StackPosts_

An imitation of Stack Overflow using ASP.Net Core, Vue.js, and SignalR.

Scope

This is a project based on building a forum application as a proof-of-concept using Asp.Net Core and Vue.js, where users can create posts for questions and/or reply to those posts. There also exists the ability to up-vote and down-vote posts at a users discretion*.

Caveat

Currently, there isn't any limit to how many times a posts can be up-voted/down-voted and anyone can perform the action, so Authorization and User roles need to be implemented to place limits.

Tech Stack

This application was built with:

• ASP.Net Core 3.1
• Vue.js 2.6.11

Additional Packages

• EntityFrameworkCore.Design
• AutoMapper
• SqLite Database for Development
• SignalR (NuGet package)

Setup

In order to test/use this application, you will need the following:

• Asp.Net Core 3.0 SDK, preferably 3.1
• Node.js version 10 or higher
• The Vue cli

Installation

Grab the repository either by downloading the zip file or clone the project:

~$ git clone https://github.com/johnmcraig/StackPosts_

After cloning or unzipping the files, navigate to the directory containing the solution file:

~$ cd src/StackPosts_/

In either order, navigate to the client side or solution files and install their dependencies. Once again, you will need Node.js and npm installed along with the .Net Core 3.0 SDK.

For client side dependencies:

~$ cd client-app/
~$ npm install

Make sure the @vue/cli is installed as well:

~$ npm install -g @vue/cli

For server side code, build and restore dependencies and NuGet packages:

~$ cd src/StackPosts_/
~$ dotnet restore

And the projects should download NuGet packages, build, and restore files.

Running the Environment

To run a local environment on the client side: Use npm script commands in a terminal/command box while in the ../client-app directory:

~$ npm run serve

This outputs a minified JavaScript file in the wwwroot/dist directory of the API.

To run a local environment on the server side: Use the dotnet <COMMAND> <OPTIONS> tool to run it in a terminal or use Visual Studio to run it with CTL + F5

Navigate to localhost:5001 in a browser to see the current build running.

TODO

• Add Authorization and Login.
• Enable searching by Post title.
• Add the ability to delete or update a Post after Authorization. Then the same with Replies.

Known Issues and Bugs

• The seed class in the data layer does not properly add a list of Replies to each Post entity.
• SignalR type errors in the post-hub occur with Type Error: "cb is undefined" needs to be fixed.