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Quick Setup Guide

For Developers Who Want to Try the Backend Web Library

This guide will get you up and running with our custom C++ web framework in just a few minutes.

Prerequisites

  • C++17 Compiler: GCC 7+, Clang 5+, or MSVC 2017+
  • CMake: Version 3.10 or higher
  • Git: For cloning and submodule management
  • Make: For building (usually comes with your compiler)

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake git

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora

sudo yum install gcc-c++ cmake git make
# or for newer versions:
sudo dnf install gcc-c++ cmake git make

macOS

# Install Xcode command line tools
xcode-select --install

# Install CMake (if not already installed)
brew install cmake

Windows

Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/HamzaHassanain/simple-blog-from-scratch.git
cd simple-blog-from-scratch

2. Build the Project

chmod +x build.sh
# Linux/macOS
./build.sh # this will automatically initialize submodules and build the project

# Windows (from Developer Command Prompt)
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build .

4. Run the Application

# Linux/macOS
./build/simple_blog

# Windows
.\build\Debug\simple_blog.exe

You should see:

Server is listening at: http://localhost:8080

5. Test the Application

Open your browser and visit:

Testing the Framework

Run the Simple API Tests

cd test
npm install    # Install test dependencies
node test_api.js

The test suite will:

  • Test all API endpoints
  • Run security tests
  • Measure performance metrics
  • Test concurrent request handling

Manual API Testing

# Get all blogs
curl http://localhost:8080/api/blogs

# Get specific blog
curl http://localhost:8080/api/blogs/1

# Create new blog (requires auth)
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/blogs \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer admin-token-123" \
  -d '{"title": "Test Blog", "content": "This is a test blog post!"}'

Exploring the Code

Framework Integration

Look at main.cpp to see how simple it is to set up our web framework:

#include "library/web-lib.hpp"

int main() {

    // these are the configuration settings,
    hh_web::logger::absolute_path_to_logs = "/home/hamza/Documents/Learnings/Projects/simple-blog-from-scratch/logs/";
    hh_web::logger::enabled_logging = true;
    hh_http::config::MAX_BODY_SIZE = 1024 * 64; // Max body size to accept,
    hh_http::config::MAX_HEADER_SIZE = 1024 * 4; // Max header size to accept
    hh_http::config::MAX_IDLE_TIME_SECONDS = std::chrono::seconds(5); // Max idle time

    // ...... code after
}
    auto server = std::make_unique<hh_web::web_server<>>(port);

    // Set up the router
    auto router = make_views_router();
    auto api = make_apis_router();

    server->use_router(router);
    server->use_router(api);

    server->use_static("static");

    server->listen(....);

Routing System

Check routes/routes.hpp to see our routing system in action:

router->get("/", Route_V(index_controller));
router->get("/blogs/:id", Route_V(get_single_blog_controller));
router->post("/api/blogs", Route_V(api_auth_admin, api_create_blog_controller));

JSON API

Look at controllers/api_controllers.hpp for JSON API implementation:

// Using our custom JSON library
auto parsed_json = parse(req->get_body());
std::string title = getter::get_string(parsed_json["title"]);
auto response_json = blog_to_json(blog);
send_json_response(res, response_json);

HTML Generation

See views/views.hpp for dynamic HTML generation:

// Using our custom HTML builder
auto article_elm = std::make_shared<element>("article");
article_elm->add_child(std::make_shared<element>("h2", blog.get_title()));

Common Issues & Solutions

Build Errors

Issue: fatal error: library/web-lib.hpp: No such file or directory
Solution: Make sure you ran git submodule update --init --recursive

Issue: CMake version too old
Solution: Install CMake 3.10+ or use a newer system

Runtime Errors

Issue: Address already in use
Solution: Kill any process using port 8080 or change the port in main.cpp

Issue: Permission denied
Solution: Run with sudo on Linux/macOS if binding to port < 1024