🎓 PEER-POINT

A collaborative platform where students help students solve doubts together

Features • Architecture • Workflow • Quick Start • Tech Stack

💡 What is PEER-POINT?

PEER-POINT is a modern doubt-solving platform that connects learners in a collaborative community. Students can post academic questions, receive detailed answers through threaded discussions, and build a searchable knowledge base together.

Perfect for: Study groups, coding bootcamps, academic institutions, and online learning communities.

✨ Features

👤 For Students

📝 Post questions with rich text descriptions
💬 Engage in threaded discussions
🔍 Browse questions by subject/category
📊 Track your questions and replies
🔐 Secure authentication & profiles

🎯 Platform Capabilities

🏷️ Category-based organization (CSE, ECE, Math, Physics, AI/ML)
🔒 JWT-based secure authentication
👥 Role-based access control (User/Admin)
⚡ Real-time updates with React Query
📱 Fully responsive UI design

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         USER INTERFACE                       │
│              React + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS               │
│                    (Port 5173 - Vite Dev)                    │
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┘
                       │
                       │ REST API (JSON)
                       │ Authorization: Bearer <JWT>
                       │
┌──────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      API LAYER (REST)                        │
│                  Spring Boot 3.2 + Java 17                   │
│                     (Port 8080 - API)                        │
│                                                              │
│  Endpoints:                                                  │
│  • /api/auth/*        - Authentication & Registration        │
│  • /api/pages/*       - Subject Categories Management        │
│  • /api/questions/*   - Question CRUD Operations             │
│  • /api/replies/*     - Answer/Reply Management              │
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┘
                       │
                       │ JPA/Hibernate
                       │
┌──────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      DATA LAYER                              │
│              PostgreSQL (Prod) / H2 (Dev)                    │
│                                                              │
│  Entities: Users → Questions → Replies                       │
│           Pages (Categories)                                 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

🔄 Layer Breakdown

Layer	Technology	Responsibility
Frontend	React + TypeScript + Vite	UI components, routing, state management
API Gateway	Spring Boot REST Controllers	Request routing, validation, auth
Business Logic	Spring Services	Core application logic
Data Access	Spring Data JPA	Database operations
Security	Spring Security + JWT	Authentication & authorization
Database	PostgreSQL / H2	Data persistence

🔄 Workflow

1️⃣ User Registration Flow

User → Register Page → Backend API → Validate Data → Hash Password 
  → Save to DB → Generate JWT Token → Return to Client → Store Token 
  → Redirect to Home

2️⃣ Post Question Flow

Authenticated User → Fill Question Form → Send with JWT Token 
  → Validate Token → Check Permissions → Save Question to DB 
  → Return Question Data → Update UI

3️⃣ Browse & Reply Flow

User → Select Subject Category → Fetch Questions for Category 
  → Display Question Cards → Click Question → View Details & Replies
  → (If Authenticated) Write Reply → Save Reply → Update Thread

🔐 Security Flow

Login → Credentials → Backend Validation → Generate JWT (24h expiry)
  → Store in LocalStorage → Include in All Protected Requests
  → Backend Validates JWT → Allow/Deny Access

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

Node.js 18+ and npm
- Used for frontend development and build tooling
- Check version: node --version
Java 17+
- Required for Spring Boot backend
- Check version: java --version
Maven 3.8+
- Java dependency management and build tool
- Check version: mvn --version
PostgreSQL (for production) or H2 (auto-configured for dev)
- H2 database included for development (no setup needed)
- PostgreSQL recommended for production deployment

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/lavansh1306/Peer--Point.git
cd Peer--Point

2. Start Backend

cd backend
mvn spring-boot:run

Backend runs on http://localhost:8080

3. Start Frontend

# From project root
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend runs on http://localhost:5173

4. Access the Application

Open your browser and navigate to: http://localhost:5173

Default Categories: CSE, ECE, Mathematics, Physics, AI/ML, General

⚙️ Configuration

Frontend Environment (`.env`)

Create a .env file in the project root with the following configuration:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:8080/api

Configuration Options:

VITE_API_URL - The base URL for the backend API server
Default value points to local development server
Update this URL when deploying to production

Backend Configuration (`backend/src/main/resources/application.properties`)

# Server
server.port=8080

# Database (H2 for Development)
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:file:./data/sparkdb
spring.h2.console.enabled=true

# Database (PostgreSQL for Production)
# spring.datasource.url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/peerpoint
# spring.datasource.username=postgres
# spring.datasource.password=yourpassword

# JWT Configuration
jwt.secret=yourSecretKeyForJWTTokenGeneration
jwt.expiration=86400000

# CORS
cors.allowed-origins=http://localhost:5173

Key Configuration Settings:

Server Port: Default is 8080 - Backend API runs on this port
H2 Database: File-based in-memory database for development
- Console accessible at http://localhost:8080/h2-console
- Data persists in ./data/sparkdb directory
PostgreSQL: Production database configuration (commented out by default)
- Uncomment and configure for production deployment
- Requires PostgreSQL server running on port 5432
JWT Settings:
- jwt.secret - Secret key for signing JWT tokens (change in production!)
- jwt.expiration - Token validity period in milliseconds (24 hours default)
CORS: Allowed origins for cross-origin requests
- Add your frontend URL when deploying to production

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend Stack

Technology	Version	Purpose
React	18.3	UI Framework
TypeScript	5.8	Type Safety
Vite	5.4	Build Tool & Dev Server
TailwindCSS	3.4	Styling
shadcn/ui	Latest	Component Library
React Query	5.83	Server State Management
React Router	6.30	Client-side Routing

Backend Stack

Technology	Version	Purpose
Java	17	Programming Language
Spring Boot	3.2	Application Framework
Spring Security	3.2	Authentication & Security
Spring Data JPA	3.2	Database Abstraction
JWT	0.12.3	Token Authentication
PostgreSQL	-	Production Database
H2	-	Development Database
Maven	3.8+	Dependency Management

📁 Project Structure

Peer--Point/
├── src/                          # Frontend source
│   ├── pages/                    # Page components
│   │   ├── Index.tsx            # Home page
│   │   ├── Login.tsx            # Authentication
│   │   ├── Register.tsx         # User registration
│   │   ├── SubjectPage.tsx      # Category view
│   │   └── QuestionDetail.tsx   # Q&A thread
│   ├── components/              # Reusable components
│   ├── contexts/                # React contexts (Auth)
│   ├── lib/                     # API & utilities
│   └── hooks/                   # Custom React hooks
│
├── backend/
│   └── src/main/java/com/srm/spark/
│       ├── controller/          # REST endpoints
│       ├── service/             # Business logic
│       ├── repository/          # Data access
│       ├── model/               # JPA entities
│       ├── security/            # JWT & auth
│       └── dto/                 # Data transfer objects
│
├── public/                      # Static assets
├── package.json                 # Frontend dependencies
└── backend/pom.xml             # Backend dependencies

📚 API Documentation

Authentication Endpoints

User Registration & Login:

POST /api/auth/register - Register new user
- Request body: { name, email, password }
- Returns: JWT token and user details
- No authentication required
POST /api/auth/login - Authenticate user
- Request body: { email, password }
- Returns: JWT token (valid for 24 hours)
- No authentication required

Pages (Categories) Endpoints

Subject Category Management:

GET /api/pages - List all categories
- Returns: Array of all available subject categories
- Public endpoint (no auth required)
GET /api/pages/name/{name} - Get category by name
- Returns: Category details and metadata
- Public endpoint (no auth required)

Questions Endpoints

Question Management & Browsing:

GET /api/questions/page/name/{name} - Get questions by category
- Returns: Paginated list of questions for a subject
- Query params: page, size for pagination
- Public endpoint (no auth required)
GET /api/questions/{id} - Get question details
- Returns: Full question with metadata
- Public endpoint (no auth required)
POST /api/questions - Create question
- Request body: { title, description, pageId }
- Requires: JWT authentication
- Returns: Created question with ID
PUT /api/questions/{id} - Update question
- Request body: { title, description }
- Requires: Owner or Admin role
- Returns: Updated question
DELETE /api/questions/{id} - Delete question
- Requires: Owner or Admin role
- Returns: Success confirmation

Replies Endpoints

Answer & Discussion Management:

GET /api/replies/question/{id} - Get replies for question
- Returns: All replies/answers for a specific question
- Public endpoint (no auth required)
POST /api/replies/question/{id} - Post reply
- Request body: { content }
- Requires: JWT authentication
- Returns: Created reply with ID
PUT /api/replies/{id} - Update reply
- Request body: { content }
- Requires: Owner or Admin role
- Returns: Updated reply
DELETE /api/replies/{id} - Delete reply
- Requires: Owner or Admin role
- Returns: Success confirmation

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

How to Contribute:

Fork the repository
- Click the 'Fork' button at the top right of this page
- Clone your fork locally
Create your feature branch
- git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature
- Use descriptive branch names (e.g., feature/add-search, fix/login-bug)
Commit your changes
- git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature'
- Write clear, concise commit messages
- Follow existing code style and conventions
Push to the branch
- git push origin feature/AmazingFeature
- Ensure all tests pass before pushing
Open a Pull Request
- Provide a clear description of your changes
- Reference any related issues
- Wait for code review and feedback

Contribution Guidelines:

Follow the existing code style and formatting
Add tests for new features when applicable
Update documentation for significant changes
Keep pull requests focused on a single feature or fix
Be respectful and constructive in discussions

📄 License

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

🌟 Support

If you find this project helpful, please consider:

⭐ Star this repository on GitHub to show your support
🐛 Report bugs by opening an issue with detailed reproduction steps
💡 Request features through GitHub issues
📖 Improve documentation by submitting PRs
🔗 Share the project with others who might find it useful
💬 Join discussions and help answer questions from other users

Built with ❤️ by the PEER-POINT Team

Report Bug • Request Feature

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 19 Commits
backend		backend
public		public
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
ARCHITECTURE_DIAGRAM.md		ARCHITECTURE_DIAGRAM.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
bun.lockb		bun.lockb
components.json		components.json
eslint.config.js		eslint.config.js
index.html		index.html
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
postcss.config.js		postcss.config.js
tailwind.config.ts		tailwind.config.ts
tsconfig.app.json		tsconfig.app.json
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
tsconfig.node.json		tsconfig.node.json
vite.config.ts		vite.config.ts

License

lavansh1306/Peer--Point

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