The-Scoop (Routing & Database Task)

Task for the CodeAcademy course Create a Back-End App with JavaScript

Add Comment Functionality and YAML Persistence

Purpose

This PR implements the missing comment system for The Scoop web application, allowing users to create, edit, delete, and vote on comments. Additionally, it adds YAML-based database persistence to maintain data across server restarts.

Changes Made

Comment System Implementation

• Database Structure: Added comments object and nextCommentId counter to the database
• Routes: Implemented 5 new comment routes:
  • POST /comments - Create new comments
  • PUT /comments/:id - Update comment body
  • DELETE /comments/:id - Delete comments and clean up references
  • PUT /comments/:id/upvote - Upvote comments
  • PUT /comments/:id/downvote - Downvote comments
• Handler Functions: Created all corresponding route handlers following the existing article pattern, including proper validation, error handling, and bidirectional linking between comments, users, and articles

YAML Persistence (Bonus)

• saveDatabase(): Saves the current database state to config.yml after each request
• loadDatabase(): Loads database from config.yml on server startup with error handling for missing files
• Uses the figg library for YAML file operations

Testing

• All tests pass successfully using the provided test suite (npm test)
• Verified edge cases including missing IDs, invalid usernames, non-existent articles, and proper error handling
• Confirmed data persistence works correctly across server restarts

Technical Details

• All comment routes follow the same patterns as existing article routes for consistency
• Proper cleanup of comment references in both user and article objects when comments are deleted
• Error handling includes appropriate HTTP status codes (400, 404, 201, 200, 204)
• YAML persistence includes try/catch error handling to gracefully handle missing config files on first run