LightBulb

Welcome to LightBulb, your go-to platform for discovering the latest insights and connecting with a vibrant community. Our blog and community platform offers a wealth of knowledge and a supportive network for passionate individuals. Explore thought-provoking articles, engage in discussions, and connect with like-minded people.

Features

Blogging

• Create and Delete Blogs: Users can easily create and remove their blog posts.
• Advanced Text Editing: Blogs support a variety of text editing features, similar to Google Docs.
• LaTeX Rendering: Our scripts enable LaTeX to be rendered into images that are automatically added to blogs, allowing users to write LaTeX and see the rendered image directly in their editor.
• Drafts: Users can save their blogs as drafts and come back to finish them later.
• Comments and Replies: Users can comment on blog posts and reply to other comments, fostering engaging discussions.
• Likes/Unlikes: Users can like or unlike blog posts to show their appreciation.

Community

• Create Communities: Users can create new communities and post blogs within specific communities.
• Join Communities: Other users can join these communities and contribute by posting their blogs.
• Community Members: Users can view all members within a community, enhancing the sense of belonging.

Social Interaction

• Follow/Unfollow Users: Users can follow or unfollow other users to stay updated on their latest posts.
• Profile Editing: Users can edit their profile information to keep it current.

Search Functionality

• Comprehensive Search: A powerful search bar allows users to search for both blogs and other users within LightBulb.

Demo

LightBulb.-.Internet.Programming.Lab.Final.Project.CSE4113.mp4

Technology Stack

• Frontend: React, KaTeX for rendering LaTeX.
• Backend: MongoDB, MiKTeX and pdflatex for converting LaTeX to PDFs and then to images, FastAPIs.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have Node.js and npm installed for the frontend.
• Ensure you have Python and MongoDB installed for the backend.
• Install MiKTeX and pdflatex for LaTeX rendering.

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/lightbulb.git
   cd lightbulb

2. Frontend Setup:

   cd frontend
   npm install
   npm run dev

3. Backend Setup:

   cd backend
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   uvicorn main:app --reload

Usage

• Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173 or http://localhost:5174 for the frontend.
• The backend server runs on http://localhost:8000.

Conclusion

• Enhanced Blogging Experience: We integrated advanced text editing and LaTeX rendering, resulting in a more robust and user-friendly blogging platform.
• Community Building: We enabled the creation and participation in communities, fostering stronger connections and collaborative content creation.
• User Engagement: By implementing likes, comments, and follows, we increased user interaction and engagement within the platform.
• Efficient Search: Our comprehensive search functionality improved content discoverability, enhancing user satisfaction.
• User-Friendly Interface: By leveraging React for the frontend, we ensured a responsive and intuitive user interface, enhancing the overall user experience.
• Secure and Scalable Backend: Utilizing FastAPIs and MongoDB, we created a secure and scalable backend infrastructure, ensuring reliable performance and data integrity.
• Profile Customization: We provided users with the ability to edit their profiles, resulting in a personalized and engaging user experience.
• Content Drafting: Implementing draft functionality allowed users to save their work and return to it later, increasing user convenience and productivity.