educationELLy Server is the backend API for the educationELLy application - a comprehensive platform designed to support English Language Learning (ELL) students and their teachers. This Express.js server provides secure authentication, RESTful API endpoints, and data persistence for managing ELL student information.

🎯 Mission: Bridging the gap between ELL specialists and mainstream classroom teachers through technology.

✨ Key Benefits:

• Centralized access to student language proficiency data
• Enhanced collaboration between ELL specialists and teachers
• Streamlined student data management
• Real-time access to critical learning information

• 🔐 Secure Authentication - JWT-based authentication with Passport.js
• 📊 Student Management - Full CRUD operations for ELL student profiles
• 🔒 Protected Routes - Role-based access control for sensitive data
• 📱 RESTful API - Clean, intuitive API design following REST principles
• 🚀 Production Ready - Deployed on Heroku with MongoDB Atlas
• ✅ Validation - Input validation and error handling

ℹ️ Info: To explore the application, you can use the following demo credentials:

# Demo Credentials
Email: demo@example.com
Password: demopassword

⚠️ Note: These are demo credentials for testing purposes only.

• Node.js (v10.11.0 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• Git

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/maxjeffwell/full-stack-capstone-server.git
   cd full-stack-capstone-server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the root directory:

   MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost/educationelly
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_here
   NODE_ENV=development
   PORT=8080

4. Start the development server:

   npm start

The server will start on http://localhost:8080 with automatic reloading via nodemon.

✅ Success: Your server is now running and ready for development!

POST /signup
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "teacher@school.edu",
  "password": "securepassword123"
}

Response: 
{
  "token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9..."
}

POST /students
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "fullName": "John Doe",
  "school": "Lincoln Elementary",
  "teacher": "Ms. Smith",
  "gradeLevel": 5,
  "nativeLanguage": "Spanish",
  "ellStatus": "Intermediate",
  "designation": "ELL"
}

educationELLy-server/
├── controllers/
│   └── authentication.js    # Auth logic (signup/signin)
├── models/
│   ├── student.js          # Student schema
│   └── user.js             # User schema with password hashing
├── services/
│   └── passport.js         # JWT & Local strategies
├── test/
│   ├── server.test.js      # Server tests
│   └── user.test.js        # Auth tests
├── index.js                # Express server setup
├── router.js               # Route definitions
├── .env                    # Environment variables
├── .babelrc                # Babel configuration
├── .eslintrc.js            # ESLint rules
├── package.json            # Dependencies & scripts
└── Procfile                # Heroku deployment

The server implements a stateless JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication system using Passport.js:

• Token Generation: JWTs are created upon successful login/signup containing user ID and timestamp
• Token Expiration: Tokens expire after 7 days for security
• Token Validation: Every protected route validates the JWT from the Authorization header
• Stateless Design: No server-side session storage - tokens contain all necessary auth information
• Bearer Token Format: Clients must send tokens as Authorization: Bearer <token>

The JWT strategy extracts tokens from request headers, verifies signatures using the JWT_SECRET, and validates token expiration. Invalid or expired tokens are automatically rejected.

• Express.js - Web application framework
• MongoDB - NoSQL database
• Mongoose - MongoDB object modeling
• Passport.js - Authentication middleware
• JWT - Secure token-based auth

• bcryptjs - Password hashing
• CORS - Cross-origin resource sharing
• dotenv - Environment variable management

• Nodemon - Auto-restart on file changes
• Babel - ES6+ transpilation
• ESLint - Code linting
• Mocha/Chai - Testing framework

Run the test suite:

npm run test2

🧪 Test Coverage:

• ✅ Server connection tests
• ✅ Authentication flow tests
• ✅ API endpoint tests
• ✅ Error handling tests

1. Create a Heroku app:

   heroku create your-app-name

2. Set environment variables:

   heroku config:set MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_atlas_uri
   heroku config:set JWT_SECRET=your_production_secret

3. Deploy:

   git push heroku master

• Add Comprehensive Testing - Expand test coverage to include all endpoints and edge cases
• Implement Rate Limiting - Add protection against API abuse and brute force attacks
• Add Request Validation - Implement robust input validation using Joi or express-validator
• Enhanced Error Handling - Create custom error classes and centralized error handling middleware

• Role-Based Access Control - Implement teacher/admin/student roles with different permissions
• Progress Tracking API - Add endpoints for tracking student language learning progress over time
• Bulk Operations - Support bulk student imports via CSV/Excel
• Real-time Updates - Implement WebSocket support for real-time notifications
• File Upload - Add support for student document/assessment uploads
• API Versioning - Implement versioned endpoints (e.g., /api/v1/students)

• Database Indexing - Add MongoDB indexes for frequently queried fields
• Caching Layer - Implement Redis for caching frequently accessed data
• Pagination - Add pagination support for student list endpoints
• Query Optimization - Implement field selection and populate optimization

• API Documentation - Generate interactive API docs using Swagger/OpenAPI
• Postman Collection - Create and maintain a Postman collection for easy API testing
• Docker Support - Add Dockerfile and docker-compose for containerized development
• CI/CD Pipeline - Set up GitHub Actions for automated testing and deployment

• Refresh Tokens - Implement JWT refresh token mechanism
• Password Reset - Add forgot password functionality with email verification
• Two-Factor Authentication - Optional 2FA for enhanced security
• Audit Logging - Track all data modifications for compliance

• Email Notifications - Send updates about student progress
• Export Functionality - Generate PDF/Excel reports of student data
• Third-party Integrations - Connect with school management systems
• Backup Strategy - Implement automated database backups

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Jeff Maxwell

• Email: jeff@el-jefe.me
• GitHub: @maxjeffwell
• Portfolio: https://www.el-jefe.me

• Thanks to all contributors who have helped shape educationELLy
• Special recognition to ELL teachers and specialists who provided valuable feedback
• Built with ❤️ for the education community