Whale Watching

Whale Watching is a full-stack application for recording and viewing whale sightings. It provides an ASP.NET API backend and a modern front-end UI, allowing users to submit reports, search sightings, and manage users via authentication and roles.

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Project Structure

• API: ASP.NET Core API located in /api
  Handles backend logic, database, authentication/authorization, RESTful endpoints.
• UI: Frontend app located in /ui
  Built with modern JavaScript tooling (e.g., React, Vite), it interacts with the API to provide a user-friendly interface.

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Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/the-duckchild/Whale-Watching.git
cd Whale-Watching

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API Setup

See detailed instructions in api/README.md.
Summary:

a. Install Dependencies

cd api
dotnet restore

b. Set Up the Database

• Create a PostgreSQL role called whale_spotting with password whale_spotting in pgAdmin.
  • Assign privileges: Can login, Create databases, Inherit rights from parent roles.
• Apply migrations:

  dotnet ef database update

c. Authentication & Identity

• .NET Identity set up by default (roles: User, Admin).
• Initial admin and roles are seeded when the API runs.
• User model can be extended in UserModel.cs.
• Use [Authorize] attribute for endpoints needing authentication, and [Authorize(Roles = "Admin")] for admin access.

d. Running & Checking Code

dotnet run
dotnet format               # Run linter
dotnet format --verify-no-changes  # Check code style without rewriting

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UI Setup

See detailed instructions in ui/README.md.
Summary:

a. Install Dependencies & Run App

cd ui
npm install
npm run dev

b. NPM Scripts

• npm run dev — Run the UI in development mode
• npm run lint — Run the linter
• npm run lint-fix — Autofix lint issues
• npm run test — Run tests

c. Using the Location API (GeoNames)

• Create a GeoNames account, confirm via email.
• Enable free web services in your account settings.
• Add a .env file to ui:

  VITE_GEONAMES_USERNAMES="yourUserName"
  

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Additional Resources

• API Documentation
• UI Documentation