Know Your Neighborhood was born from the recognition that new residents and visitors often struggle to find reliable information about local businesses. I set out to create a comprehensive platform that would serve as a digital community hub.

Spring Boot Backend Architecture:

I built the backend using Spring Boot, leveraging its powerful dependency injection and auto-configuration features. The application follows a clean, layered architecture with clear separation between controllers, services, and repositories. This design made the codebase highly maintainable and easily testable.

Database Design & JPA Integration:

Using MySQL as the primary database, I designed a normalized schema that efficiently handles relationships between users, businesses, reviews, and geographic data. I implemented JPA repositories with custom queries for complex search operations, including location-based filtering and business categorization.

Spring Security & OAuth2 Implementation:

Security was paramount for a community platform. I implemented Spring Security with custom authentication providers and integrated Facebook OAuth2 for seamless social login. This included custom JWT token management and role-based access control to distinguish between regular users, business owners, and administrators.

RESTful API Design:

I designed a comprehensive RESTful API that handles user registration, business listings, review management, and search functionality. The API follows REST conventions and includes proper HTTP status codes, error handling, and request validation using Spring Boot's validation framework.

Frontend Integration:

The React frontend communicates with the Spring Boot backend through well-designed API endpoints. I implemented proper CORS configuration and API versioning to ensure smooth frontend-backend communication and future scalability.

Geographic Data Management:

One of the unique challenges was implementing location-based search functionality. I integrated geographic coordinates and distance calculations to help users find businesses within their vicinity, making the platform truly neighborhood-focused.

This project demonstrated my proficiency in full-stack Java development and my ability to integrate complex authentication systems with modern frontend frameworks.