Reddit Engine

This project implements a Reddit-like engine using the actor model in the Go programming language. It was developed as part of COP5615 - Distributed Operating System Principles coursework and includes features such as user management, subreddit creation, post and comment handling, voting, and performance simulation. The engine also supports REST APIs and multi-client interactions.

Source: Reddit

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Table of Contents

1. Description
2. Features
3. Architecture
4. Getting Started
   • Prerequisites
   • Installation
5. API Endpoints (Project 5)
   • User Management
   • Subreddit Management
   • Post Management
   • Commenting
   • Voting
   • Messaging
6. Simulation Testing

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Description

This repository contains the code for the last two projects (Project 4 and Project 5) of COP5615 - Distributed Operating System Principles.

The specific APIs supported by Reddit can be found at: Reddit API Documentation.
For an overview of Reddit and its functionality, visit: What is Reddit?.

Project Overview

• Project 4: Build a Reddit-like engine and implement a simulator to analyze the performance of the engine.
• Project 5: Extend the previously built engine by creating REST APIs and implementing multiple clients that can interact with the engine simultaneously using two separate processes.

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Features

The Reddit-like engine includes the following functionality:

1. User Management

   • Register an account.

2. Subreddit Management

   • Create and join subreddits.
   • Leave subreddits.

3. Post Management

   • Post in subreddits (text-only posts; no support for images or markdown).
   • Comment on posts (supports hierarchical comments, i.e., commenting on comments).

4. Voting and Karma

   • Upvote or downvote posts and comments.
   • Compute user karma based on votes.

5. Feed and Messaging

   • Retrieve a feed of posts from subscribed subreddits.
   • Send and receive direct messages.
   • Reply to direct messages.

6. Simulator

   • Simulate as many users as possible.
   • Simulate periods of live connection and disconnection for users.

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Architecture

• The project is designed with a separation between:

  1. Client Processes: Handle user actions such as posting, commenting, and subscribing.
  2. Engine Process: Distributes posts, tracks comments, handles votes, and manages user data.

• Multiple independent client processes simulate thousands of users interacting with a single-engine process.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Install Go Programming Language.
• Familiarity with REST APIs is recommended.

Installation

Check ReadMe of respective Project

API Endpoints (Project 5)

User Management

• POST /register: Register a new account.

Subreddit Management

• POST /subreddit/create: Create a new subreddit.
• POST /subreddit/join: Join a subreddit.
• POST /subreddit/leave: Leave a subreddit.

Post Management

• POST /post: Create a new post in a subreddit.
• GET /feed: Retrieve posts from subscribed subreddits.

Commenting

• POST /comment: Add a comment to a post or another comment.

Voting

• POST /vote: Upvote or downvote a post or comment.

Messaging

• GET /messages: Retrieve direct messages.
• POST /message/reply: Reply to a direct message.

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Simulation Testing

The project includes a tester/simulator to validate functionality:

1. Simulate thousands of users performing actions like posting, commenting, voting, etc.
2. Test periods of live connection and disconnection for users.

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