Real-Time Forum Application

Overview

This project is a single-page web application for a real-time forum built with Go, SQLite, Ja vaScript, HTML, and CSS. It supports user registration/login, post creation, commenting, and private messaging with real-time updates via WebSockets. The application ensures secure authentication, efficient data handling, and a responsive user interface without using frontend frameworks.

Features

• Registration and Login:
  • Users register with nickname, age, gender, first name, last name, email, and password.
  • Login using nickname or email with password.
  • Logout available from any page.
• Posts and Comments:
  • View posts in a feed.
  • Comment on posts, visible only when viewing a specific post.
• Private Messages:
  • Real-time chat with online/offline user status.
  • Chat list sorted by last message (or alphabetically for new users).
  • Load last 10 messages, with scroll-up to fetch 10 more (throttled scrolling).
  • Messages display sender's nickname and timestamp.
• Real-Time Updates:
  • WebSockets for instant message notifications and chat updates.
• Single Page Application:
  • One HTML file with dynamic content managed by JavaScript.
• Security:
  • Passwords hashed with bcrypt.
  • Session management with cookies.
  • middlwares to assure only authenticated people are allowed to interact.
  • middlewares to forbid authenticated users to go back to login and register endpoints.

Technologies

• Backend:
  • Go (standard library + allowed packages: gorilla/websocket, sqlite3, bcrypt, google/uuid).
  • SQLite for data storage.
  • WebSockets for real-time communication.
• Frontend:
  • Vanilla JavaScript for DOM manipulation and WebSocket handling.
  • HTML (single file for SPA).
  • CSS for styling.
• No frontend frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue) are used.

Project Structure

forum/
├── backend/
│   ├── main.go              # Entry point, server setup
│   ├── handlers/            # HTTP and WebSocket handlers
│   ├── models/              # Data structures (User, Post, Comment, Message)
│   ├── database/            # SQLite setup and queries
│   └── sessions/            # Session management
├── frontend/
│   ├── index.html           # Single HTML file
│   ├── css/                 # Stylesheets
│   │   └── styles.css
│   └── js/                  # JavaScript files
│       ├── main.js          # Core SPA logic
│       ├── websocket.js     # WebSocket client
│       └── utils.js         # Throttle/debounce and helpers
├── database/
│   └── forum.db             # SQLite database
├── go.mod                   # Go module dependencies
└── README.md                # This file

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Go (version 1.21 or higher) Make sure that Golang is installed before proceeding
• A modern web browser

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd NowTalks
   ./run.sh

2. Access the Application:
   • Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080.
   • Register a new account or log in to access the forum.

Usage

• Registration/Login:
  • On the landing page, choose to register or log in.
  • Fill in the registration form with required fields (nickname, age, gender, first name, last name, email, password).
  • Log in using nickname or email and password.
• Posts:
  • Create a post with a title, content, and category from the feed page.
  • Click a post to view its content and comments.
  • Add comments to posts. —, Private Messages:
  • View the chat list (online/offline users) on the sidebar, sorted by last message or alphabetically.
  • Click a user to load the last 10 messages.
  • Scroll up to load more messages (throttled to prevent spam).
  • Send messages, which appear instantly for both users via WebSockets.
• Logout:
  • Click the logout button (available on all pages) to end the session.

Development Notes

• Backend:
  • Uses Go routines and channels for concurrent WebSocket handling.
  • SQLite stores all data (users, posts, comments, messages).
  • Sessions are managed with cookies and UUIDs.
• Frontend:
  • JavaScript handles dynamic page updates (SPA) without reloading.
  • WebSocket client listens for real-time message updates.
  • Throttle/debounce used for scroll events to optimize message loading.
• Database:
  • Tables: users, posts, comments, messages, sessions, messages ...
  • Foreign keys ensure data integrity.
• Security:
  • Passwords are hashed with bcrypt.
  • Input validation prevents SQL injection and XSS.

Used Packages

• Go standard library
• github.com/gorilla/websocket
• golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt
• github.com/google/uuid
• SQLite3 (via database/sql)