Morse Code Translator

The purpose of this project was to build a Morse Code Translator that can convert:

• English text → Morse Code

• Morse Code → English text

The project focuses on:

• Writing clean, testable JavaScript functions

• Handling input validation and formatting

• Implementing unit tests using Jest

• Separating logic from DOM manipulation

This project was part of learning how to design pure functions and build testable frontend logic.

Demo

• https://legendary-brioche-074852.netlify.app/

• Screenshot

  

Features

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) includes:

• A user interface to input text

• Translate English → Morse

• Translate Morse → English

• Handle spacing correctly:

  • English words separated by spaces

  • Morse letters separated by spaces

  • Morse words separated by /

• Unit tests for all non-DOM logic

Stack Used

HTML

Used to build the structure of the translator interface.

CSS

Used for styling the user interface.

JavaScript

Core logic for encoding and decoding Morse code.

Jest

Used to test the translation functions to ensure correctness and reliability.

The project separates translation logic from UI code, making the functions easier to test and maintain.

Build Steps

• Clone the repository

• git clone https://github.com/yourusername/morse-code-translator.git

• Navigate to the project directory

• cd morse-code-translator

• Install dependencies

  • npm install
  • Run tests
  • npm test
  • Run the application

• Open index.html in your browser.

If using a local server:

• npx serve

Design Goals / Approach

• Keep the translation logic clean and reusable

• Ensure functions are pure and testable

• Separate UI logic from translation logic

• Handle edge cases in user input

Implementation Approach

The translator uses a mapping object that links each English letter to its Morse equivalent.

• Example:

A → .- B → -... C → -.-.

• To decode Morse back to English, a reverse mapping object is generated automatically using:
  • Object.entries()
  • Object.fromEntries()

This avoids duplicating data and ensures encoding and decoding remain consistent.

The translation functions then:

• Normalize input

• Split words and characters

• Map characters using the Morse dictionary

• Join the results into the final translated string

Features

• Translate English → Morse

• Translate Morse → English

• Handles multiple words

• Ignores unsupported characters

• Input normalization (trimming and uppercasing)

• Unit tested translation functions

• Clean separation of logic and UI

Known Issues

• The translator currently only supports A–Z characters

• Numbers and punctuation are not yet implemented

• Morse validation could be stricter for invalid dot/dash combinations

Future Goals

If given more time, I would:

• Add support for numbers and punctuation

• Implement real-time translation while typing

• Improve input validation for Morse patterns

• Add a copy-to-clipboard feature

• Improve accessibility with ARIA labels and keyboard support

• Add sound playback for Morse code