Lab 1: Pastebin Application

This is a simple Pastebin application built with Flask, containerized using Docker and orchestrated with Docker Compose.

Prerequisites

Clone the Repository:

git clone <repository_url>
cd <repository_directory>

Create a .env_file:

Ensure you have a .env_file in the project root with the necessary environment variables. Example:
```
FLASK_APP=pastebin
FLASK_DEBUG=True
SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
```
An example file is also available for demonstration purposes, .env_file_example. Flask debug, True for dev and False for otherwise.
Build and Start the Application:
```
docker-compose up --build
```
This command builds the Docker image and starts the Pastebin service. The application will be accessible at http://localhost:5000.
Stopping the Application:

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where docker-compose is running, then execute:
```
docker-compose down
```

If you prefer to run the application without Docker, follow these steps:

Create and Activate a Virtual Environment:

virtualenv venv
source venv/bin/activate

On Windows, run:

.venv\Scripts\activate

Install the Required Dependencies:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```
Set Environment Variables from .env_file:
```
export $(cat .env_file | xargs)
```
Run the Flask Application:
```
flask --env-file .env_file run
```

To start the application with Docker Compose:

docker-compose up

Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on how to contribute to this project.

For more details on secure coding practices, please refer to the OWASP Developer Guide and SECURITY.md.