Redis URL Shortener

App logo
URL shortener landing page
Shortened URL example, URL length can be manipulated using backend settings

Inspiration

Microservices are at the heart of most modern-day apps. They are popular due to their modular properties and enable apps to scale like never before. My project is a reimagination of a relatively popular 'URL-shortening' app but built and powered with Redis.

What it does

This app shortens/modifies URLs which can be used to potentially gather analytics about certain posts or resources the user is sharing online. The final URL length can be modified using parameters on the backend. This is a relatively simple microservice, which can be further modified into a dedicated API with authentication for different use cases

How I built it

The app was built using Express, Javascript running on Node. The app is hosted on Heroku and the database is powered by Redis on the cloud at https://app.redislabs.com/

Challenges I ran into

Building the app from scratch and finding ways to incorporate Redis to make it faster.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Dramatically improving app performance by using Redis. Overcoming seemingly hideous error messages and debugging them to solve the issue at hand.

What I learned

How to build a microservice that incorporates a remote database-as-a-service solution. I learned about new Node.js feature which I was previously unaware of and incorporated it to solve issues arising while building the app.