CoolStation is a modern, full-stack web application designed as a microblog platform for Computer Science enthusiasts. It enables users to share, explore, and engage with bite-sized "Did You Know?" facts in an intuitive and responsive interface. Whether you are a student, developer, or industry professional, CoolStation offers an engaging environment to contribute and learn from community-curated knowledge.
This project showcases robust full-stack development practices, including user authentication, CRUD operations, real-time search, and responsive UI design. The backend is supported by a MongoDB database, ensuring scalable and efficient data handling.
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User Authentication: Secure registration and login using hashed passwords, ensuring safe user credential management.
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Unique User Profiles: Validation logic prevents duplicate usernames by trimming whitespace and enforcing uniqueness.
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Post Creation: Authenticated users can publish informative Computer Science facts, contributing to the community knowledge base.
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Favorite System: Users can "like" posts, which are stored in their personal collection of favorites using efficient database operations.
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Live Search Functionality: Posts can be filtered in real-time based on keywords found in the title or content.
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Theme Toggle: Supports both dark and light mode for optimal viewing comfort across different environments.
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Timestamps: Each post is timestamped, giving context to contributions and enabling chronological navigation.
- React.js – Utilized for building modular, component-based interfaces.
- React Router – Enables seamless client-side routing for a single-page application experience.
- CSS3 – Custom styles crafted for responsive layouts and user accessibility.
- Node.js – JavaScript runtime environment for server-side development.
- Express.js – Lightweight web application framework for handling routing and API endpoints.
- MongoDB – NoSQL database used for flexible, document-oriented data storage.
- Mongoose – Object Data Modeling (ODM) library for schema definition and interaction with MongoDB.
- bcrypt – Used for securely hashing passwords before storing them in the database.
- Nodemon – Facilitates efficient backend development by automatically restarting the server on code changes.
- Postman – API testing and validation tool used during backend development.
- Visual Studio Code – Primary code editor used for building and debugging the application.
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Through building CoolStation, I gained practical experience in the complete lifecycle of a full-stack application. Key areas of learning included:
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Structuring a full-stack project using the MERN stack.
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Implementing secure authentication mechanisms and handling user data responsibly.
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Designing responsive and user-friendly interfaces with real-time features.
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Debugging challenges such as ensuring username uniqueness and trimming user input effectively.
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Implementing and optimizing favorite systems using array fields in MongoDB.
Sakshi Bhojraj Sonkusare
Aspiring full-stack developer with a strong interest in building impactful, user-centered applications. Passionate about continuous learning and real-world software development.
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sakshi-sonkusare-381362354/
- Portfolio: Coming Soon
Feedback, feature suggestions, and contributions are welcome. If you find this project valuable, consider starring the repository on GitHub. Pull requests for improvements or extensions are greatly appreciated.