💾 About The Project

EliteSoftware Local Backend Server

This script is a simple, self-contained backend server written in PowerShell. It is designed to support a local web application by serving static files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images) and providing a basic JSON file-based REST API for data persistence. It's intended to be the backend for the "EliteSoftware Southern Branch Corporate Portal".

Built by: Zachary Whiteman & Google Gemini Ai.

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🔰 Getting Started

This script runs the local web server needed for the frontend application to function.

🕰️ Prerequisites

To run this script, you will need:

Windows Operating System.
PowerShell 5.1 or newer.
.NET Framework: Required for the HttpListener class.
Frontend Files: This script requires the frontend application files (e.g., index.html, etc.) to be in the same directory.

💽 Installation & Execution

Download: Place the elitesoftware south department backend.ps1 script in the root directory of your web application project.
Unblock: Right-click the file, go to Properties, and click Unblock if the file was downloaded from the internet.
Run: Execute the script from a PowerShell console.
```
."\elitesoftware south department backend.ps1"
```
Access: Keep the PowerShell window running and open your web browser to http://localhost:8080.

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🚀 API Endpoints

The server provides several API endpoints to interact with the local database.json file and file system.

GET /api/data: Retrieves all data from database.json and dynamically includes any blog posts from the /posts directory.
POST /api/data: Overwrites the contents of database.json with the JSON data provided in the request body.
GET /api/images: Returns a JSON array of filenames found in the /images directory.
GET /api/videos: Returns a JSON array of filenames found in the /videos directory.
POST /api/upload: Handles multipart/form-data file uploads and saves them to the /images directory.

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✨ Key Features

Local HTTP Server: Runs a simple web server on http://localhost:8080 using the built-in .NET HttpListener.
Static File Serving: Serves HTML, CSS, JS, and media files. Includes a fallback to index.html for Single Page Application (SPA) routing.
JSON Database: Uses a local database.json file for simple data persistence. The file is created with default data if it doesn't exist.
RESTful API: Provides basic API endpoints for reading and writing data, listing images/videos, and uploading files.
CORS Enabled: Automatically includes CORS headers to allow requests from the frontend application.
Dynamic Post Loading: Automatically discovers and serves text and markdown files from a /posts directory as blog posts.

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🛠️ Technology Stack

Scripting Language: PowerShell
Web Server: The core web server is implemented using the .NET System.Net.HttpListener class.
Data Format: JSON for the database and API responses.

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📐 Architecture & Security Notes

Development Only: This server is intended for local development and testing only. It is not secure and should not be exposed to the internet.
No Authentication: The API endpoints do not have any authentication or authorization mechanisms.
File System Access: The server reads from and writes to the directory where it is located. Ensure it is run in a trusted project folder.

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