URL Shortener

A simple and efficient URL shortening service built with Django and Django REST Framework. This service allows users to shorten long URLs, track the number of times they are accessed, and manage their URLs through a RESTful API.

Features

Shorten long URLs
Retrieve original URLs from shortened URLs
Track the number of times a shortened URL has been accessed
Create, retrieve, update, and delete shortened URLs
Use Redis as cache for improved performance

Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/urlshortener.git

bash

cd urlshortener

bash

Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv myenv

bash

source myenv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `myenv\Scripts\activate`

bash

Install dependencies:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```
bash

Configure environment variables:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@host:port/dbname
DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
REDIS_URL=redis://your_redis_host:your_redis_port/1

bash

Apply migrations:

python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate

bash

Create a superuser:
```
python manage.py createsuperuser
```
bash
Run the development server:
```
python manage.py runserver
```
bash

Database Configuration

You can configure your project to use different databases by setting the DATABASE_URL environment variable in your .env file.

PostgreSQL

DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@host:port/dbname

bash

SQLite

DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db.sqlite3

bash

But by default Django uses SQLite...

Cache Configuration

Redis is used as the cache for this project. Make sure to set the REDIS_URL environment variable in your .env file:

REDIS_URL=redis://your_redis_host:your_redis_port/1

bash

Usage

Endpoints

Create Short URL:

POST /shorten/
Content-Type: application/json
{ "long_url": "https://www.example.com/some/long/url" }

bash

Retrieve Original URL:
```
GET /shorten/<short_url>/
```
bash

Update Short URL:

PUT /shorten/<short_url>/
Content-Type: application/json
{ "long_url": "https://www.example.com/some/updated/url" }

bash

Delete Short URL:
```
DELETE /shorten/<short_url>/
```
bash
Redirect to Original URL:
```
GET /<short_url>/
```
bash

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

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

Acknowledgements

This project was inspired and guided by the URL Shortening Service Project from roadmap.sh. Their comprehensive guide provided valuable insights and structure for developing this URL shortening service.