URL Shortener with Spring Boot

This is a simple URL shortener application built using Spring Boot. The application allows you to shorten long URLs, store them in memory, and then redirect users to the original URL when they visit the shortened link.

Features

Shorten URLs by providing a long URL. Retrieve the original URL from the shortened one. Base URL is configurable via application.properties. In-memory storage for URL mappings.

Prerequisites

Java 11+ (or the latest version of JDK) Maven (for building the project) Spring Boot (for the framework) Setup

1. Clone the repository

Clone the project to your local machine using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/url-shortener.git

2. Build the project

Navigate to the project directory and build the project using Maven:

cd url-shortener
mvn clean install

3. Configure the application properties

In src/main/resources/application.properties, configure the base.url property. This will define the base URL for all shortened URLs.

base.url=http://localhost:8080/

You can modify this to use any custom URL (e.g., a production URL) later.

4. Run the application

To run the Spring Boot application, use the following command:

mvn spring-boot:run

Your application will start on http://localhost:8080/ by default.

5. Test the endpoints

Shorten a URL

To shorten a URL, send a POST request with a parameter originalUrl:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:8080/url/shorten?originalUrl=https://www.example.com"

The response will be a shortened URL:

http://localhost:8080/abcd12

Redirect to the original URL

To get redirected to the original URL, visit the shortened URL in your browser:

http://localhost:8080/abcd12

You will be redirected to https://www.example.com.

How It Works

• Shortening URLs: The UrlService generates a random alphanumeric string to create the shortened URL. This string is mapped to the original URL in an in-memory Map.
• Redirecting to Original URL: When a user visits the shortened URL, the application looks up the original URL in the Map and redirects the user to it.

Customizing the Application

• Change the base URL: Modify the base.url property in application.properties to change the base URL used for shortened links.
• Persist URLs: This version stores URLs in memory. For persistence, you can integrate a database like MySQL or MongoDB.

Running in Production

For running this application in production, consider:

• Deploying it behind a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx).
• Configuring HTTPS for secure communication.
• Integrating a persistent storage solution (database) for better scalability and reliability.

License

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

Contributing

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature-branch).
3. Make your changes.
4. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature').
5. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-branch).
6. Create a new Pull Request.

ToDo

1. Add a database to store the URLs
2. Short and meaningful domain name