College Appointment System

The College Appointment System is a web application that enables students to book appointments with professors based on their availability. The system is built using Go (Golang) as the backend language, MongoDB as the database, and JWT (JSON Web Token) for secure authentication.

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Table of Contents

1. Project Overview
2. Features
3. Technologies Used
4. Setup Instructions
5. Endpoints
6. Authentication
7. Testing
8. Contributing
9. License

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Project Overview

The College Appointment System simplifies the process of scheduling appointments between students and professors. Professors can set their availability, while students can view and book available slots. The system ensures secure access and proper role-based permissions using JWT-based authentication.

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Features

• User Registration and Login:
  • Students and professors can register and log in to the system.
• Set Availability:
  • Professors can set their available time slots.
• Book Appointments:
  • Students can book appointments with professors based on their availability.
• View Appointments:
  • Students can view their booked appointments.
• Cancel Appointments:
  • Students can cancel their appointments.
• Role-Based Access Control:
  • Separate access levels for student and professor roles.

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Technologies Used

• Backend: Go (Golang)
• Database: MongoDB
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Token)
• API Framework: Gorilla Mux
• Utilities:
  • golang.org/x/crypto for password hashing
  • github.com/golang-jwt/jwt/v5 for JWT generation and validation
• Build Tool: Makefile
• Testing: Postman

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Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

1. Go:

   • Install Go from https://golang.org/dl/.
   • Ensure go version returns a compatible version (e.g., 1.20+).

2. MongoDB:

   • Install MongoDB locally or use a cloud-hosted instance like MongoDB Atlas.
   • Update the connection string in .env.

3. Postman:

   • Install Postman for API testing: https://www.postman.com/downloads/.

4. Make:

   • Install make for running build and test commands.

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Steps to Set Up

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Beeram12/college-appointment-system.git
   cd college-appointment-system

2. Install Dependencies: Make sure you have go mod initialized and install the required dependencies:

   make deps

   This will execute go mod tidy, downloading and organizing all dependencies specified in the go.mod file.

3. Configure Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the root directory and add the following configurations:

   MONGO_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017
   MONGO_DB="Your DB name"
   JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
   PORT=8000

   • Replace mongodb://localhost:27017 with your MongoDB connection string (e.g., for MongoDB Atlas).
   • Replace your_jwt_secret_key_here with a strong secret key for signing JWT tokens.
   • Ensure the .env file is added to .gitignore to prevent sensitive information from being committed:

4. Run the Application: Start the server using the following command:

   make run

   The application will run at http://localhost:8000.

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Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body
POST	/auth/register	Register a user	{ "username": "user1", "password": "password123", "role": "student" }
POST	/auth/login	Login to get a JWT token	{ "username": "user1", "password": "password123" }

Professor Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body
POST	/professor/availability	Set available time slots	{ "time_slot": "09:00 AM"}
GET	/professor/appointments	View all appointments	None

Student Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body
GET	/appointments/{professor_id}	View available slots	None
POST	/appointments/book	Book an appointment	{ "professor_id": "67a62b8f1dae6c55fdddf2d9", "time_slot": "09:00 AM" }
DELETE	/appointments/cancel/{appointment_id}	Cancel a booked appointment	None
GET	/student/appointments	View booked appointments	None

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Authentication

• The system uses JWT(JSON Web Token) for secure authentication.
• Users must include their token in the Authorization header for protected endpoints:

  Authorization: Bearer <your_token>

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Testing

Manual Testing

• Use Postman to test all endpoints individually.
• Include the JWT token in headers for authenticated routes.