Documenting project requirements and designing a database

Documenting project requirements and designing a database properly are crucial steps for a developer to ensure smooth development, scalability, and maintainability. Below is a structured approach to handling both: 1. Project Requirement Documentation A. Define Project Scope Briefly explain the purpose of the project. Identify key objectives and goals. Specify the target users and their needs. B. Identify Stakeholders List all involved parties (e.g., client, users, developers, admins). Define their roles and responsibilities. C. Functional Requirements List the core functionalities in simple, clear terms. Example: User Authentication (Sign up, Login, Forgot Password) Product Management (Add, Edit, Delete, View) Payment Processing (bKash, Stripe, PayPal) D. Non-Functional Requirements Performance: Expected response time, concurrency handling. Security: Authentication, Authorization, Data encryption. Scalability: Should the system handle increasing users/data? Availability: Should it be accessible 24/7? E. User Roles & Permissions Role Permissions SuperAdmin Full access to all features Admin Manage users, products, orders User/Student Can place orders, view products F. API Endpoints (If Backend is Involved) Method Endpoint Description POST /api/auth/register Register new user POST /api/auth/login User login GET /api/products Get all products POST /api/order Place a new order G. Tech Stack Decision Frontend: React.js, Next.js, Vue.js Backend: Node.js, Express.js, Django Database: MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL Hosting: Vercel, AWS, DigitalOcean 2. Database Design A. Identify Entities Entities are the main objects in the system. Examples: Users Products Orders Payments B. Define Relationships One-to-Many: A user can have multiple orders. Many-to-Many: Products can belong to multiple categories. C. Create Database Schema For MongoDB (Mongoose Schema Example): const mongoose = require('mongoose'); const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ name: String, email: { type: String, unique: true }, password: String, role: { type: String, enum: ['student', 'admin', 'superAdmin'], default: 'student' } }, { timestamps: true }); const ProductSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ name: String, description: String, price: Number, stock: Number, category: String }, { timestamps: true }); const OrderSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ userId: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' }, products: [{ productId: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, quantity: Number }], totalPrice: Number, status: { type: String, enum: ['pending', 'shipped', 'delivered'], default: 'pending' } }, { timestamps: true }); module.exports = { User: mongoose.model('User', UserSchema), Product: mongoose.model('Product', ProductSchema), Order: mongoose.model('Order', OrderSchema) }; For SQL (PostgreSQL Example): CREATE TABLE users ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100), email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE, password TEXT, role VARCHAR(20) CHECK (role IN ('student', 'admin', 'superAdmin')) ); CREATE TABLE products ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100), description TEXT, price DECIMAL(10,2), stock INT, category VARCHAR(50) ); CREATE TABLE orders ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, user_id INT REFERENCES users(id), total_price DECIMAL(10,2), status VARCHAR(20) CHECK (status IN ('pending', 'shipped', 'delivered')) ); CREATE TABLE order_items ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, order_id INT REFERENCES orders(id), product_id INT REFERENCES products(id), quantity INT ); D. Consider Indexing & Optimization Index fields like email and productId for faster queries. Use caching (Redis) for frequently accessed data. Implement pagination for large datasets. Final Steps Create ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram) – Visual representation of tables/collections. Define API Contracts – Use Swagger/Postman to document endpoints. Review & Validate – Ensure the design aligns with project requirements. Set Up Dev Environment – Initialize database, seed sample data.

const mongoose = require('mongoose');

const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  name: String,
  email: { type: String, unique: true },
  password: String,
  role: { type: String, enum: ['student', 'admin', 'superAdmin'], default: 'student' }
}, { timestamps: true });

const ProductSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  name: String,
  description: String,
  price: Number,
  stock: Number,
  category: String
}, { timestamps: true });

const OrderSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  userId: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' },
  products: [{ productId: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, quantity: Number }],
  totalPrice: Number,
  status: { type: String, enum: ['pending', 'shipped', 'delivered'], default: 'pending' }
}, { timestamps: true });

module.exports = {
  User: mongoose.model('User', UserSchema),
  Product: mongoose.model('Product', ProductSchema),
  Order: mongoose.model('Order', OrderSchema)
};

CREATE TABLE users (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100),
    email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE,
    password TEXT,
    role VARCHAR(20) CHECK (role IN ('student', 'admin', 'superAdmin'))
);

CREATE TABLE products (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100),
    description TEXT,
    price DECIMAL(10,2),
    stock INT,
    category VARCHAR(50)
);

CREATE TABLE orders (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT REFERENCES users(id),
    total_price DECIMAL(10,2),
    status VARCHAR(20) CHECK (status IN ('pending', 'shipped', 'delivered'))
);

CREATE TABLE order_items (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    order_id INT REFERENCES orders(id),
    product_id INT REFERENCES products(id),
    quantity INT
);

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