ACM Officer Database - Backend

This is the backend repository for the ACM Officer Database

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Firebase Admin SDK credentials
• Google Cloud SDK (for deployment)

Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/acmutd/officer-database-backend.git
   cd officer-database-backend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Configure Firebase credentials

Caution

Never commit firebase-creds.json to version control!

• Go to Firebase Console
• Select your project
• Navigate to Project Settings → Service Accounts
• Click Generate New Private Key
• Save the downloaded file as firebase-creds.json in the project root

4. Build the TypeScript code

   npm run build

5. Start the development server

npm run dev

This starts a local Express server on http://localhost:8080 that runs all endpoints simultaneously. No need to select or run individual functions—just start the server and call any endpoint.

Available endpoints:

• GET /getOfficers - Retrieve all officers
• GET /getOfficer?id={id} - Get a single officer by ID
• POST /createOfficer - Create a new officer
• PATCH /updateOfficer?id={id} - Update an officer
• DELETE /deleteOfficer?id={id} - Delete an officer
• POST /archiveOfficer?id={id} - Archive an officer (sets isActive to false)
• POST /unarchiveOfficer?id={id} - Unarchive an officer (sets isActive to true)
• POST /uploadOfficerPhoto - Upload officer photo (multipart/form-data)
• POST /uploadOfficerResume - Upload officer resume (multipart/form-data)
• GET /getOfficerResume?id={id} - Get signed URL for officer resume

Project Structure

officer-database-backend/
├── src/
│   ├── functions/          # Cloud Functions (CRUD operations)
│   │   ├── archiveOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── createOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── deleteOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── getOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── getOfficerResume.ts
│   │   ├── getOfficers.ts
│   │   ├── index.ts
│   │   ├── unarchiveOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── updateOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── uploadOfficerPhoto.ts
│   │   └── uploadOfficerResume.ts
│   ├── helpers/            # Validation utilities
│   │   └── validators.ts
│   ├── types/              # TypeScript types and Zod schemas
│   │   └── officer.ts
│   ├── middleware.ts       # Request validation middleware
│   ├── firebase.ts         # Firebase Admin SDK initialization
│   └── index.ts            # Function exports
├── tests/                  # Test scripts
│   └── deploy.ts
├── dist/                   # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── firebase-creds.json     # Firebase credentials (not in git)
├── cloudbuild.yaml
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── API_DOCUMENTATION.md
└── README.md

Environment Notes

• Local: Uses an Express server to run all functions simultaneously on a single port (8080 by default). Start the server with npm run dev to access all endpoints.
• Production: Serverless Cloud Functions deployed on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Each function has its own endpoint URL.
• Database: Firestore database on Firebase with two collections: officer (current officers) and archived (archived officers)

Local vs Production

Environment	Server	URL Structure
Local	Express server running all functions	http://localhost:8080/ENDPOINT_NAME
Production	Serverless Cloud Functions on GCP	https://REGION-PROJECT.cloudfunctions.net/FUNCTION_NAME

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors:

• Run npm run build to compile TypeScript

Firebase authentication errors:

• Verify firebase-creds.json exists in project root
• Check that the service account has Firestore permissions

Port already in use:

• Change the port in package.json dev script or kill the process using port 8080

Type errors:

• Run npm install to ensure all @types/* packages are installed