ByteForge - Online Coding Lab Platform

Overview

The Online Lab Platform is a web-based application designed to facilitate coding assignments and their automated evaluation in an educational environment. This platform bridges the gap between instructors and students by providing a comprehensive system for creating, submitting, and evaluating programming assignments.

Key Features

• User Role Management:
  • Instructors can create, edit, and delete coding assignments
  • Students can view assignments, submit code, and receive feedback
• Assignment Management System:
  • Upload problem statements and test cases
  • Organize assignments by courses or topics
• Code Submission System:
  • Interactive interface for students to write and submit solutions
  • Support for multiple programming languages
• Automated Evaluation Engine:
  • Executes submitted code against predefined test cases
  • Generates instant feedback on code performance and correctness
• Authentication:
  • Secure login system for instructors and students
  • Role-based access control
• Result Management:
  • Reaults and codes are saves in database for later access.

Technical Stack

• Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS, Daisy UI
• Backend: Node.js
• Database: MongoDB
• ** Compiler API ** : Jdoodle

Requirements

• Node.js (v14.x or higher)
• npm (v6.x or higher)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Mayank471/Online-Lab-Platform.git
cd Online-Lab-Platform

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Configure environment variables:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env file with your configuration

4. Set up the database:

• Add MongoDB API key to .env File

Running the Application

1. Start the server:

npm start

2. For development mode with auto-reload:

npm run dev

3. The application will be available at:

http://localhost:5000

Deploying to Vercel

The repository deploys as a single Vercel project: the Vite client is served as static files and the Express API runs as one serverless function at api/index.js.

1. Import the repository at vercel.com/new and keep the root directory as ./. vercel.json already sets the build command and the Client/dist output directory, so leave the framework preset on "Other".

2. Add these environment variables in Settings -> Environment Variables for the Production, Preview, and Development scopes:

   Variable	Purpose
   MONGO_URI	MongoDB Atlas connection string
   JWT_SECRET	Secret used to sign the auth cookie
   Jdoodle_clientID	JDoodle client id
   Jdoodle_clientSecret	JDoodle client secret
   JDoodle_API_URL	https://api.jdoodle.com/v1/execute

3. In MongoDB Atlas, allow access from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0) under Network Access. Vercel functions do not have fixed outbound IP addresses on the Hobby plan.

4. Deploy. Confirm the API is live at https://<your-app>.vercel.app/api/health, which returns {"status":"ok"} without touching the database.

CLIENT_URL is only needed if the client is hosted on a different domain than the API. On a single Vercel project the browser calls /api on its own origin.

Contributing

We welcome contributions to improve the Online Lab Platform! If you're interested in contributing, please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Future Improvements

We are actively working on enhancing the platform with:

• Support for more programming languages
• Advanced plagiarism detection
• Integration with learning management systems
• Real-time collaboration features
• Enhanced analytics and reporting

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.