Learning the ropes of a Web App
When I started at San Jose State, I was tasked with building a scalable microblogging platform - my first full-stack, cloud-native application.
Our tech stack was comprehensive:
- Frontend: Next.js with Chakra UI
- Backend: Node.js, Express, and GraphQL
- Database: PostgreSQL
- Caching: Redis
- Authentication: SSO and Two-Factor Auth
- Containerization: Docker
- CI/CD: Automated pipelines
- Observability: Logging, metrics, and tracing
Implementing the CI/CD pipeline was particularly interesting. Seeing our code automatically test, build, and deploy after a commit was satisfying and felt like a step towards professional development practices.
The project had its challenges. Setting up Kubernetes deployment took longer than expected, but when we finally got it right, it was a good learning experience. It showed me the complexity and power of container orchestration in real-world applications.
Using Splunk for observability gave us insights into our application's performance. It was helpful to see how different parts of our system interacted and where bottlenecks occurred. This practical exposure to system monitoring was valuable.
Implementing Redis for caching noticeably improved our response times. It was a clear demonstration of how architectural decisions can impact performance.
Beyond the technical aspects, the project taught me about teamwork and project management. Our weekly meetings helped us stay on track, and using GitHub's project management features gave me a taste of agile development practices.
As the project progressed, I found myself becoming more comfortable with problem-solving and collaboration. Each challenge we overcame added to my understanding of software development.
Demonstrating our final product was rewarding. Showing how it could handle concurrent users, scale under load, and deploy updates smoothly felt like a tangible result of our efforts.
This project confirmed my interest in building scalable systems.