Item-Catalog Project

The Item-Catalog Web Application essentially allows an user to use basic CRUD functionality to view, and edit catalog items (post-authentication). The application uses Google OAuth for authentication and authorisation, and outputs the data in JSON if required (API endpoint).

Requisites

The following softwares should be installed before executing the script. Links to download the same have been are given below:

VirtualBox: The software that runs a virtaul setup of a linux server on a virtual machine. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_5_1

Vagrant: The software that configures the VM and facilitates the sharing of files between the host computer and the VM's filesystem. https://www.vagrantup.com/downloads.html

The following data sets and vagrant environments should also be downloaded:

vagrantfile: The vagrant setup used to configure the server environment. https://github.com/udacity/fullstack-nanodegree-vm

Running the virtual machine

In order to run the virtual machine after installation, change the current directory using cd to the vagrant folder downloaded in the previous step and then type vagrant up. After that, type vagrant ssh to log the terminal into the virtual machine, and then change the directory again by typing cd /vagrant in order to access the shared folder between the host machine and the virtual machine. Now, scripts can be executed the way they would be on an actual linux server.

To log out of the virtual machine, type exit at the shell prompt. In order to turn the virtual machine of type vagrant halt.

Running the application

After vagrant is up and running, the application can be run by first setting up the database, in case if it doesn't exist. This can be done by executing the database_setup.py Python script, which will create a database in the root vagrant director. This database can then be populated with sample data using the sample_data.py, which when executed will populate some sample categories and items in the catalog database. Although not necessarily, this step is certainly recommended. After setting up the database, the Python script web_server.py should be executed in order to boot the server. The application can then be accessed via the URL: http://localhost:8000.

In order to add, edit or delete an item, the user will have to authenticate himself/herself first, using his/her Google account. In order to access the application's JSON API endpoint, the URL: http://localhost:8000/catalog.json should be visited.

Thank You! Happy Browsing!