Forecast Engine

A CRUD based backend API built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB - creating, reading, updating, and deleting users. This project also demonstrates integration with a third-party service to fetch weather data for users based on their stored city.

The application uses the native MongoDB driver and enforces schema validation at the database level.

Live API

• URL: https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com
• Status: The API is live and publicly accessible.

Features

• CRUD Operations: Full Create, Read, Update, and Delete functionality for users.
• MongoDB Native Driver: Direct communication with the MongoDB database.
• Schema Validation: Ensures data integrity for the users collection within MongoDB.
• External API Integration: Connects to the OpenWeatherMap API to fetch real-time weather data.
• RESTful Endpoints: A clear and structured API for interacting with user data.
• Environment-Based Configuration: Securely manages sensitive keys and database URIs using a .env file.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB
• Libraries:
  • mongodb: The official native Node.js driver for MongoDB.
  • express: Web server framework.
  • dotenv: For loading environment variables from a .env file.
  • cors: For enabling Cross-Origin Resource Sharing.
  • body-parser: Middleware to parse request bodies.
  • got: A lightweight HTTP request library for the weather API call.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v20.x or later)
• npm
• A local or cloud-hosted MongoDB instance (e.g., from MongoDB Atlas).

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ItsMeAK_GitH/Forecast-Engine.git
   cd Forecast-Engine

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the root directory and add the following:

   MONGODB_URI="your_mongodb_connection_string"
   WEATHER_API_KEY="your_openweathermap_api_key"

   Replace the placeholder values with your actual MongoDB connection string and your OpenWeatherMap API key.

4. Run the application:

   node server.js

   The API will be running on http://localhost:3000.

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/users	Creates a new user.
GET	/users	Retrieves all users.
GET	/users/:id	Retrieves a single user by their ID.
PUT	/users/:id	Updates an existing user.
DELETE	/users/:id	Deletes a user.
GET	/users/:id/weather	Retrieves current weather for the user's city.
GET	/users/query/:query	Searches for a user by name or email.

Example Usage (cURL)

Replace <USER_ID> with an actual user ID from your database.

Create a user:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '''{"name": "Jane Doe", "email": "jane@example.com", "city": "Paris"}''' https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users

Get all users:

curl https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users

Get a single user by ID:

curl https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/<USER_ID>

Update a user's city:

curl -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '''{"city": "Tokyo"}''' https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/<USER_ID>

Delete a user:

curl -X DELETE https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/<USER_ID>

Get a user's weather:

curl https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/<USER_ID>/weather

Search for a user (by email):

curl https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/query/jane@example.com

Search for a user (by name with spaces):

curl https://forecast-engine-ez22.onrender.com/users/query/Jane%20Doe

Deployment

This application is ready to be deployed to any service that supports Node.js, such as Render, Heroku, or a VPS.

1. Database: It's recommended to use a managed database service like MongoDB Atlas.
2. Application: Services like Render provide a seamless deployment experience by connecting directly to your Git repository.

When deploying, ensure you configure the MONGODB_URI and WEATHER_API_KEY environment variables in your hosting provider's settings panel.

Note on Supabase

This project is built specifically for MongoDB. Supabase uses a Postgres database, so a direct deployment is not possible without refactoring the database logic to use a Postgres client instead of the mongodb driver.