Build Your Own Basic Photo Gallery API

The "Basic Photo Gallery API" project involves developing a simple, user-friendly API that allows users to upload, manage, and retrieve images in a photo gallery. The API will enable users to upload photos, categorize them into albums, and retrieve or delete images. Users will also be able to view metadata for each image (e.g., upload date, file size) and optionally add descriptions or tags for easier searching and filtering. The goal is to provide a lightweight and reliable API that can be integrated into web and mobile applications for managing image galleries.

Detailed Description

Managing and displaying photos in an organized and efficient way is essential for various applications, from personal galleries to content-rich platforms. This API will enable developers to integrate photo management functionality into their applications. The API will support basic operations like uploading images, creating albums, retrieving and deleting images, and organizing photos using tags or categories. Users will also be able to view metadata such as image dimensions, file size, and upload date.

Here’s a detailed look at the key features of the API:

1. Image Uploading:

   • Upload Photos: Users can upload images in standard formats (e.g., JPEG, PNG). The API will store the image and return relevant details, such as the image URL and metadata.

   • File Size and Format Validation: Validate file size and format to ensure only supported images are uploaded.

2. Albums and Categorization:

   • Create Albums: Users can organize photos into albums (e.g., "Vacation 2024").

   • Add Descriptions: Users can add titles and descriptions to albums.

   • Tags and Categories: Users can tag photos or assign them to categories for easier searching and filtering.

3. Photo Management:

   • View Photos: Retrieve a list of photos from specific albums or based on tags/categories.

   • Image Metadata: Provide metadata for each image, such as dimensions, file size, upload date, and file format.

   • Delete Photos: Allow users to delete photos they no longer need.

4. Optional Features:

   • Image Search: Allow users to search photos based on tags, album names, or metadata.

   • Image Compression: Automatically compress images during upload to save storage space without losing quality.

   • Download Photos: Enable users to download photos directly via the API.

Example Usage

Imagine a user named Alice who wants to organize her vacation photos. She creates an album called "Vacation 2024" and uploads her photos using the API. She categorizes the photos by adding tags such as "beach" and "mountains." Alice can then retrieve her photos by album or tag and download or delete them when necessary.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Objectives

3. Functional Requirements

4. Non-Functional Requirements

5. Use Cases

6. User Stories

7. Technical Requirements

8. API Endpoints

9. Security

10. Performance

11. Documentation

12. Glossary

13. Appendix

1. Introduction

The "Basic Photo Gallery API" will provide a simple interface for users to upload, manage, and retrieve photos. The API will enable users to organize photos into albums, add descriptions or tags, and retrieve or delete images. It will offer a lightweight, efficient, and secure solution for integrating photo gallery functionality into web or mobile applications.

2. Objectives

• Enable users to upload images and organize them into albums.

• Provide photo metadata (e.g., upload date, dimensions, file size) for easy management.

• Allow users to tag and categorize photos for better organization and searching.

• Offer basic management features like deleting or retrieving photos.

• Ensure the API is fast, secure, and scalable.

3. Functional Requirements

Image Uploading

• Upload Photos: Allow users to upload photos in formats like JPEG, and PNG.

• File Size and Format Validation: Ensure only valid file formats and file sizes are accepted.

• Image Metadata: Store metadata such as image dimensions, file size, and upload date.

Albums and Categorization

• Create Albums: Enable users to create albums and add descriptions.

• Add Tags/Categories: Allow users to assign tags or categories to individual images.

• View Albums: Retrieve a list of albums or all photos in a specific album.

Photo Management

• Retrieve Photos: Allow users to view photos based on album, tag, or category.

• Delete Photos: Enable users to delete unwanted images.

• View Metadata: Provide access to photo metadata such as dimensions, size, and upload date.

Optional Features

• Search: Allow users to search photos by tags, album name, or metadata.

• Image Compression: Compress images during upload to save storage space.

• Download: Allow users to download their photos via API.

4. Non-Functional Requirements

• Scalability: The API should scale to handle large amounts of image uploads and requests.

• Performance: Ensure fast response times, especially when retrieving large albums or performing searches.

• Security: Implement measures to ensure that only authorized users can upload, view, or delete photos.

• Reliability: Ensure the API consistently stores and retrieves images without data loss.

5. Use Cases

• Upload a Photo: A user uploads a photo to a specific album.

• Create an Album: A user creates an album and uploads multiple photos to that album.

• View Photos: A user retrieves a list of photos from an album or searches for photos using tags.

• Delete a Photo: A user deletes an image that they no longer need.

6. User Stories

1. As a user, I want to upload my photos so that I can organize and manage them in albums.

2. As a user, I want to categorize my photos using tags so that I can easily search for specific images.

3. As a user, I want to view metadata (e.g., upload date, dimensions) of each photo to better organize my collection.

4. As a user, I want to delete photos that I no longer need.

5. As a user, I want to download specific photos from my gallery.

7. Technical Requirements

• Programming Language: Use backend languages like Node.js, Python, or Ruby to build the API.

• Framework: Use Express.js (Node.js), Flask (Python), or Rails (Ruby) to manage API logic.

• Storage: Use cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage) or a local file system to store images.

• Database: Use a relational database (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) to store metadata about the images and albums.

• Image Processing: Integrate libraries like Sharp (Node.js) for image resizing or compression.

8. API Endpoints

Image Uploading

• Upload Photo

  • Endpoint: POST /api/photos

  • Request Body (multipart form data):

    json

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    { "file": "image.jpg", "album_id": "12345", "tags": ["vacation", "beach"] }

  • Response:

    json

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    { "message": "Photo uploaded successfully", "photo_url": "https://example.com/photos/image.jpg", "metadata": { "dimensions": "1920x1080", "size": "2MB", "upload_date": "2024-09-24" } }

Album Management

• Create Album

  • Endpoint: POST /api/albums

  • Request Body:

    json

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    { "title": "Vacation 2024", "description": "Photos from my vacation" }

  • Response:

    json

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    { "message": "Album created successfully", "album_id": "12345" }

• View Album

  • Endpoint: GET /api/albums/{album_id}

  • Response:

    json

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    { "title": "Vacation 2024", "description": "Photos from my vacation", "photos": [ { "photo_url": "https://example.com/photos/image1.jpg", "metadata": { "dimensions": "1920x1080", "size": "2MB", "upload_date": "2024-09-24" } }, { "photo_url": "https://example.com/photos/image2.jpg", "metadata": { "dimensions": "1080x720", "size": "1.5MB", "upload_date": "2024-09-24" } } ] }

Photo Management

• Retrieve Photo

  • Endpoint: GET /api/photos/{photo_id}

  • Response:

    json

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    { "photo_url": "https://example.com/photos/image1.jpg", "metadata": { "dimensions": "1920x1080", "size": "2MB", "upload_date": "2024-09-24" } }

• Delete Photo

  • Endpoint: DELETE /api/photos/{photo_id}

  • Response:

    json

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    { "message": "Photo deleted successfully" }

Tag Search

• Search by Tag

  • Endpoint: GET /api/photos/search?tag=beach

  • Response:

    json

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    { "photos": [ { "photo_url": "https://example.com/photos/beach1.jpg", "metadata": { "dimensions": "1920x1080", "size": "2MB", "upload_date": "2024-09-24" } } ] }

9. Security

• Authentication: Use token-based authentication (e.g., JWT) to ensure only authorized users can upload, delete, or view photos.

• Data Encryption: Use HTTPS to secure communication between the client and server.

• File Validation: Validate file types and sizes to ensure only supported and safe images are uploaded.

10. Performance

• Image Compression: Compress images on upload to reduce storage costs and improve performance.

• Caching: Implement caching strategies for frequently accessed images or metadata to speed up retrieval times.

• CDN: Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver images quickly and efficiently across different regions.

11. Documentation

• Provide API documentation using Swagger or Postman collections to make integration easier for developers.

• Include examples of requests and responses for common use cases.

12. Glossary

• API: Application Programming Interface, which allows different software applications to communicate with each other.

• Metadata: Data providing information about other data, such as an image's file size or dimensions.

• JWT: JSON Web Token, a method for securely transmitting information between parties.

13. Appendix

• Include any relevant diagrams or UI mockups to demonstrate how the API could be used in a photo gallery application.

Let me know if you need further modifications or additional details!