ACM Officer Database - Backend

This is the backend repository for the ACM Officer Database

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Firebase Admin SDK credentials
• Google Cloud SDK (for deployment)

Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/acmutd/officer-database-backend.git
   cd officer-database-backend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Configure Firebase credentials

Caution

Never commit firebase-creds.json to version control!

• Go to Firebase Console
• Select your project
• Navigate to Project Settings → Service Accounts
• Click Generate New Private Key
• Save the downloaded file as firebase-creds.json in the project root

4. Build the TypeScript code

   npm run build

5. Start the development server

Note

The Functions Framework runs one function at a time. Use npm run dev to see an interactive menu, or use specific dev scripts.

Tip

You may want to disable the auth and CORS checkers by removing it from the function you want to run, this way you can open it in your browser and not get blocked

Quick start (interactive menu):

npm run dev

This will show a menu where you can select which function to run.

Or run a specific function directly:

npm run dev:getOfficers    # GET all officers
npm run dev:getOfficer     # GET single officer by ID (query param ?id=...)
npm run dev:createOfficer  # POST create new officer
npm run dev:updateOfficer  # PATCH update officer (query param ?id=...)
npm run dev:deleteOfficer  # DELETE officer (query param ?id=...)

All functions run at http://localhost:8080

Example workflow:

1. Run npm run dev and select "createOfficer" from menu
2. Send POST request to http://localhost:8080 with officer data
3. Stop server (Ctrl+C)
4. Run npm run dev and select "getOfficers" from menu
5. Visit http://localhost:8080 to see all officers

Project Structure

officer-database-backend/
├── src/
│   ├── functions/          # Cloud Functions (CRUD operations)
│   │   ├── createOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── getOfficers.ts
│   │   ├── getOfficer.ts
│   │   ├── updateOfficer.ts
│   │   └── deleteOfficer.ts
│   ├── helpers/            # Validation utilities
│   │   └── validators.ts
│   ├── types/              # TypeScript types and Zod schemas
│   │   └── officer.ts
│   ├── middleware.ts       # Request validation middleware
│   ├── firebase.ts         # Firebase Admin SDK initialization
│   └── index.ts            # Function exports
├── tests/                  # Test scripts
│   ├── api-test.js
│   └── validator-test.js
├── dist/                   # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── firebase-creds.json     # Firebase credentials (not in git)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Environment Notes

• Local: Uses Functions Framework to simulate Cloud Functions. Each function runs independently at http://localhost:8080 (use npm run dev:FUNCTION_NAME to run a specific function)
• Production: Each function is deployed separately with its own URL. All functions are accessible via their individual Cloud Functions endpoints.
• Database: Firestore collection officer

Local vs Production

Environment	Routing	URL Structure
Local	One function at a time on port 8080	http://localhost:8080 (function determined by --target flag)
Production	Each function has its own endpoint	https://REGION-PROJECT.cloudfunctions.net/FUNCTION_NAME

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors:

• Run npm run build to compile TypeScript

Firebase authentication errors:

• Verify firebase-creds.json exists in project root
• Check that the service account has Firestore permissions

Port already in use:

• Change the port in package.json dev script or kill the process using port 8080

Type errors:

• Run npm install to ensure all @types/* packages are installed