Learning, Challenges, and Progress
This week has been an incredible journey of learning, solving challenges, and making significant progress on my application. With each passing day, I’ve delved deeper into both backend and frontend development, tackling encryption, APIs, database integrations, UI design, and even deployment strategies. Here’s an overview of how my week unfolded:
Learning and Growth
This week, I made strides in understanding and implementing key technologies:
- Encryption: I successfully integrated encryption into the document upload flow using Node.js's crypto module, ensuring secure handling of user files before uploading them to AWS S3. This was an exciting step towards building a robust app with enhanced security.
- Heroicons and Tailwind: I explored the Heroicons library and learned the differences between solid and outline icons, as well as when to use each. This helped me improve the aesthetics of my React and Tailwind-based dashboard.
- Dark Mode: Adding a dark mode feature to the frontend taught me a lot about user-centric design and theming in Tailwind CSS. Debugging and fine-tuning the feature helped me gain hands-on experience with dynamic UI updates.
- Backend APIs and S3 Integration: I worked extensively with AWS S3 and Docker to manage file uploads, deletions, and secure organization. I also integrated MinIO as an alternative to S3, which gave me a deeper understanding of storage solutions in Dockerized environments.
- Deployment and Documentation: I deployed the app using an open-source platform, Daytonai, and set up a comprehensive documentation for the repository to make it easier for others to understand and contribute.
Challenges and Troubleshooting
No progress is complete without a fair share of challenges, and this week was no exception:
- Connecting Docker and Backend APIs: Early in the week, I faced difficulties connecting the Docker container to the backend API. After hours of troubleshooting and reading blogs about Docker and S3, I finally resolved the issue.
- Dark Mode Bugs: While implementing dark mode, I encountered unexpected behavior in how the UI components responded to theme changes. It took some effort and debugging to get it working as expected.
- File Upload and Error Handling: Ensuring secure and seamless file uploads wasn’t straightforward. I spent time handling edge cases like failed uploads and authentication errors, which strengthened the app’s reliability.
- Debugging and Testing: Fine-tuning the dashboard and testing various functionalities like search, tagging, and secure API endpoints required hours of debugging. However, it was satisfying to see everything come together in the end.
Progress and Milestones Achieved
- Dashboard Development: I completed the dashboard with key features like document uploading, tagging, search, and security indicators. Adding a polished UI was a fulfilling achievement this week. User Authentication and API Security: I implemented secure API endpoints, password reset flows, and email verification to ensure the app's safety and usability.
- Error Handling: Frontend hooks were added to handle various backend errors, providing a smoother user experience during operations like file uploads and encrypted file viewing.
- Search Functionality: I implemented search features that allow users to filter documents by tags or names, making document management more efficient.
- Hackathon Submission: As the cherry on top, I submitted my project to an open-source hackathon, complete with deployment on an open-source platform and detailed documentation.
Looking Ahead
Week 4 has been a whirlwind of coding, debugging, and learning, but I’m thrilled with the progress I’ve made. From enhancing app security to refining the user interface and preparing for deployment, each step has brought me closer to completing the app. Next week, I aim to focus on thorough testing, final deployment, and gathering feedback to improve the application further.
This journey has taught me that challenges are opportunities in disguise, and every problem solved brings a sense of accomplishment. Here’s to another week of growth and building
If you’re on your own coding journey, I hope this inspires you to keep going. Remember, it’s not just about the destination—it’s about what you learn along the way!
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