(2024)
As a computer science student passionate about self-learning through projects, I'm thrilled to share a deep dive into 'Simple Weather,' a personal project that served as my final capstone for HarvardX's CS50P. This application is a testament to building a functional, real-world solution from the ground up, integrating both a Python backend and a React frontend to deliver real-time weather information.
The 'Simple Weather' project aimed to tackle key full-stack integration challenges. These included robust API integration with external services like PositionStack and WeatherAPI, establishing seamless communication between a React frontend and a FastAPI backend, and designing an intuitive and responsive user interface with clear data display. My solution involved utilizing Python's requests for API calls within the FastAPI backend, implementing CORS middleware for secure frontend-backend communication, and leveraging React's component-based architecture with Tailwind CSS for dynamic and responsive UI design.
The project employs a client-server architecture. The frontend, built with React, JavaScript, and Tailwind CSS, is the user interface responsible for interactions and API requests. The backend, developed using Python with FastAPI, acts as an intermediary, handling reverse geocoding via PositionStack API and fetching weather data from WeatherAPI. My development approach was iterative, starting with a stable backend API before building the React frontend, ensuring modularity and easier debugging. Version control with Git/GitHub and respective package managers (Node.js for frontend, pip for backend) were integral to the workflow.
This project provided invaluable learning outcomes, significantly enhancing my understanding of full-stack development, API design and consumption, and modern web frameworks like React and FastAPI. It reinforced the importance of modular programming and effective dependency management. As a self-taught CS student, this experience was crucial in translating theoretical knowledge into practical application, demonstrating my ability to independently build and deploy a functional web service. 'Simple Weather' stands as a significant milestone, showcasing my skills and readiness to tackle future development challenges for clients and recruiters.
