Laravel Assessment - Multi-Auth, WebSockets & Bulk Import

A secure and optimized Laravel web application demonstrating multi-authentication, real-time updates using websockets, and efficient large-scale product import using Laravel queues and batch processing.

Features Implemented

✅ Multi-Authentication System

• Separate login, registration, and dashboards for Admin and Customer users
• Laravel's built-in multi-authentication system using Auth::guard()
• Route protection using middleware per guard (auth:admin, auth:customer)
• Independent session management for each guard

✅ Product Management (Admin Features)

• Complete CRUD operations for products
• Product fields: name, description, price, image, category, stock
• Bulk import of up to 100,000 products via CSV/Excel
• Chunked processing using Laravel queues
• Default image handling when no image provided in CSV
• Sample CSV file included: products_sample_import.csv

✅ Real-Time Updates (WebSockets)

• Real-time user presence using Laravel Reverb
• Online/offline status tracking for Admins and Customers
• Presence channels implementation
• Database storage of user online status
• Live updates in Admin dashboard

✅ Optimized Product Import

• CSV/Excel file upload support (up to 100k products)
• Chunked reading and processing (1000 rows per chunk)
• Row-by-row validation
• Background queue processing to prevent timeouts
• Error handling and cleanup

✅ Testing Suite

• Feature tests for product creation and management
• Unit tests for bulk import logic and validation
• Multi-auth testing scenarios
• Laravel's built-in test suite integration

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• PHP 8.2 or higher
• Composer
• Node.js and npm
• SQLite (default) or MySQL/PostgreSQL

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd laravel-assessment

2. Install PHP dependencies

   composer install

3. Install Node.js dependencies

   npm install

4. Environment setup

   cp .env.example .env
   php artisan key:generate

5. Database setup

   # Create SQLite database
   touch database/database.sqlite
   
   # Run migrations
   php artisan migrate

6. Build assets

   npm run build
   # or for development
   npm run dev

7. Start the application

   # Terminal 1: Laravel server
   php artisan serve
   
   # Terminal 2: Queue worker
   php artisan queue:work
   
   # Terminal 3: WebSocket server
   php artisan reverb:start

8. Access the application

   • Main app: http://localhost:8000
   • Admin login: http://localhost:8000/admin/login
   • Customer login: http://localhost:8000/customer/login

Multi-Auth Strategy & Route Protection

Authentication Guards

The application uses Laravel's multi-guard authentication system:

// config/auth.php
'guards' => [
    'admin' => [
        'driver' => 'session',
        'provider' => 'admins',
    ],
    'customer' => [
        'driver' => 'session',
        'provider' => 'customers',
    ],
],

Route Protection

Routes are protected using custom middleware:

• AdminMiddleware: Protects admin routes, redirects to admin login
• CustomerMiddleware: Protects customer routes, redirects to customer login

// Admin routes
Route::middleware('admin')->group(function () {
    Route::get('dashboard', [AdminAuthController::class, 'dashboard']);
    Route::resource('products', ProductController::class);
});

// Customer routes  
Route::middleware('customer')->group(function () {
    Route::get('dashboard', [CustomerAuthController::class, 'dashboard']);
});

User Type Differentiation

Users are differentiated by a type field in the database:

• admin: Full access to product management and admin features
• customer: Limited access to customer dashboard

WebSocket Stack

Technology Used

• Laravel Reverb: Laravel's official WebSocket server
• Laravel Echo: Client-side WebSocket library
• Pusher Protocol: Compatible WebSocket implementation

Configuration

BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverb
REVERB_APP_ID=123456
REVERB_APP_KEY=reverb-key
REVERB_APP_SECRET=reverb-secret
REVERB_HOST="localhost"
REVERB_PORT=8080

Presence Channels

Two presence channels are implemented:

• presence.admin: For admin users
• presence.customer: For customer users

Real-time Features

• User join/leave notifications
• Online status tracking in database
• Live user list updates in admin dashboard
• Cross-guard presence visibility (admins can see all users)

Bulk Import Implementation & Optimizations

Import Strategy

1. File Upload: CSV/Excel files up to 10MB
2. Queue Processing: Background job processing
3. Chunked Reading: 1000 rows per chunk
4. Validation: Row-by-row validation with Laravel rules
5. Error Handling: Failed job cleanup and retry logic

Key Classes

• ProcessProductImport: Queue job for background processing
• ProductsImport: Import class with chunking and validation
• ProductController: Handles file upload and job dispatch

Optimizations

• Memory Management: Chunked processing prevents memory exhaustion
• Timeout Prevention: Background queue processing
• Validation: Early validation prevents invalid data insertion
• Default Values: Automatic default image assignment
• Cleanup: Automatic file cleanup after processing

Performance Features

// Chunked processing
public function chunkSize(): int
{
    return 1000; // Process 1000 rows at a time
}

// Job timeout and retries
public $timeout = 3600; // 1 hour timeout
public $tries = 3; // 3 retry attempts

Testing Guide

Running Tests

# Run all tests
php artisan test

# Run specific test types
php artisan test --testsuite=Feature
php artisan test --testsuite=Unit

# Run with coverage (if xdebug enabled)
php artisan test --coverage

Test Coverage

Feature Tests (tests/Feature/ProductManagementTest.php)

• ✅ Admin can create products
• ✅ Customer cannot access product management
• ✅ Product creation validation
• ✅ Admin can update products
• ✅ Admin can delete products

Unit Tests (tests/Unit/ProductImportTest.php)

• ✅ Product import creates correct model
• ✅ Default image handling
• ✅ Validation rules testing
• ✅ Chunk size configuration

Test Data

• User factories for admin/customer creation
• Product factories for test data generation
• Database refresh for clean test environment

Architectural & Performance Decisions

Database Design

• SQLite: Default for simplicity and portability
• Indexes: Proper indexing on frequently queried fields
• Foreign Keys: Maintained data integrity
• Soft Deletes: Could be added for audit trails

Queue System

• Database Driver: Simple setup, no external dependencies
• Job Batching: Available for tracking import progress
• Failed Jobs: Automatic retry and cleanup mechanisms

Security Measures

• CSRF Protection: All forms protected
• Input Validation: Comprehensive validation rules
• File Upload Security: Type and size restrictions
• Authentication: Secure password hashing
• Route Protection: Middleware-based access control

Performance Optimizations

• Lazy Loading: Efficient database queries
• Chunked Processing: Memory-efficient bulk operations
• Asset Optimization: Vite for modern asset building
• Caching: Ready for Redis/Memcached integration

Scalability Considerations

• Queue Workers: Horizontal scaling capability
• WebSocket Scaling: Reverb supports clustering
• Database: Easy migration to MySQL/PostgreSQL
• File Storage: Ready for S3/cloud storage integration

Sample Data

The products_sample_import.csv file contains 20 sample products with:

• Various categories (Electronics, Books, Clothing, Home, Sports)
• Different price ranges ($12.99 - $149.99)
• Stock quantities (25 - 300 units)
• Mix of products with and without custom images
• Realistic product names and descriptions

This file was used for testing the import functionality and demonstrates:

• Proper CSV formatting
• Required vs optional fields
• Default image handling
• Various data types and validation scenarios

API Endpoints

Authentication Endpoints

• GET /admin/login - Admin login form

• POST /admin/login - Admin login processing

• GET /admin/register - Admin registration form

• POST /admin/register - Admin registration processing

• POST /admin/logout - Admin logout

• GET /customer/login - Customer login form

• POST /customer/login - Customer login processing

• GET /customer/register - Customer registration form

• POST /customer/register - Customer registration processing

• POST /customer/logout - Customer logout

Product Management (Admin Only)

• GET /admin/products - List products
• GET /admin/products/create - Create product form
• POST /admin/products - Store new product
• GET /admin/products/{id} - Show product details
• GET /admin/products/{id}/edit - Edit product form
• PUT /admin/products/{id} - Update product
• DELETE /admin/products/{id} - Delete product
• GET /admin/products-import - Import form
• POST /admin/products-import - Process import