E-lib: A Digital Resource Management System

E-lib is a full-stack application designed to manage and share digital resources. The system consists of a backend API, a public frontend for browsing resources, and a private dashboard for managing content.

🔗 Live Demo: https://e-lib-frontend-puce.vercel.app/

📸 Screenshots

Homepage

Resource Details Page

Login Page

System Overview

E-lib is a multi-repository, full-stack application designed to function as a digital library. The system is composed of three distinct but interconnected components: a backend API, a public-facing frontend for browsing, and a private dashboard for content management. These components are designed to work together and are not intended for standalone use.

System Architecture

The system operates with a classic client-server architecture. The Backend serves as the central API and data authority, while the Frontend and Dashboard act as clients.

• Backend (E-lib-Backend)

  • Purpose: Acts as the central nervous system for the E-lib application. It handles all business logic, data persistence, file storage, and authentication.
  • Functionality: Exposes a RESTful API for book and user management (CRUD operations). Manages user authentication (JWT) and authorization. Interfaces with a database (e.g., MongoDB) and a cloud storage provider (e.g., Cloudinary) for book files and cover images.

• Public Frontend (E-lib-Frontend)

  • Purpose: Provides a read-only, public-facing interface for users to browse and download books. This is the repository where this README is located.
  • Functionality: Consumes the Backend API to display a list of books and their details. Implements a server-side caching layer with webhook-based invalidation to ensure data freshness while minimizing API calls. No authentication is required for access.

• Authenticated Dashboard (E-lib-Dashboard)

  • Purpose: A private, authenticated web application for registered users to manage their books.
  • Functionality: Allows users to perform create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations on books they own. It communicates with the same Backend API, sending authenticated requests using JWTs obtained during login.

Technology Stack

The system utilizes different technologies for each component, chosen to fit their specific roles.

• Backend (E-lib-Backend)

  • Runtime: Node.js
  • Framework: Express.js
  • Language: TypeScript
  • Database: MongoDB (inferred)
  • File Storage: Cloudinary (inferred)

• Public Frontend (E-lib-Frontend)

  • Framework: Next.js, React
  • Language: TypeScript
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS
  • Tooling: Turbopack, ESLint

• Authenticated Dashboard (E-lib-Dashboard)

  • Framework: React, Vite
  • Language: TypeScript (inferred)
  • Styling: (Not specified, likely a standard CSS solution like Tailwind CSS or Material-UI)

Local Development Setup

To run the entire system locally, each of the three components must be installed and running concurrently.

• Prerequisites

  • Node.js
  • npm (or a compatible package manager)
  • Access to all three repositories (E-lib-Backend, E-lib-Frontend, E-lib-Dashboard).
  • A configured MongoDB instance and Cloudinary account for the backend.

• Installation & Running

  1. Backend:
     • Navigate to the E-lib-Backend directory.
     • Create and configure its .env file with database connection strings, JWT secrets, and Cloudinary keys.
     • Run npm install to install dependencies.
     • Run npm run dev (or equivalent) to start the server.
  2. Frontend (This Repository):
     • Navigate to the E-lib-Frontend directory.
     • Create a .env file from .env sample and set BACKEND_URL to the running backend's address (e.g., http://localhost:8000).
     • Run npm install.
     • Run npm run dev to start the Next.js application.
  3. Dashboard:
     • Navigate to the E-lib-Dashboard directory.
     • Create its .env file and set the variable for the backend API URL.
     • Run npm install.
     • Run npm run dev to start the Vite development server.

Repository Structure (E-lib-Frontend)

This section details the structure of the E-lib-Frontend repository only.

.
├── src/
│   ├── app/             # Next.js App Router pages and API routes
│   │   ├── api/         # API routes for cache management
│   │   └── book/        # Dynamic routes for individual books
│   ├── components/      # Shared React components
│   └── utils/           # Caching logic
├── .env sample          # Example environment variables
├── next.config.ts       # Next.js configuration
└── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts

System-Wide Limitations

• The components are tightly coupled and are not designed to be operated independently.
• The entire system must be deployed and configured correctly for any single part to function.
• No automated tests are present in the frontend repository, and test coverage for other components is unknown.
• Security for features like webhooks is basic and may require enhancement for production environments.

Contributing

To contribute, submit a pull request with a clear description of changes. Ensure code follows the existing style conventions and passes linting checks for the respective repository.

License

No license is specified in this repository.