Employee Management Full-Stack Application

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Key Technologies
• User Interface
• File Structure
• API Endpoints
• Backend Setup
  • Prerequisites
  • Clone the Repository
  • Install Dependencies
  • Configure the Application
  • Start the Backend Server
  • Access the API Endpoints
  • API Documentation
    • Overview
    • How to Access the API Documentation
    • Benefits of Using Swagger UI
• Frontend Setup
  • Clone the Repository
  • Install Dependencies
  • Set Up Environment Variables
  • Start the Development Server
  • Build for Production
  • Test the Application (Optional)
• Detailed Component Instructions
• Containerization
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License
• Contact

Overview

The Employee Management System is a dynamic full-stack application that seamlessly combines cutting-edge and traditional technologies. By integrating a modern React frontend with a classic Spring Boot backend, this project demonstrates how new and established technologies can harmoniously work together to create a robust and efficient application for managing employee and department data!

Key Technologies

• React (Frontend): A modern JavaScript library for building user interfaces, providing a responsive and interactive experience.
  • React Router: A routing library for React that enables navigation and URL handling in single-page applications.
  • Chart.js: A JavaScript library for creating responsive and customizable charts and graphs.
  • Axios: A promise-based HTTP client for making API requests.
  • Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework for creating custom designs with minimal CSS.
  • Redux: A predictable state container for managing application state.
  • Jest and React Testing Library: Testing libraries for unit and integration testing React components.
• Java Spring Boot (Backend): A powerful, established Java framework for building production-ready applications with Java, offering robust backend support and data management.
  • Spring Data JPA: A part of the Spring Data project that makes it easy to implement JPA-based repositories.
  • Spring Boot Actuator: A set of production-ready features that help monitor and manage the application.
  • Spring Hibernate: An object-relational mapping (ORM) library for Java that provides a framework for mapping an object-oriented domain model to a relational database.
  • Spring Boot Starter Web: A starter for building web applications, including RESTful, application, and WebSocket services.
  • Spring Boot Starter Data JPA: A starter for using Spring Data JPA with Hibernate.
  • RESTful APIs: Representational state transfer (REST) APIs for communication between the frontend and backend.
  • Java 11: The latest LTS version of Java, providing long-term support and stability.
• Docker: A containerization platform for packaging applications and their dependencies.
• MySQL: A reliable relational database for structured data storage.
• MongoDB: A flexible NoSQL database for non-relational data.
• Style Guides: This project follows the following popular style guides to ensure clean and consistent code.
  • Airbnb JavaScript Style Guide: A popular style guide for writing clean and consistent JavaScript code.
  • Google Java Style Guide: A style guide for writing Java code that is readable and maintainable.

User Interface

The frontend of the Employee Management System provides a user-friendly interface for managing employees and departments. It includes features for viewing, adding, editing, and deleting employees and departments. The app also includes visualizations for employee metrics such as growth over time and distribution by age range.

The frontend is also live at https://employee-management-fullstack-app.vercel.app for you to explore and interact with the application. Note that the backend is not hosted, so the API calls will not work and the data will not be present.

Landing Page:

Dashboard Page:

Employee List Page:

Department List Page:

Edit Employee Form:

Footer:

Responsive Design Example - Dashboard Page:

API Endpoints

Here's a table listing all the RESTful API endpoints provided by this application:

File Structure

employee-management-app
│
├── docker-compose.yaml
│
├── .mvn
│   └── wrapper
│       └── maven-wrapper.properties
│
├── backend
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── main
│   │   │   ├── java
│   │   │   │   └── com
│   │   │   │       └── example
│   │   │   │           └── employeemanagement
│   │   │   │               ├── EmployeeManagementApplication.java
│   │   │   │               ├── config
│   │   │   │               │   └── CorsConfig.java
│   │   │   │               │   └── DataInitializer.java
│   │   │   │               ├── controller
│   │   │   │               │   ├── DepartmentController.java
│   │   │   │               │   └── EmployeeController.java
│   │   │   │               ├── model
│   │   │   │               │   ├── Department.java
│   │   │   │               │   └── Employee.java
│   │   │   │               ├── repository
│   │   │   │               │   ├── DepartmentRepository.java
│   │   │   │               │   └── EmployeeRepository.java
│   │   │   │               ├── service
│   │   │   │               │   └── DataInitializer.java
│   │   │   │               └── exception
│   │   │   │                   └── ResourceNotFoundException.java
│   │   │   └── resources
│   │   │       ├── application.properties
│   │   │       └── data.sql
│   │   └── test
│   │       └── java
│   │           └── com
│   │               └── example
│   │                   └── employeemanagement
│   │                       └── EmployeeManagementApplicationTests.java
│   ├── .gitignore
│   └── pom.xml
│   └── compose.yaml
│
└── frontend
    ├── build
    ├── public
    │   ├── index.html
    │   └── favicon.ico
    │   └── manifest.json
    │   └── robots.txt
    │   └── icon-192x192.webp
    │   └── icon-512x512.webp
    ├── src
    │   ├── components
    │   │   ├── Dashboard.js
    │   │   ├── EmployeeList.js
    │   │   ├── EmployeeForm.js
    │   │   ├── DepartmentList.js
    │   │   ├── DepartmentForm.js
    │   │   └── Navbar.js
    │   ├── services
    │   │   ├── employeeService.js
    │   │   └── departmentService.js
    │   ├── App.js
    │   ├── index.js
    │   ├── index.css
    │   ├── reportWebVitals.js
    │   └── App.css
    │   └── theme.js
    ├── Dockerfile
    ├── postcss.config.js
    ├── tailwind.config.js
    └── package.json

Backend Setup

1. Prerequisites

Ensure that you have Java 11 installed on your local machine. If not, follow the instructions below:

• For MacOS:

  brew install openjdk@11
  export JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/opt/openjdk@11
  

• For Windows: Download OpenJDK 11 from https://jdk.java.net/archive/ and follow the installation instructions.

• Also, ensure that MongoDB and MySQL are installed and running on your local machine.

2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/hoangsonww/Employee-Management-Fullstack-App.git
cd Employee-Management-Fullstack-App  # Fix the paths if necessary
cd backend

3. Install Dependencies

First, ensure you have Maven and Java JDK installed. Run the following command to install them:

• For MacOS:

  brew install maven
  

• For Windows: Download Maven from https://maven.apache.org/download.cgi and follow the installation instructions.

Next, install the project dependencies:

mvn install

4. Configure the Application

Update src/main/resources/application.properties with your MySQL and MongoDB configuration:

# MySQL Configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/employee_management
spring.datasource.username=root
spring.datasource.password=password
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update

# MongoDB Configuration
spring.data.mongodb.uri=mongodb://localhost:27017/employee_management

Feel free to change the database name, username, and password, and even add more configurations as needed.

5. Start the Backend Server

Before starting the server, ensure that MySQL and MongoDB are running and properly configured on your local machine!

Then, run the following command to start the Spring Boot application:

mvn spring-boot:run

The backend will be available at http://localhost:8080.

6. Access the API Endpoints

• Get All Employees:

  curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/api/employees
  

• Get Employee by ID:

  curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/api/employees/1
  

• Get All Departments:

  curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/api/departments
  

• Get Department by ID:

  curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/api/departments/1
  

• Feel free to add more API endpoints as needed...

7. API Documentation

Overview

This application also uses Swagger to provide an interactive API documentation interface. The Swagger UI allows developers to explore the available API endpoints, view detailed information about each endpoint, and test the endpoints directly from the browser.

How to Access the API Documentation

1. Start the Backend Server: Ensure that the backend server is running. You can start the server by navigating to the backend directory and running:

   mvn spring-boot:run
   

2. Open the Swagger UI: Once the server is up and running, you can access the Swagger UI by navigating to the following URL in your web browser:

   http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html

   This will open the Swagger interface where you can explore the API endpoints.

3. Alternatively, for those who need the raw OpenAPI JSON, it is available at:

   http://localhost:8080/v3/api-docs

4. Explore the API Endpoints:

• Use the sidebar or the search bar to navigate through the available API endpoints.
• Click on an endpoint to view its details, including the request method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), parameters, request body, and possible responses.
• You can also test the endpoints directly by clicking the "Try it out" button, providing the necessary input, and executing the request.
• If you have everything set up correctly, you should see the following Swagger UI interface:

Benefits of Using Swagger UI

• Interactive Documentation: Developers can easily understand and use the API.
• Quick Testing: Test the API endpoints directly from the browser without needing a separate tool.
• Clear Communication: Provides a standardized way of documenting your API, making it easier for others to understand and consume.

Frontend Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/hoangsonww/Employee-Management-Fullstack-App.git
cd frontend

2. Install Dependencies

Ensure you have Node.js and npm installed. Run the following command to install the required dependencies:

npm install

3. Set Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root of your project if it doesn't already exist. Add the following environment variable:

REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:8080/api

4. Start the Development Server

Run the following command to start the React development server:

npm start

The frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000.

5. Build for Production

To create a production build of your application, run:

npm run build

The build files will be generated in the build directory. You can deploy these files to your production server.

6. Test the Application (Optional)

To run tests for the frontend application, use the following command:

npm test

NOTE: You might need different IDEs for the backend and the frontend. FYI, I used IntelliJ IDEA for the backend and Webstorm for the frontend.

Detailed Component Instructions

Dashboard.js

Displays various metrics related to employees, such as total employee count, average age, employee growth over time, and distribution by age range. It uses react-chartjs-2 to render bar charts.

EmployeeList.js

Shows a list of employees with options to search, paginate, and delete entries. Includes a link to add a new employee and edit existing employees.

EmployeeForm.js

Provides a form for adding or editing employee details. Fetches departments to populate the department dropdown. Uses useParams to determine if it's in edit mode or add mode.

DepartmentList.js

Displays a list of departments with options to search, paginate, and delete entries. Includes a link to add a new department and edit existing departments.

DepartmentForm.js

Provides a form for adding or editing department details.

Navbar.js

The navigation bar component that includes links to various pages such as Dashboard, Employees, and Departments. Highlights the currently active page.

Containerization

If you'd also like to containerize the project, the project also includes the dockerfile and docker-compose.yaml files for containerization. You can build and run the application in a Docker container using the following command:

docker compose up --build

This command will build the Docker images for the frontend and backend, create containers, and start the application. Feel free to view them in Docker Desktop.

Troubleshooting

Backend Issues

• Could not autowire Errors: Ensure that all dependencies are correctly defined in the pom.xml and that the repository interfaces are located in the correct package structure.

• Exception opening socket for MongoDB: Verify that MongoDB is running and accessible at localhost:27017. Check MongoDB logs for any connection issues.

• Build failed: Ensure that you are using Java 11 and that all dependencies are correctly installed. Check the pom.xml file for any missing dependencies.

• Regardless of the error, perhaps you can try running the following commands to clean and rebuild the project:

  mvn clean install
  

  If the issue persists, you can run Maven with more detailed logging to identify the problem:

  mvn -X spring-boot:run
  

Frontend Issues

• Error: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'id'): Ensure that the employee object in EmployeeForm is correctly initialized and that the id parameter is correctly passed. Check the getEmployeeById and updateEmployee functions for proper handling of data.

• Chart Issues: Ensure Chart.js and react-chartjs-2 are correctly installed and configured. Verify that the chart data passed to components is in the correct format.

• Regardless of the error, perhaps you can try running the following commands to clean and rebuild the project:

  npm install
  

  If the issue persists, you can run the React development server with more detailed logging to identify the problem:

  npm start --verbose
  

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to the project, please fork the repository and submit a pull request with your changes. Ensure that you follow the project's coding standards and include relevant tests for new features.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

For any questions or issues, please contact [email protected].

Thank you for checking out the Employee Management Full-Stack Application! Feel free to use this project for your own learning or development purposes.

Created with ❤️ by Son Nguyen in 2024.

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