Angular 2 Messaging Application

Angular 2 Messaging App is an elegant web application built with Angular 2 Framework (Version 5), MySQL Database, and NodeJS/ExpressJS. Some application features include Web Sockets for real-time Server-Client communication, User Authentication and Authorization with JSON Web Tokens and MySQL Database Session Storage, Server-side Caching using Redis, Custom Angular Flash Messages (and all custom SASS/SCSS styling in application), and more! Users can send each other messages, save drafts, and trigger live updates when receiving new messages. This Web Application features a RESTful API built on NodeJS and ExpressJS. It is also optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. For a demo of this application, visit: https://angular2-msg-app-3z24.herokuapp.com

Screenshots

Getting Started

Prerequisites

The following items are required for the Angular 2 Messaging App:

• NodeJS
• MySQL Database (or any other method of connecting to a MySQL Database, such as XAMP, WAMP, etc.)
• Angular 2 Command Line Interface

Installing

To install the application, you only need to run the following command inside of the root directory:

$ npm install

Configuration

• Database
  • To change database settings, go to: root/server/config/db.js. (You must change settings for the options variable, and startUpConnection variable).

Development Server

Before starting the app, you must have an active MySQL Connection running. To start up a development instance, navigate to the root directory in your command line interface and run:

$ ng serve

This will create a development instance located at http://localhost:4200. Then, you must start the backend NodeJS server. In a separate terminal, run the following command in the root directory:

$ node server/index.js

This will create a server instance located at http://localhost:8080.

Once both scripts have finished running, the application can be accessed at http://localhost:4200.

Production Build

For Windows users, you must go to the file root/package.json and change the following line: from:

"start": "NODE_ENV=production node server/index.js"

to:

"start": "SET NODE_ENV=production && node server/index.js"

(Alternatively, you can manually set your NodeJS environment to production and then run the second command).

To start a production build, run the following command in the root directory:

$ npm run build
$ npm start

Once the script has finished running, the application can be accessed at http://localhost:8080.

FAQ

For questions, concerns, or issues starting the application, I can be contacted at: [email protected]