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Backend Setup Guide for Frontend Development

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to set up the backend environment. This will allow you to run the server locally and make API calls from the frontend.

One-Time Setup

Follow these steps to configure your development environment for the first time.

1. Clone the Repository

First, clone the project repository to your local machine.

git clone <your-repository-url>
cd coursescheduler

2. Set Up Conda Environment

This project uses Conda for managing Python dependencies.

  • If you don't have it, install Miniconda.
  • Create the Conda environment from the conda.yaml file:
conda env create -f conda.yaml
conda activate /opt/homebrew/Caskroom/miniconda/base/envs/coursescheduler

3. Install and Configure MySQL

The backend uses a MySQL database.

  1. Download and install MySQL Server (version 8.0 or newer) from the official MySQL website.
  2. During installation, you will be asked to set a root password. Remember it.
  3. After installation, open the MySQL command line client or your preferred SQL GUI.

4. Create the Database and User

Run the following SQL commands to create the database and a dedicated user. Using these exact credentials will ensure your setup matches the team's standard, avoiding configuration issues.

-- Create a new user named 'localdev' with a password
CREATE USER 'localdev'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'CheckWP';

-- Create the database
CREATE DATABASE coursescheduler CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

-- Grant all permissions on the new database to the new user
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON coursescheduler.* TO 'localdev'@'localhost';

-- Apply the changes
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

5. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside the backend/ directory. This file stores the database credentials.

DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_USER=localdev
DB_PASSWORD=CheckWP
DB_NAME=coursescheduler

6. Set Up Django

Finally, apply the database migrations to set up the tables and create an admin user.

# Navigate to the backend directory
cd backend

# Apply database migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Create a superuser to access the admin panel
python manage.py createsuperuser

Follow the prompts to create your admin username and password.

Daily Workflow

Follow these steps each time you start working on the project.

1. Activate Conda Environment

Always make sure your Conda environment is active.

conda activate /opt/homebrew/Caskroom/miniconda/base/envs/coursescheduler

2. Start the Backend Server

Run the Django development server from the backend directory.

cd backend
python manage.py runserver

The backend API will now be running at http://127.0.0.1:8000/. You can now make API calls from the frontend to this address.

Team Collaboration - Sharing Database Data

For Backend Developer (Data Provider)

If you have sample data, test data, or want to share your current database state with frontend developers:

# Export all data to a JSON fixture file
python manage.py dumpdata > sample.json

# Or export specific apps only (recommended for large databases)
python manage.py dumpdata courses users scheduling > sample.json

# Share this file with your team members

For Frontend Developer (Data Receiver)

To load the shared data into your local database:

# 1. Make sure you've completed the one-time setup above
# 2. Apply all migrations first
python manage.py migrate

# 3. Load the shared data
python manage.py loaddata sample.json

Important Notes:

  • Always run migrations before loading data
  • The sample.json file should be placed in your project root or in any app's fixtures/ directory
  • This ensures both backend and frontend developers have the same test data to work with
  • If you get conflicts, you may need to reset your database and start fresh

Example workflow:

# Backend developer shares data
python manage.py dumpdata > team_sample_data.json
# (shares file via Git, Slack, etc.)

# Frontend developer loads data
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py loaddata team_sample_data.json
python manage.py runserver
# Now frontend has same data as backend for testing