Tasks and Duties
Objective: In this task, the intern will undertake the planning and design stage of an API for a simple e-commerce system. The goal is to analyze and document the requirements, design an API specification using an industry standard (e.g., OpenAPI/Swagger), and present a clear roadmap for backend implementation.
Task Description: You will start by defining the functional requirements for your e-commerce API. Identify key resources such as products, users, orders, and inventory management. Based on these requirements, create detailed API endpoint designs including HTTP methods, expected inputs, outputs, and authentication requirements. Your design document should include diagrams (such as sequence or flow diagrams) and comprehensive documentation of each endpoint. Ensure that your proposed API covers basic CRUD operations for each main resource and consider security aspects (like input validation and error handling).
Key Steps: 1) Conduct a requirements analysis and list out the necessary functionalities. 2) Create an API design document outlining each endpoint, parameter definitions, response structure, and error codes. 3) Use an online tool or diagramming software to create visual diagrams that illustrate data flow and endpoint relationships. 4) Compile your findings and designs into a single file (PDF or DOCX).
Deliverables: Submit a file that contains your API design documentation, including detailed endpoint specifications, diagrams, and a brief summary of your approach.
Evaluation Criteria: Your submission will be evaluated based on clarity of requirements, completeness of the API design, quality of diagrammatic representations, adherence to industry standards, and overall cohesiveness of the document.
Objective: The purpose of this task is to move from planning to execution by developing a set of API endpoints that interact with a relational database. This task emphasizes practical coding, integration of a database, and API development.
Task Description: Design and implement a simple backend API for a blog platform. This API should support user registration, post creation, and comment functionalities. The intern will set up a local database (e.g., SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL) and write the necessary server-side code to interact with this database. The API should include endpoints for creating, reading, updating, and deleting both posts and comments. In addition to basic CRUD operations, include error handling and ensure that only valid data is stored in the database. Use a language and framework suitable for backend development (e.g., Node.js with Express, Python with Flask/Django, or Java with Spring Boot).
Key Steps: 1) Set up your development environment and database. 2) Define the database schema and build the required tables. 3) Develop API endpoints with appropriate validations and error handling. 4) Test endpoints using a tool such as Postman or cURL. 5) Document your code and provide instructions on how to run your application.
Deliverables: Submit a file (ZIP containing source code and a README file) that includes the project code, documentation on setup and execution, and basic test cases or instructions for testing the endpoints.
Evaluation Criteria: Evaluation will focus on code quality, adherence to backend best practices, correct database integration, proper error handling, and clarity of the accompanying documentation.
Objective: The objective of this task is to enhance your debugging and testing skills by identifying and resolving issues within an existing codebase. The exercise is designed to simulate real-world debugging scenarios encountered by backend developers.
Task Description: You will receive a self-contained project file that simulates a backend API with intentionally inserted bugs and performance bottlenecks. Your responsibility is to identify these issues through static code analysis, unit and integration tests, and then fix these issues. Even though the project file is provided in the instructions, you will simulate the scenario by replicating similar conditions on your own machine. Write tests to confirm that the bug fixes work as intended and that the API endpoints perform correctly. Solicit no external help; rely on your debugging skills and publicly available resources. Document each identified bug, the debugging process, the resolution strategy, and the final verification tests.
Key Steps: 1) Set up your development environment and load the provided codebase. 2) Conduct thorough tests to identify bugs (both functional and performance-related). 3) Document the steps taken to diagnose each problem. 4) Apply fixes and record the changes made. 5) Write precise unit tests or integration tests that verify the successful resolution of the issues.
Deliverables: Submit a file (ZIP package consisting of updated source code, a document detailing the debugging process and resolutions, and test scripts) that clearly outlines your debugging methodology and outcomes.
Evaluation Criteria: Your submission will be evaluated on your ability to systematically identify issues, effectiveness of the applied fixes, clarity in documentation of your debugging process, and thoroughness of your tests.
Objective: This task focuses on performance optimization of backend applications. You will profile an API endpoint, identify bottlenecks, and optimize code to improve efficiency and scalability, while simulating load conditions.
Task Description: Choose one of the previously developed API endpoints (or build a new sample endpoint for this assignment) and use tools to simulate a load and measure performance metrics such as response time, throughput, and resource usage. Analyze the performance data to identify slow functions or database queries that are causing delays. Propose and implement optimizations such as query modifications, caching strategies, or code refactoring. Finally, validate your improvements by comparing performance metrics before and after optimization. Document each step of your optimization process with clear explanations and supporting data. This task requires a hands-on approach and will mimic real-world backend performance challenges.
Key Steps: 1) Identify an API endpoint and set up a controlled environment to simulate load. 2) Use profiling tools (e.g., JMeter, Apache Bench, or custom scripts) to collect performance data. 3) Analyze the data to pinpoint bottlenecks in the code or database queries. 4) Implement optimizations and rerun performance tests. 5) Document your methodology, findings, and results in detail.
Deliverables: Submit a file (a ZIP package that includes modified source code, performance metrics reports, and a detailed document describing your optimization process and results).
Evaluation Criteria: Your submission will be assessed on your ability to identify performance issues, the effectiveness of your optimizations, comprehensive documentation of your testing methodology, and the clarity of performance improvement results.
Objective: In this final task, the intern will integrate various components of a backend application and simulate a continuous deployment pipeline. The focus is on ensuring that all components function together seamlessly and can be reliably deployed.
Task Description: Develop an integration test suite for a backend API that encompasses user authentication, data management, and error handling processes. In addition to crafting integration tests, design a simulated continuous deployment (CD) pipeline that automatically runs your integration tests whenever changes are made. You are encouraged to use publicly available CI/CD tools such as GitHub Actions, Travis CI, or GitLab CI in a simulated manner (without requiring access to secured resources). Document how your tests cover interactions among various modules of the backend system, and trigger these tests as part of the simulated pipeline. This task simulates industry practices of automated testing and deployment.
Key Steps: 1) Write comprehensive integration tests covering critical API interactions using a testing framework of your choice (e.g., pytest, Mocha, or JUnit). 2) Create a configuration file for your chosen CI/CD tool to automatically run tests upon code commits or updates. 3) Simulate the CD process and ensure that the integration tests run successfully, demonstrating that the application components work together smoothly. 4) Write a detailed explanation of your integration testing strategy and the setup of the deployment pipeline.
Deliverables: Submit a file (ZIP file containing your integration tests, CI/CD configuration files, and a detailed document explaining your methodology and simulation of the deployment pipeline).
Evaluation Criteria: Your submission will be judged based on the coverage and effectiveness of your integration tests, the successful simulation of an automated deployment pipeline, quality of documentation, and adherence to industry best practices regarding testing and deployment.