README.md

CityFinder

Code2gether June challenge: simple API + react website returns city upon user input with country & zip code

Project deployed at https://app-test-one.azurewebsites.net/. (I use the same Azure web app project for other sandbox projects as well so City Finder may or may not be up.)

Frameworks/Libraries/APIs used

• restcountries.eu API (list of countries and 2 letter code)
• zipcodebase.com API (zipcode searches)
• zipapi.us API (previously used and only US zipcode searches)
• React Google Maps API
• Google Maps API
• ReactJS
• ASP.NET
• Material UI

Study Notes

Critiques

• ✓ use Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration for API key instead of static class with constants
• ✓ static HttpAccess class is anti pattern, use IHttpClientFactory in a scoped client
• ✓ location = await UsaCityFinder.GetCity(location); is mutable. Immutable is preferred

Learning Journal

*I really should use TypeScript
*Although I could send queries to third party APIs straight from the frontend, I didn't because I want to practice creating APIs.

• dotnet user-secrets to store development secrets such as keys
• Use Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection, ... .Configurations, and ... .Options to access development and production keys
• Practice publishing on Azure
• Set up CI/CD using GitHub action workflows to deploy to Azure App service
• Configure Google Maps API access restrictions
• Set up zipcodebase.com API key in the Azure app configuration