eContract API

A C++17 service for managing electronic contracts: creation, versioning, digital signatures, lifecycle tracking, and compliance metadata.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Project structure
• Build requirements
• Build & run
• Configuration
• Database
• Security
• License

Overview

This repository contains a C++17 application that exposes contract functionality (create, update, sign, audit, and search). It links against OpenSSL for cryptographic operations and libpqxx/libpq for PostgreSQL access.

Features

• Contract CRUD and lifecycle (draft -> finalized -> archived)
• Versioning and audit trail
• Signer workflow & signature verification (OpenSSL)
• PostgreSQL persistence (libpqxx)
• Clean build targets via Makefile

Project structure

├─ Makefile
├─ src/
│  ├─ api/               # HTTP/API layer (handlers)
│  ├─ services/          # Business logic
│  ├─ database/          # Database access (libpqxx)
│  ├─ crypto/            # Crypto helpers (OpenSSL)
│  ├─ blockchain/        # Block/ledger utilities
│  ├─ config/            # Configuration helpers
│  └─ main.cpp           # Entry point

Build requirements

• g++ with C++17 support
• OpenSSL (libssl, libcrypto)
• PostgreSQL client libraries (libpq, libpqxx)
• pthread
• make

Ubuntu/Debian example:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libssl-dev libpq-dev libpqxx-dev

Build & run

Use the provided Makefile:

# build
make

# run
./econtract_api

# clean
make clean

# rebuild from scratch
make rebuild

Targets are defined in the Makefile and compile all sources under src/ into the build/ directory, linking into the econtract_api executable.

Configuration

Place configuration (e.g., database connection) in the config layer (see src/config). If you prefer environment variables, load them early in main.cpp and pass to components. Example variables you might use:

• DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/econtract
• APP_ENV=development

Database

Migrations are not included here. Recommended approaches:

• SQL files in a migrations/ directory
• A migration tool (e.g., sqitch or a simple custom runner)

Ensure a PostgreSQL database is available and your DATABASE_URL is correctly set before running.

Security

• Validate and sanitize all inputs in the API layer
• Use parameterized queries for PostgreSQL
• Protect secrets (never commit secrets; use environment variables or external secret stores)
• Keep OpenSSL and libpqxx up to date

License

MIT. See LICENSE.