This project was a basic CRUD application built with Python and Flask we created in my Intro to Databases course. I was able to work with lindsaygoins on this, another C.S. student in the program at the time.
Overview:
The actual implementation of the app wasn’t too complex, utilizing Bootstrap 5 and a form get/post pattern to update values. The project description was to define a correct data schema and entity-relationship model to properly allow data to flow into, from, and correctly edit within a web-based SQL solution. The implementation of the web application was up to the teams.
Our initial idea for the project was to archive Reddit subreddits, posts, comments, and users, almost a re-designed Reddit page driven by some scraping/API service and scheduled via a cron job running on a cloud Linux VM.
Fortunately and unfortunately, we were instructed to focus more on the data schema, defining the correct relationships, an ERD diagram, and allowing users to update/add data as needed. The result is a bit less flattering of a project in terms of use case, ultimately being a data entry and review showcase via HTML responses, but it was a good example of clearly defining project objectives and deliverables.
The project was a great introduction to cloud-based data services as well. We initially developed on a local instance of a Maria DB. We utilized a Python-based wrapper to execute the predefined SQL commands, constructed within the db_connection.py module. In hindsight, though we were instructed specifically not to, I would recommend the use of an ORM, such as SQLAlchemy. This would likely be safer because it is a bit dangerous to be writing explicit SQL statements without proper measures to prevent malicious injections.
HTML and templates were handled with Jinja templating. Hosting was handled by Heroku. Be mindful that the free dynos, so it will take a few seconds to spin up.
To move things to a cloud-based solution, we migrated everything up to an AWS RDS MySql instance and defined the authentication within environment variables.
Learning Outcomes:
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Co-working - Co-working on a project is a ton of fun. Working with my partner on this project was enjoyable and a great lesson how to properly version control and push/pull changes to a collaborative repository.
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Cloud Services - This project provided a great introduction to using AWS/cloud-based services to develop applications. The overall application implementation was constrained by the project requirements, but utilizing and setting up a database in the cloud is a great skill to have. I use DBeaver quite a bit for work, and this worked great to connect the running instance and upload/download the DDL files, edit data, and verify changes.
