Forum Application

A comprehensive web forum application built using Go that enables user communication through posts, comments, and reactions.

Authors

• Abdelhamid Bouziani
• Hamza Maach
• Omar Ait Benhammou
• Mehdi Moulabbi
• Youssef Basta

Features

User Authentication

• Username-based registration and login
• Secure session management using cookies

Content Management

• Create and read posts
• Comment on posts
• Multiple category associations for posts

Interaction System

• Like/dislike functionality for posts and comments
• Comprehensive user engagement tools

Content Discovery

• Filter posts by categories
• Filter posts by creation date

Project Structure

forum/
├── cmd/
│   └── main.go           # Application entry point
├── server/
│   ├── config/           # Configuration management
│   ├── database/         # Database interaction logic
│   ├── controllers/      # Request handling and business logic
│   ├── models/           # Data structures and models
│   ├── validators/       # Request validation
│   ├── routes/           # Application routing
│   └── utils/            # Shared utility functions
├── web/ 
│   ├── assets/           # Static resources (CSS, JS, images)
│   └── templates/        # HTML templates
├── dockerfile            # Docker containerization
├── commands.sh           # Docker build and deployment script
├── go.mod                # Go module dependencies
├── go.sum                # Dependency checksum
└── README.md             # Project documentation

Database Schema

View the detailed database schema here.

Key Tables

• Users: User authentication and profile information
• Posts: Forum post content
• Comments: Post responses and discussions
• Categories: Post classification
• Categories_Posts: Post-category relationships
• Posts_Reactions: Post interaction tracking
• Comments_Reactions: Comment interaction tracking
• Sessions: User authentication state management

Technologies

Backend

• Go 1.22+
• SQLite3 database
• bcrypt for password hashing

Frontend

• HTML5 & CSS3
• JavaScript
• Font Awesome icons

Development & Deployment

• Docker containerization

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go 1.22 or higher
• SQLite3
• Docker (optional)

Local Development

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/hmaach/forum.git
   cd forum

2. Install Dependencies

   go mod download

3. Database Management

   • Create database schema:

     go run . --migrate

   • Create schema with demo data:

     go run . --seed

   • Drop database schema:

     go run . --drop

4. Run the Application

   cd cmd
   go run .

   Access the forum at http://localhost:8080

Docker Deployment

1. Make script executable:

   chmod +x commands.sh

2. Run deployment script:

   ./commands.sh

3. Access the forum at http://localhost:8080

Contributing

Please read our contributing guidelines before submitting pull requests or issues.