Location Service

Overview

The Location Service manages location-related functionality for the Commune Drop platform. It tracks user and carrier locations, calculates distances and routes, handles geocoding, and provides real-time location updates for order tracking.

Features

• Real-time location tracking for users and carriers
• Distance and ETA calculations between locations
• Geocoding and reverse geocoding
• Route optimization
• Location history storage
• Geofencing for delivery zones
• Address validation and normalization

Dependencies

• Auth Service: For user authentication and authorization
• Order Service: For order location details
• Notification Service: For location-based alerts
• External Map Services: For geocoding and routing (Google Maps, Mapbox, etc.)

Technology Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with geospatial indexes
• Real-time: Socket.io / WebSockets
• Caching: Redis
• External APIs: Google Maps / Mapbox / OpenStreetMap

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js v16+
• MongoDB
• Redis
• Map service API keys

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/commune-drop/location-service.git
cd location-service

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure environment variables

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

4. Start the service

npm start

For development:

npm run dev

Configuration

Key environment variables:

PORT=3002
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/location-service
AUTH_SERVICE_URL=http://auth-service:3000
ORDER_SERVICE_URL=http://order-service:3001
NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_URL=http://notification-service:3005
GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_google_maps_api_key
MAPBOX_API_KEY=your_mapbox_api_key
LOCATION_UPDATE_INTERVAL=10000
LOCATION_HISTORY_RETENTION_DAYS=30

Geospatial Features

• Proximity search for nearby carriers
• Polygon-based delivery zones
• Heatmaps for demand analysis
• Traffic-aware routing
• Location clustering

Data Models

Key data structures include:

• User locations
• Carrier locations
• Location history
• Delivery zones
• Address data

Real-time Updates

The service provides real-time location updates via:

• WebSockets for live tracking
• Server-sent events for status updates
• Pub/sub for internal service communication

Events

The service publishes these events:

• location.updated
• location.entered_zone
• location.exited_zone
• carrier.nearby
• eta.updated

Privacy and Security

• Location data is encrypted at rest
• User consent required for location tracking
• Configurable location precision
• Automatic data purging based on retention policy

License

MIT