rawanbakrali/egypt-through-the-ages

Purpose and Runtime

This is a server-rendered Node.js/Express application for exploring historical eras and places, viewing and submitting events, tracking a user’s place status, and posting reviews. It renders EJS pages while exposing route-backed APIs consumed by browser JavaScript. The main bootstrap is app.js; dependencies and scripts are defined in package.json.

HTTP Entry and Request Pipeline

app.js mounts feature route modules, configures rendering/static assets, and centralizes application middleware. Routes divide public pages from domain operations:

• Page rendering: routes/pageRoutes.js, controllers/pageController.js

• Auth: routes/authRoutes.js, controllers/authController.js

• Domain APIs: routes/eventsRoutes.js, routes/placesRoutes.js, routes/reviewsRoutes.js

Authentication, validation, uploads, and error translation form request boundaries in middleware/auth.js, middleware/validators, middleware/upload.js, and middleware/errorHandlers.js.

Server-rendered UI and Client Behavior

EJS views are the page composition layer, with reusable partials for navigation, era/event displays, review input, and administrative rows. Core pages include views/home.ejs, views/era.ejs, views/events.ejs, views/event.ejs, views/profile.ejs, and views/admin.ejs. Browser modules invoke feature endpoints and update page state: public/js/events.js, public/js/reviews.js, public/js/place-status.js, public/js/profile.js, and public/js/map.js. Static styles and media are served from public/css and public/assets.

Identity, Access, and User State

Authentication is handled through authController and enforced by middleware/auth.js; client-side guards support protected UI flows in public/js/auth-guard.js. User persistence and user-place relationship state are represented separately:

• models/User.js

• models/UserPlaceStatus.js

• controllers/userPlaceStatusController.js

This separation supports per-user tracking of places independently from globally defined place records.

Historical Content Domain

The core content model centers on eras, places, events, and reviews. Persistent model definitions are in models/Event.js, models/Place.js, and models/Reviews.js; their API orchestration lives in controllers/eventsController.js, controllers/placesController.js, and controllers/reviewsController.js. Era-oriented presentation is driven by views/era.ejs and public/js/era.js, while events have both listing and detail views.

Administrative Submission and Media Flow

Event submission and administration are distinct workflow surfaces, indicated by views/partials/event-submission-modal.ejs, views/admin.ejs, and public/js/admin.js. Upload requests pass through routes/uploadRoutes.js, controllers/uploadController.js, and middleware/upload.js, isolating file handling from normal content mutation. Validation modules such as middleware/validators/eventsValidators.js guard incoming domain payloads before controller/model processing.

Data Initialization and External Boundaries

The repository includes static/source datasets under data, plus operational scripts migrate-data.js and seed-admin.js for initial migration and administrative account setup. The model layer is the database boundary; its exact database provider is not identifiable from the supplied tree. Mapping is browser-side (public/js/map.js); the README indicates map tiles are visually grayscaled using a CSS filter rather than a paid grayscale tile provider.