoint connects to Unsplash's API to fetch images.
• Favorites Management: Enable users to add or remove images from their favorites list.
• RESTful Architecture: Follows standard REST practices to create a clean, maintainable API.

• Modularity: The project is organized into distinct modules (e.g., UsersModule, SearchModule, FavoritesModule) to isolate functionality.
• External Service Integration: Integration with the Unsplash API is managed by the HttpPrivateService located in src/providers/http/http.service.ts, with configuration via environment variables.
• Security & Password Management: Bcrypt is used for password hashing.
• Database Choice: PostgreSQL is utilized in both development and production environments with TypeORM handling entity interactions.

• Framework: NestJS v11
• Database ORM: TypeORM
• Database: PostgreSQL
• HTTP Client: Axios (wrapped via NestJS's HttpModule)
• Testing Framework: Jest for unit and integration tests
• Language: TypeScript
• Others: ESLint, Prettier, Docker (with Docker Compose configuration)

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/JohnFScha/normas-teaching-technical-test.git
   cd normas-test

2. Install Dependencies

   The project uses pnpm (as configured in pnpm-workspace.yaml). Run:

   pnpm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

   Create a .env file at the project root with the following variables (modify values as needed):

   NODE_ENV=development
   PORT=3000
   DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:your_postgres_password_here@localhost:5433/image_db
   ACCESS_KEY=your_access_key_here
   BASE_URL=https://api.unsplash.com/search/photos/
   

4. Database Setup

   Ensure PostgreSQL is running. You can use the provided docker-compose.yaml to start a PostgreSQL container:

   docker-compose up -d

5. Build the Application

   Build the project using pnpm:

   pnpm build

6. Run the Application

   • For development (with live reloading):

     pnpm start:dev

   • For production:

     pnpm start:prod

The project utilizes Jest for testing. To execute tests:

• Run all tests:

  pnpm test

• Run tests in watch mode:

  pnpm test:watch

• Generate a Coverage Report:

  pnpm test:cov

• Run the app e2e test:

  pnpm test:e2e

The application exposes several endpoints to interact with users, favorites, and image searches.

• GET /users: Retrieve a list of all users.
• GET /users/:id: Retrieve details of a specific user by providing the id in the URL.
• POST /users: Create a new user. The request body must include:
  • firstName (string)
  • lastName (string)
  • email (string; must be unique)
  • password (string)
  • Optional: isActive (boolean, defaults to true)
  • Optional: favorites (array)
• DELETE /users/:id: Delete an existing user by ID.

• GET /favorites: Retrieve a list of all favorites.
• POST /favorites: Create a new favorite. The request body must include:
  • description (string)
  • imageUrl (string)
  • userId (string) to link the favorite to a user
  • createdAt (Date) indicating when the favorite was created
• DELETE /favorites/:id: Remove a favorite by its ID.

• GET /search: Search for images.
  • Query Parameters:
    • query (string): The search term.
    • page (number): The page number for paginated results.

The /search endpoint uses an external service (e.g. the Unsplash API via the HttpPrivateService) and returns a list of images with properties such as id, width, height, urls, and description.

The application is containerized using Docker. To deploy the app using Docker:

1. Build and Start Containers

   Ensure Docker is installed on your machine. Then run:

   docker-compose up -d

   This command builds the Docker image using the included Dockerfile, starts the NestJS app container along with the PostgreSQL container, and maps the necessary ports.

2. Verify Container Health

   Check the status of the running containers with:

   docker ps

   You can also inspect the logs to ensure the app is running correctly:

   docker-compose logs -f app

3. Stopping Containers

   To stop the running containers, run:

   docker-compose down

• Error Handling: Current error handling can be improved with more granular logging and detailed error responses.
• API Rate Limiting: Enhanced management of Unsplash API rate limits would be beneficial to reduce potential downtime.
• User Authorization: There is room to incorporate advanced user authorization mechanisms such as JWT and role-based access controls for better security.
• Validation Enhancements: More robust input validation can be added using advanced DTO patterns and validation libraries.
• Performance Scalability: Future iterations could optimize database queries, add caching strategies such as redis, and improve index configurations for a growing data set.
• Documentation: Augmenting documentation, for example, with in-depth JSDoc annotations for each module and integration point will help new developers onboard faster.