NWZ — Distributed Book Application

A distributed-systems coursework project with a Node.js API, an Angular web client, and an Angular/Cordova Android client. The API includes books, authentication, users, genres, formats, languages, and locations.

Components

Directory	Purpose
server	Express API, MongoDB data, Socket.IO, and storage helpers.
client-web/nwz	Angular web application and an Express static server.
client-android	Angular client with Cordova Android configuration.

Install dependencies separately in each component. The root Cordova package is not the entry point for the full application.

Runtime and configuration

The web package declares Node ~12.16.1 and npm ~6.13.4; the clients use Angular 9-era tooling. These are historical requirements, not a recommendation for a new deployment. Native PDF/image packages and Android tooling may need compatibility work.

Create local server configuration in server/.env before startup:

Variables	Purpose
MONGO_URI_PROD	MongoDB URI consumed by the entry point, including for a local database.
PORT_DEV, PORT	API port; PORT takes precedence.
JWT_SECRET_KEY, BCRYPT_SALT_ROUNDS	Authentication secret and password work factor.
ACCESS_KEY_ID, SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, BUCKET_NAME	Storage credentials and bucket used by upload helpers.
API_URL_USER_PICTURES_BASE	User-picture base URL.
BOOKS_PER_PAGE	Book pagination setting.
DEFAULT_STATUS_REPORT, STATUS_OK	Application status values used by server helpers.

Review the consuming code under server/src for the expected status values and storage setup. Check API and socket URLs in both clients before connecting to a local server; configuration is not centralized entirely in Angular environment files.

Start the API

cd server
npm ci
npm start

Routes are mounted under /api/v1/, including /api/v1/books and /api/v1/authentication. npm run dev refers to nodemon, which is not declared in this package.

Start a client

From client-web/nwz, run npm ci, then npm run ng -- serve for the Angular development server on port 4200. Installation triggers a production build through postinstall. npm start instead serves the compiled dist/nwz application on PORT or port 8080.

From client-android, run npm ci and npm start for a browser preview. This does not build or install an Android app. See the component guides for more detail:

• Web client guide
• Android client guide

Verification

The clients declare build, Karma test, lint, and Protractor e2e scripts. Their presence does not establish passing coverage. The API has no test script. MongoDB, storage, live sockets, and Android packaging were not exercised during this documentation update. Preserve the notices in bundled Cordova code when modifying the project.