README.md

Learning Management System Backend

This is the backend of a Learning Management System (LMS) built using Django and Django REST Framework. The backend provides a comprehensive REST API to manage users, courses, categories, lessons, quizzes, questions, choices, enrollments, progress, and notifications.

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Setup Instructions
• Running the Server
• Using the Admin Interface
• API Endpoints
• File Structure
• Authentication
• Testing the APIs
  • Using curl
  • Using Postman
  • Using Swagger UI
  • Using Redoc
  • Using Django REST Framework Browsable API
• Seeding Sample Data
• Recommended GUI Tools

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• MongoDB running locally or remotely
• Redis running locally or remotely
• Django 3.0 or higher

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/hoangsonww/Fullstack-Learning-Management-System.git
   cd Fullstack-Learning-Management-System/LMS-Backend

2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment

   python -m venv .venv
   # On Windows
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   # On macOS/Linux
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install Required Packages

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure MongoDB and Redis

   • Make sure MongoDB and Redis are running on your machine or have the correct connection strings in settings.py.

   • If you don't have MongoDB and Redis installed, run the following commands to install them:

     • For MacOS/Linux:

       brew tap mongodb/brew
       brew install mongodb-community
       brew services start mongodb-community
       brew install redis
       redis-server

     • For Windows:

       • Download and install MongoDB from here.
       • Download and install Redis from here.

5. Apply Migrations

   Make sure all migrations are applied:

   python manage.py makemigrations
   python manage.py migrate

6. Create a Superuser

   To access the Django admin interface, you need to create a superuser:

   python manage.py createsuperuser

   Follow the prompts to set up the username, email, and password. Be sure to store or remember these credentials for later use. You will need them to log in to the admin interface and test the API endpoints

7. Seed Sample Data

   Run the following command to seed the database with sample data:

   python manage.py seed_sample_data

Running the Server

Start the Django development server:

python manage.py runserver

The server will start at http://127.0.0.1:8000/.

Using the Admin Interface

To use the Django admin interface:

1. Go to http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/.
2. Log in using the superuser credentials you created.
3. You can manage users, courses, categories, lessons, quizzes, questions, choices, enrollments, progress, and notifications directly from the admin interface.

Here is how the admin interface looks like:

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/users/	GET	Retrieve a list of all users.
/api/users/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific user instance.
/api/users/	POST	Create a new user instance.
/api/users/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific user instance.
/api/users/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific user instance.
/api/courses/	GET	Retrieve a list of all courses.
/api/courses/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific course instance.
/api/courses/	POST	Create a new course instance.
/api/courses/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific course instance.
/api/courses/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific course instance.
/api/categories/	GET	Retrieve a list of all categories.
/api/categories/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific category instance.
/api/categories/	POST	Create a new category instance.
/api/categories/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific category instance.
/api/categories/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific category instance.
/api/lessons/	GET	Retrieve a list of all lessons.
/api/lessons/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific lesson instance.
/api/lessons/	POST	Create a new lesson instance.
/api/lessons/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific lesson instance.
/api/lessons/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific lesson instance.
/api/quizzes/	GET	Retrieve a list of all quizzes.
/api/quizzes/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific quiz instance.
/api/quizzes/	POST	Create a new quiz instance.
/api/quizzes/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific quiz instance.
/api/quizzes/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific quiz instance.
/api/questions/	GET	Retrieve a list of all questions.
/api/questions/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific question instance.
/api/questions/	POST	Create a new question instance.
/api/questions/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific question instance.
/api/questions/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific question instance.
/api/choices/	GET	Retrieve a list of all choices.
/api/choices/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific choice instance.
/api/choices/	POST	Create a new choice instance.
/api/choices/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific choice instance.
/api/choices/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific choice instance.
/api/enrollments/	GET	Retrieve a list of all enrollments.
/api/enrollments/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific enrollment instance.
/api/enrollments/	POST	Create a new enrollment instance.
/api/enrollments/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific enrollment instance.
/api/enrollments/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific enrollment instance.
/api/progress/	GET	Retrieve a list of all progress records.
/api/progress/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific progress record instance.
/api/progress/	POST	Create a new progress record instance.
/api/progress/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific progress record instance.
/api/progress/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific progress record instance.
/api/notifications/	GET	Retrieve a list of all notifications.
/api/notifications/{id}/	GET	Retrieve a specific notification instance.
/api/notifications/	POST	Create a new notification instance.
/api/notifications/{id}/	PUT	Update a specific notification instance.
/api/notifications/{id}/	DELETE	Delete a specific notification instance.

File Structure

Learning-Management-System/
├── LMS-Backend
│   ├── manage.py
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   ├── LICENSE
│   ├── db.sqlite3
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── LMSBackend/
│   │   ├── settings.py
│   │   ├── urls.py
│   │   ├── asgi.py
│   │   └── wsgi.py
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── management/
│   │   │   └── commands/
│   │   │       └── seed_sample_data.py
│   │   ├── migrations/
│   │   ├── models.py
│   │   ├── views.py
│   │   ├── tests.py
│   │   ├── admin.py
│   │   ├── apps.py
│   │   ├── serializers.py
│   │   └── urls.py
│   └── ...
├── LMS-Frontend
│   ├── (Frontend code)
│   └── ...
├── LICENSE
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Authentication

Important: Most API endpoints require authentication. You must first log in to obtain an authentication token.

1. Log in to Get a Token

   Use the /api/auth/login/ endpoint to log in and get a token.

   curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/login/ -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
     "username": "your_username",
     "password": "your_password"
   }'

   Replace your_username and your_password with your superuser credentials.

   This will return a response with a token. You must include this token in the Authorization header as Token <your_token_here> for all subsequent API requests.

2. Use the Token in API Requests

   Include the token in the Authorization header:

   -H "Authorization: Token <your_token_here>"

Testing the APIs

You can test the API using curl, Postman, or Swagger UI.

Using curl

To test the API using curl, use the commands below. Replace <your_token_here> with the token obtained from the login endpoint.

• List All Users

  curl -X GET http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/users/ -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Token <your_token_here>"

  • You should get something like this:

    [
      {
        "id":"66dde39af395abfee65d1f86",
        "username":"gibsonstacey",
        "email":"[email protected]",
        "is_instructor":false,"is_student":false,
        "bio":"Consider red specific within chance fund successful out.",
        "profile_picture":"https://placekitten.com/970/531"
      }
    ]

• Create a New Course

  curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/courses/ -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Token <your_token_here>" -d '{
    "title": "New Course",
    "description": "This is a new course description.",
    "instructor": "{user_id}",
    "category": "{category_id}",
    "price": 150.00,
    "published": true
  }'

Repeat similar curl commands for other endpoints.

Using Postman

1. Open Postman.
2. Create a new request for each endpoint.
3. Set the method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and URL (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/users/).
4. Under the "Authorization" tab, choose "Bearer Token" and paste your token.
5. Send the request and check the response.

Using Swagger UI

1. Navigate to the Swagger UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000/swagger/.
2. Click on an endpoint to expand it.
3. Click the "Try it out" button.
4. Enter the required parameters and authentication token (Token <your_token_here>) in the "Authorization" header. Note that the token should be prefixed with Token and a space.
5. Click "Execute" to see the API response.
6. Alternatively, you can simply click the "Authorize" button in the top right corner of the page and enter your token there. This will automatically include the token in all requests. Then repeat steps 3 and 5 to test the endpoints.

Here is how the Swagger UI looks like:

Using Redoc

1. Navigate to the Redoc UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000/redoc/.
2. Click on an endpoint to expand it.
3. View the API documentation and test the endpoints.

Here is how the Redoc UI looks like:

Using Django REST Framework Browsable API

1. Choose any endpoint from the list above.
2. Navigate to the endpoint URL in your browser.
3. Log in using the superuser credentials.
4. You will see a browsable interface where you can view the details of the endpoint.

For example, to view the list of all lessons, go to http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/lessons/. The interface should look like this:

Seeding Sample Data

If you want to seed the database with realistic sample data, you can also run the seed_sample_data management command:

python manage.py seed_sample_data

This command will populate the database with randomly generated users, courses, categories, lessons, quizzes, questions, choices, enrollments, progress records, and notifications.

Note: By default, the seed_sample_data command will be executed when you run the python manage.py migrate command. If you don't want to seed the database at that time, you can disable it by setting SEED_SAMPLE_DATA_ON_MIGRATE = False in the settings.py file.

Recommended GUI Tools

• MongoDB Compass: A GUI tool for MongoDB that allows you to explore and interact with your MongoDB databases. You can download it from here.
• RedisInsight: A GUI tool for Redis that allows you to explore and interact with your Redis databases. You can download it from here.
• Postman: A powerful GUI tool for testing APIs. You can download it from here.
• Swagger UI: An interactive API documentation tool. You can access the Swagger UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000/swagger/. Ensure the server is running before accessing the UI.
• Redoc: Another interactive API documentation tool. You can access the Redoc UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000/redoc/. Ensure the server is running before accessing the UI.

For example, you can use MongoDB Compass to view the data in your MongoDB database, RedisInsight to view the data in your Redis database, and Postman to test the API endpoints, like below:

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more information.

In short, feel free to use, modify, and distribute this code for personal or commercial projects. I would appreciate it if you could provide attribution by linking back to this repository!

Contact

If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Conclusion

With the setup complete, you can now fully explore and test the API endpoints of the Learning Management System backend using either curl, Postman, or the Swagger UI. Don't forget to authenticate first by logging in to obtain a token!

---

⬆ Back to Top