🏢 Employee Management API

A robust RESTful API for managing employee data with full CRUD operations. Built with Node.js, Express.js, and Azure SQL Database, and deployed on Azure App Service.

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📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Deployment Status
• Tech Stack
• Project Structure
• API Endpoints
• Azure Deployment
• Local Setup
• Environment Variables
• Screenshots
• Author

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✨ Features

• CRUD Operations: Create, Read, Update, and Delete employee records
• RESTful Architecture: Clean and intuitive API design
• Cloud-Native: Fully deployed on Microsoft Azure
• Secure: Environment-based configuration for sensitive credentials
• Scalable: Hosted on Azure App Service with Azure SQL Database backend
• MVC Pattern: Organized code structure following best practices

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⚠️ Deployment Status

Current Status: 🔴 Offline (Cost Optimization)

Note: This project was successfully deployed and tested on Azure Cloud. The live deployment has been paused to avoid ongoing costs associated with Azure SQL Database and App Service.

You can:

• View the Screenshots section to see the working application
• Follow the Local Setup Guide to run it on your machine
• Check the Azure Deployment section to understand the cloud architecture

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend:

• Node.js - JavaScript runtime
• Express.js - Web application framework
• mssql - Microsoft SQL Server client for Node.js

Database:

• Azure SQL Database - Managed relational database service

Cloud Infrastructure:

• Azure App Service - PaaS for hosting web applications
• Azure SQL Server - Database server management

Development Tools:

• Postman - API testing
• Visual Studio Code - Code editor
• Git & GitHub - Version control

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📂 Project Structure

EMPLOYEE-API/
│
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── employeeController.js    # Business logic for employee operations
│   │
│   ├── models/
│   │   └── employeeModel.js         # Database queries and schema
│   │
│   ├── routes/
│   │   └── employeeRoutes.js        # API route definitions
│   │
│   └── app.js                       # Express app configuration
│
├── index.js                         # Application entry point
├── package.json                     # Dependencies and scripts
├── .gitignore                       # Git ignore rules
└── README.md                        # Project documentation

Architecture Pattern: MVC (Model-View-Controller)

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🔌 API Endpoints

HTTP Method	Endpoint	Description	Request Body
GET	/api/employees	Retrieve all employees	None
GET	/api/employees/:id	Get employee by ID	None
POST	/api/employees	Create new employee	JSON (name, position, salary, etc.)
PUT	/api/employees/:id	Update employee details	JSON (fields to update)
DELETE	/api/employees/:id	Delete employee	None

Example Request (POST):

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "position": "Software Engineer",
  "department": "IT",
  "salary": 75000,
  "email": "john.doe@company.com"
}

Example Response (GET):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "position": "Software Engineer",
      "department": "IT",
      "salary": 75000,
      "email": "john.doe@company.com",
      "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

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☁️ Azure Deployment Workflow

1. Azure SQL Database Setup

1. Created Azure SQL Server and Database instance via Azure Portal
2. Configured firewall rules:
   • Added Azure App Service IP addresses
   • Whitelisted local development IP
3. Created Employees table with appropriate schema
4. Secured connection strings in Azure Key Vault (or App Service Configuration)

2. Azure App Service Deployment

1. Created Linux-based App Service Plan (B1 tier)
2. Deployed Node.js application using:
   • GitHub Actions for CI/CD
   • Direct deployment from Visual Studio Code
3. Configured Application Settings (Environment Variables):
   • DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_SERVER, DB_NAME
4. Enabled Application Insights for monitoring and logging

3. Security Best Practices

• No hardcoded credentials in source code
• Environment variables stored in Azure App Service Configuration
• SQL Server firewall configured with minimal required access
• HTTPS enforced for all API requests

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💻 Local Setup Guide

Follow these steps to run the project on your local machine:

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher) installed
• Azure SQL Database or local SQL Server instance
• Git installed

Installation Steps

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Xavious2604/employee-api.git
cd employee-api

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

DB_USER=your_database_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password
DB_SERVER=your_server.database.windows.net
DB_NAME=your_database_name
DB_PORT=1433

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development

4. Set Up Database

Run this SQL script to create the employees table:

CREATE TABLE Employees (
    id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY(1,1),
    name NVARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    position NVARCHAR(100),
    department NVARCHAR(100),
    salary DECIMAL(10, 2),
    email NVARCHAR(100),
    created_at DATETIME DEFAULT GETDATE()
);

5. Start the Server

# Using Node
node index.js

# OR using Nodemon (if installed)
npm run dev

6. Test the API

The server will run at http://localhost:3000

Test with Postman or cURL:

# Get all employees
curl http://localhost:3000/api/employees

# Create new employee
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/employees \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Jane Smith","position":"Manager","salary":85000}'

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🔐 Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
DB_USER	Database username	admin
DB_PASSWORD	Database password	SecurePass123!
DB_SERVER	SQL Server hostname	myserver.database.windows.net
DB_NAME	Database name	EmployeeDB
DB_PORT	SQL Server port	1433
PORT	Application port	3000
NODE_ENV	Environment mode	development or production

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📸 Screenshots

Since the live deployment is currently offline, here are screenshots demonstrating functionality:

API Testing in Postman

GET Request - Retrieve All Employees:

POST Request - Create New Employee:

Delete Request - Delete Exsisting Employee:

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🚀 Future Enhancements

• Add authentication and authorization (JWT)
• Implement pagination for large datasets
• Add data validation and error handling middleware
• Create comprehensive unit and integration tests
• Add API documentation with Swagger/OpenAPI
• Implement caching with Redis
• Add logging with Winston or Morgan

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👤 Author

Xavious2604

• GitHub: @Xavious2604
• Project Link: https://github.com/Xavious2604/employee-api

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📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Microsoft Azure for cloud infrastructure
• Node.js and Express.js communities
• All contributors and supporters of this project

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