NIddle

Overview

NIddle is a middleware service that acts as an interface between the official University of Porto website (Sigarra) and the UNI mobile application. The primary goal of NIddle is to provide a stable, modern, and reliable API for the UNI app, abstracting away the complexities of the Sigarra website.

This approach allows for a more agile development process for the UNI mobile app, as changes in Sigarra can be handled by NIddle without requiring a new release of the mobile app. Additionally, NIddle introduces custom functionalities not available in Sigarra, such as a custom announcement system.

Features

• Stable API: Provides a consistent API for schedules, exams, and other university data, protecting the mobile app from changes in the underlying source.
• Decoupled Architecture: Separates the mobile app from the university's web services, allowing for independent development and deployment cycles.
• Extensible: Easily add new features and endpoints to support the mobile app.
• Custom Functionalities: Includes additional features not present in Sigarra, such as a dedicated announcement system.

Getting Started

These instructions will get you a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v22.x recommended)
• Docker
• Docker Compose

Local Development

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/NIAEFEUP/NIddle
   cd NIddle

2. Set up environment variables

   Copy the example environment file to .env.local for local development.

   cp .env.example .env.local

   Now, open .env.local and fill in the required variables.

3. Start the database

   NIddle requires a PostgreSQL database. Use Docker Compose to start a local instance:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Install dependencies

   npm install

5. Run the application

   npm run start:dev

   The application will be running in watch mode at http://localhost:3000.

Docker

NIddle is fully containerized and can be easily built and run as a Docker image.

Building the Image

1. Set up Docker environment variables

   Copy the example environment file to .env.docker.

   cp .env.example .env.docker

   Open .env.docker and configure the variables for the Docker environment.

2. Run the build script

   The build_image.sh script will build the Docker image for you.

   ./build_image.sh

Running the Image

• Run the run script

  The run_image.sh script will start a container from the image you just built.

  ./run_image.sh

Available Scripts

• npm run build: Compiles the project.
• npm run format: Formats the code using Prettier.
• npm run start:prod: Starts the application in production mode.
• npm run start:dev: Starts the application in development mode with watch.
• npm run lint: Lints the codebase.
• npm test: Runs unit tests.
• npm run test:e2e: Runs end-to-end tests.

License

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.