FE - Implement Profile Management API

[sanjaysah101]

Description:

The current Ansopedia user service lacks a dedicated API for detailed profile management. This limits users' control over their information and visibility.

Proposed Solution:

We propose a comprehensive profile management API within the user service, enabling users to:

• Create and Update Profiles: Users can manage their profiles with the following details:
  • Personal Information (name, email, phone number, etc.)
  • Social Media Links (optional)
  • Address (optional)
  • isVerified (boolean): Flag indicating verified user information (e.g., email/phone verification).
  • isPublic (boolean): Flag controlling profile visibility to other users.
  • Educational Details:
  • List of Schools Attended (name, location, degree, graduation year - optional)
  • List of Colleges/Universities Attended (name, location, degree, graduation year - optional)

Current Scenario:

Currently, we have a GET ...api/v1/users/username API endpoint to fetch user details. We propose extending this functionality by:

• Creating a dedicated profile collection in MongoDB to store the above-mentioned fields.

• Implementing API logic to handle user requests based on different scenarios, including:

  • Public vs. Private Profiles:
  • Default isPublic status is true (profile publicly visible).
  • Users can control visibility with the isPublic flag.
  • Account Verification:
  • Default isVerified status is false.
  • Users may need to verify their email before updating profiles (implementation detail to be discussed).
  • Unverified accounts face temporary restrictions (specific actions to be decided).

Implementation Considerations:

• Implement conditions in profile.service.ts for different API requests (GET, POST):
  • GET:
  • Handle non-existent user with a 404 error and appropriate message.
  • If the requested profile is private (isPublic is false), return a message indicating the account's privacy.
  • For unverified accounts (isVerified is false):
    • If the requesting user and profile owner don't match, return a message about temporary account blocking and login to see steps to reactivate.
    • If the requesting user matches the profile owner, inform them about the need for email verification before profile updates.
  • Finally, return the user details upon successful retrieval.
  • POST: (Details to be discussed further)
  • Consider requiring email verification (isVerified to be true) before profile updates.
  • Define appropriate error handling for failed updates.

Benefits:

• Enhanced user experience with control over profile data and visibility.
• Centralized profile management within the user service for better data handling.
• Improved user profiles with richer information for Ansopedia functionalities.

[lord-mallik]

Here are the key consideration points for implementing the profile management API:

Implementation Considerations

1. Privacy and Access Control:

   • Implement checks for isPublic flag to control profile visibility.
   • Ensure only verified users (when isVerified is true) can perform certain actions or access specific profile details.
   • Restrict access to unverified accounts by showing a relevant message or prompting for verification.

2. Error Handling:

   • Return a 404 error for non-existent user profiles.
   • Provide clear error messages for actions that are restricted due to privacy settings or verification status.
   • Define standardized error codes and messages for failed updates or retrieval attempts.

3. Security:

   • Implement authentication and authorization to ensure only authorized users can access or modify profiles.
   • Use HTTPS to protect data during transmission.
   • Perform regular security audits and updates.

4. Data Validation and Sanitization:

   • Validate all input data (e.g., email format, phone number, etc.) to prevent invalid data entry.
   • Sanitize inputs to prevent SQL injection, XSS, or other malicious attacks.

5. Scalability:

   • Design the API and database schema to efficiently handle a large number of users and profiles.
   • Optimize queries and consider indexing frequently accessed fields for performance.

6. Performance Optimization:

   • Minimize response times by optimizing database queries and caching frequently accessed data.
   • Ensure the API can handle concurrent requests without significant performance degradation.

7. User Experience:

   • Clearly communicate default settings (e.g., isPublic is true) and provide easy options for users to change them.
   • Notify users of changes in their profile status (e.g., after verification) through emails or in-app notifications.

8. Data Integrity and Consistency:

   • Ensure consistency between user data across different services within Ansopedia.
   • Implement data integrity checks during profile creation and updates.

These considerations will help ensure that the profile management API is robust, secure, and provides a seamless experience for users.

[sanjaysah101]

To be covered in #60 #61 #62 #63 #64