URL Shortener Application

This is a URL shortener application that allows users to create short links for long URLs and retrieve the original URLs using the short links. The application uses a MySQL database for persistent storage and Redis for caching the URLs for faster access.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies Used
• Installation
• Usage
• Code Structure
• Contributing
• License
• Screenshots

Features

• Create a short URL from a long URL.
• Retrieve the original URL by using the short URL.
• Cache URLs in Redis for faster retrieval.
• Handle URL validation before creating short URLs.

Technologies Used

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MySQL
• Redis
• TypeScript

Installation

NOTE: Redis and MySQL need to be installed first. Refer to the official Redis documentation for installation instructions.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/teispace/tei_url_shortner.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd url-shortener

3. Install dependencies:

   npm install

4. Create a .env file in the root directory and set the following environment variables:

   APP_URL=http://localhost:8080
   DB_HOST=your_db_host
   DB_USER=your_db_user
   DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password
   DB_NAME=your_db_name
   DB_PORT=your_db_port
   

   Or you can use the provided .env.example file as a template:

    cp .env.example .env

   Update the .env file with your database credentials.

5. Start the MySQL server and Redis server.

6. Run the application:

   npm start

Usage

• To create a short URL, send a POST request to /create-url with a JSON body containing the url parameter:

  {
    "url": "https://example.com"
  }

• To retrieve the original URL, make a GET request to /{shortUrl} where {shortUrl} is the short URL code.

Code Structure

• src/models/url.model.ts: Contains the UrlModel class for interacting with the MySQL database, handling the creation and retrieval of URLs.
• src/controllers/url.controller.ts: Contains the UrlController class that manages the HTTP requests and responses, validating input, and coordinating between the model and view.
• src/config/db.config.ts: Handles the database connection and configuration, including methods for querying and creating the URL table.
• src/config/redis.config.ts: Configures the Redis client for caching short URLs to improve performance.
• src/utils/urlUtils.ts: Contains utility functions for URL validation and generating short URLs.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue for any improvements or bug fixes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Screenshots