URL Shortening Service

A simple RESTful API built with Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL that allows users to shorten long URLs, retrieve the original URLs, update or delete short URLs, and track statistics for short URLs.

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Features

• Create Short URL: Shorten a long URL into a unique short code.
• Retrieve Original URL: Retrieve the original URL using the short code.
• Update Short URL: Update an existing short URL.
• Delete Short URL: Delete an existing short URL.
• Get Statistics: Track the number of times a short URL has been accessed.

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js
• PostgreSQL

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Setup

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/ProdiGeeZ/url-shortener.git
   cd url-shortener

2. Install Dependencies

   npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables Create a .env file in the project root and configure the following variable (requires pgpass configuration):

   PGDATABASE=url_shortener

4. Setup PostgreSQL Database

   npm run setup

5. Start the Server

   npm start

   The server will be available at http://localhost:3000.

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API Endpoints

1. Create Short URL

POST /api/shorten

Request Body:

{
  "url": "https://www.example.com/some/long/url"
}

Response:

• 201 Created

  {
    "id": "1",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/some/long/url",
    "shortCode": "abc123",
    "descriptor": "description of shortened link",
    "createdAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z",
    "updatedAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z"
  }

• 400 Bad Request: Validation errors.

2. Retrieve Original URL

GET /api/shorten/:shortCode

Response:

• 200 OK

  {
    "id": "1",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/some/long/url",
    "shortCode": "abc123",
    "descriptor": "description of shortened link",
    "createdAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z",
    "updatedAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z"
  }

• 404 Not Found: If the short code does not exist.

3. Update Short URL

PUT /api/shorten/:shortCode

Request Body:

{
  "url": "https://www.example.com/some/updated/url"
}

Response:

• 200 OK

  {
    "id": "1",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/some/updated/url",
    "shortCode": "abc123",
    "descriptor": "description of shortened link",
    "createdAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z",
    "updatedAt": "2021-09-01T12:30:00Z"
  }

• 400 Bad Request: Validation errors.
• 404 Not Found: If the short code does not exist.

4. Delete Short URL

DELETE /api/shorten/:shortCode

Response:

• 204 No Content: If the short URL was successfully deleted.
• 404 Not Found: If the short code does not exist.

5. Get URL Statistics

GET /shorten/:shortCode/stats

Response:

• 200 OK

  {
    "id": "1",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/some/long/url",
    "shortCode": "abc123",
    "descriptor": "description of shortened link",
    "accessCount": 10
    "createdAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z",
    "updatedAt": "2021-09-01T12:00:00Z",
  }

• 404 Not Found: If the short code does not exist.

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Database Schema

Table: urls

Column	Type	Description
id	SERIAL	Primary key
url	TEXT	Original long URL
short_code	VARCHAR(10)	Unique short code
descriptor	VARCHAR(100)	Optional description for the URL
access_count	INTEGER	Number of times the short URL is accessed
created_at	TIMESTAMP	Timestamp when the URL was created
updated_at	TIMESTAMP	Timestamp when the URL was last updated

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Testing

1. Run Tests

   npm test

2. API Testing Use tools like Postman or cURL to test the API endpoints.

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Roadmap.sh

Project Brief: https://roadmap.sh/projects/url-shortening-service