LinkyUz - Technical Documentation

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1. Overview

LinkyUz is a URL shortening service that allows users to generate short, branded links, QR codes, and barcodes. It supports:

• URL Shortening (generating short links from long URLs)
• Branded Links (custom short URLs with brand names)
• QR Code Generation (converting URLs into QR codes)
• Barcode Generation (converting URLs into barcodes)
• Visit Logging (tracking link visits)

The application is built using .NET 6+, ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and MongoDB for storing branded links.

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2. Architecture Overview

Tech Stack

Component	Technology/Tool
Backend	ASP.NET Core 6+
Database	PostgreSQL (EF Core)
NoSQL Storage	MongoDB (for branded links)
URL Shortening	Custom algorithm (5-character codes)
QR Code	QRCoder library
Barcode	ZXing library
Task Scheduling	Hangfire (for background jobs)
AutoMapper	Object-to-object mapping
Logging	Built-in ASP.NET Core logging

System Architecture

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                Client (Browser)                               │
└───────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                API Gateway (ASP.NET Core)                     │
│                                                                               │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │ URL Shorten │    │ Brand Links │    │ QR Code     │    │ Barcode    │      │
│  │ (EF Core)   │    │ (MongoDB)   │    │ Generator   │    │ Generator   │     │
│  └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘     │
│                                                                               │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │ Hangfire    │    │ AutoMapper  │    │ Logging     │    │ CORS        │     │
│  │ (Background │    │ (DTO ↔ Model)│    │ (Serilog)   │    │ (Policy)    │    │
│  │ Jobs)       │    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘     │
│                                                                               │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                Databases                                      │
│                                                                               │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐                        │
│  │ PostgreSQL  │    │ MongoDB     │    │ Visit Logs │                         │
│  │ (EF Core)   │    │ (Brand Links)│    │ (EF Core)  │                        │
│  └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘                        │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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3. API Documentation

Base URL

https://localhost:5001/api

Endpoints

1. URL Shortening

Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body (JSON)
POST	/LinkyUz/ShortenUrl	Shorten a long URL	{ "Url": "https://example.com" }
GET	/LinkyUz/Redirect/{code}	Redirect to original URL	{ code: string }

2. Brand Links

Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body (JSON)
POST	/BrandUrl/CrateBrandLink	Create a branded short link	{ "Url": "https://example.com", "BrandName": "mybrand" }
GET	/BrandUrl/{brand}	Redirect to original URL via brand	{ brand: string }

3. QR Code Generation

Method	Endpoint	Description	Query Parameters
GET	/LinkyUz/LinkToQRCode	Generate QR code for a URL	?text=https://example.com

4. Barcode Generation

Method	Endpoint	Description	Query Parameters
GET	/LinkyUz/GenerateBarcode	Generate barcode for a URL	?url=https://example.com

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4. Setup & Installation

Prerequisites

• .NET 6+ SDK (Download)
• PostgreSQL (Download)
• MongoDB (Download)
• Visual Studio 2022 (or VS Code with C# extensions)

Steps to Run Locally

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/ELTNOrg/LinkyUz.git
cd LinkyUz

2. Configure Databases

• PostgreSQL:
  • Create a database named shortener.
  • Update appsettings.json with your PostgreSQL credentials:

    "ConnectionStrings": {
      "Database": "User ID=postgres;Password=7655;Server=localhost;Port=5432;Database=shortener;"
    }

• MongoDB:
  • Ensure MongoDB is running locally (mongodb://localhost:27017).
  • Update appsettings.json:

    "MongoDatabase": {
      "ConnectionString": "mongodb://localhost:27017",
      "DatabaseName": "linky",
      "CollectionName": "brandlinks"
    }

3. Run Migrations

dotnet ef migrations add InitialMigration
dotnet ef database update

4. Run the Application

dotnet run

• The API will start at https://localhost:5001 (or http://localhost:5000 for HTTP).
• Swagger UI will be available at /swagger.

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