Project Description
The "Recipe Sharing API" project aims to develop an API where users can share, search for, and interact with recipes. This API will enable users to create accounts, save their favorite recipes, and engage with the community by rating and commenting on recipes. By providing a platform for culinary enthusiasts to discover and exchange recipes, this API aims to foster a vibrant cooking community.
Detailed Description
Sharing recipes has become a popular way for food enthusiasts to connect, discover new dishes, and showcase their culinary creations. This project will create an API that facilitates seamless recipe sharing, searching, and interaction among users. Here’s a detailed look at how users will interact with the app:
User Registration and Authentication:
Sign Up: New users can create an account by providing a username, email, and password. A confirmation email will be sent to verify the account.
Login: Registered users can log in using their email and password. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) will be supported for enhanced security.
Recipe Management:
Create Recipes: Users can create and publish their own recipes, including ingredients, cooking instructions, and photos.
Search Recipes: Users can search for recipes based on keywords, ingredients, cuisine types, and dietary preferences.
Save Favorite Recipes: Users can save recipes to their profile for quick access later.
Community Interaction:
Rate Recipes: Users can rate recipes based on their experience and provide feedback.
Comment on Recipes: Users can leave comments on recipes, ask questions, or share tips and modifications.
Follow Users: Users can follow other cooks to stay updated on their latest recipes and activity.
Social Features:
Share Recipes: Users can share recipes with friends via email, social media, or direct messaging within the app.
Tagging and Categorization: Recipes can be tagged and categorized by cuisine type, meal type (e.g., breakfast, dinner), and dietary restrictions (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free).
Notifications:
Activity Notifications: Users receive notifications when someone likes their recipe, comments on their recipe, or follows them.
Recipe Updates: Users can opt-in to receive updates when a recipe they follow is modified or updated.
Real-World Example
Imagine Emily, an avid home cook who loves to experiment with new recipes. Emily signs up for an account on the recipe sharing app using her email and creates her profile. She enjoys Mediterranean cuisine and often searches for new pasta recipes to try.
Emily finds a delicious pasta recipe shared by another user. She saves the recipe to her profile, cooks it for dinner, and leaves a positive comment about her experience. She also rates the recipe highly, which helps other users discover it.
Later, Emily decides to share her own pasta recipe with the community. She uploads mouthwatering photos of her dish, provides detailed cooking instructions, and tags it as "Italian cuisine" and "vegetarian." Her recipe receives likes and comments from other users who appreciate her culinary skills.
Introduction
The "Recipe Sharing API" project aims to develop an API that allows users to share, search for, and interact with recipes. Users will be able to create accounts, save their favorite recipes, and engage with the community through rating and commenting on recipes.
Objectives
Allow users to sign up, log in, and manage their accounts.
Enable users to create and publish recipes with ingredients, instructions, and photos.
Facilitate recipe search based on keywords, ingredients, cuisine types, and dietary preferences.
Support social interactions such as rating, commenting, and sharing recipes.
Provide notifications for user activity and recipe updates.
Functional Requirements
User Management
Sign Up: Users can create an account by providing a username, email, and password.
Login: Users can log in using their email and password.
Profile Management: Users can update their profile information and preferences.
Recipe Management
Create Recipes: Users can create and publish recipes with ingredients, instructions, and photos.
Search Recipes: Users can search for recipes based on keywords, ingredients, cuisine types, and dietary preferences.
Save Favorite Recipes: Users can save recipes to their profile for quick access.
Community Interaction
Rate Recipes: Users can rate recipes on a scale and provide feedback.
Comment on Recipes: Users can leave comments on recipes, ask questions, or share tips.
Follow Users: Users can follow other users to stay updated on their recipes and activity.
Social Features
Share Recipes: Users can share recipes with friends via email, social media, or direct messaging.
Tagging and Categorization: Recipes can be tagged and categorized by cuisine type, meal type, and dietary restrictions.
Notifications
Activity Notifications: Users receive notifications for likes, comments, and follows.
Recipe Updates: Users can opt-in to receive updates on recipes they follow.
Non-Functional Requirements
Scalability: The API should handle a growing number of users, recipes, and interactions.
Performance: The API should have a fast response time and handle concurrent requests efficiently.
Security: Implement authentication and authorization mechanisms to protect user data.
Reliability: The API should be highly available and handle failures gracefully.
Usability: The API should be easy to use and well-documented.
Use Cases
User Sign Up and Login: New users sign up and existing users log in.
Create and Publish Recipes: Users create and publish their own recipes.
Search Recipes: Users search for recipes based on various criteria.
Rate and Comment on Recipes: Users rate recipes and leave comments.
Save Favorite Recipes: Users save recipes to their profile.
Follow Other Users: Users follow other users to discover new recipes.
User Stories
As a user, I want to sign up for an account so that I can share my recipes.
As a user, I want to log in to my account so that I can access my saved recipes.
As a user, I want to create and publish recipes with ingredients and instructions.
As a user, I want to search for recipes based on keywords and ingredients.
As a user, I want to save my favorite recipes for quick access.
As a user, I want to rate recipes based on my experience.
As a user, I want to leave comments on recipes to provide feedback.
As a user, I want to share recipes with friends via social media or email.
As a user, I want to receive notifications for likes, comments, and follows.
As a user, I want to follow other users to discover new recipes.
Technical Requirements
Programming Language: Choose an appropriate backend language (e.g., Node.js, Python, Ruby).
Database: Use a database to store user data, recipes, comments, and interactions (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
Authentication: Implement JWT for secure user authentication.
Search Functionality: Implement efficient search algorithms for recipe retrieval.
API Documentation: Use Swagger or similar tools for API documentation.
API Endpoints
User Management
POST /signup: Register a new user.POST /login: Authenticate a user.GET /profile: Get user profile details.PUT /profile: Update user profile.
Recipe Management
POST /recipes: Create a new recipe.GET /recipes/{id}: Get details of a specific recipe.GET /recipes/search: Search for recipes based on criteria.
Interaction Features
POST /recipes/{id}/rate: Rate a recipe.POST /recipes/{id}/comments: Comment on a recipe.POST /recipes/{id}/save: Save a recipe to favorites.POST /users/{user_id}/follow: Follow another user.
Social Features
POST /recipes/{id}/share: Share a recipe.GET /users/{user_id}/recipes: Get recipes published by a user.
Notifications
GET /notifications: Get notifications for user activity.
Security
Use HTTPS to encrypt data in transit.
Implement input validation and sanitization to prevent SQL injection and XSS attacks.
Use strong password hashing algorithms like bcrypt.
Performance
Implement caching strategies to improve response times.
Optimize database queries to handle large datasets efficiently.
Use load balancing to distribute traffic evenly across servers.
Documentation
Provide comprehensive API documentation using tools like Swagger.
Create user guides and developer documentation to assist with integration and usage.
