Chat Application

This chat application allows users to communicate in real-time, create chat rooms, manage contacts, and customize their profiles. Below is a step-by-step guide on implementing its functionalities.

Table of Contents

1. User Authentication
2. Real-Time Chat
3. Room Creation and Management
4. Direct Messaging
5. Friend Search
6. Recent Chats
7. User Profile
8. Friend Status Indicator
9. Add Contacts with Invitation
10. User Status (Active/Busy)
11. Edit Profile Information
12. Delete Friend
13. View Friend Information
14. Change Password

---

1. User Authentication

Description:
Users can sign up for a new account or log in to an existing one.

Implementation Steps:

1. Sign Up:

   • Create a registration form to collect user details: username (unique), email, password, name, and profile image.
   • Implement server-side validation to ensure the username and email are unique.
   • Hash the password using a secure hashing algorithm like bcrypt before storing it in the database.
   • Save the user details in the Users table/collection.
   • After successful registration, redirect the user to the login page or automatically log them in.

2. Login:

   • Create a login form to collect username/email and password.
   • Upon submission, verify that the provided credentials match those in the database.
   • Initiate a user session or issue a JWT token to authenticate subsequent requests.
   • Redirect the user to the main chat interface/dashboard upon successful login.

2. Real-Time Chat

Description:
Users can chat in real-time with friends or in chat rooms.

Implementation Steps:

1. WebSocket Setup:

   • Integrate WebSocket technology (e.g., Socket.IO for Node.js or Django Channels for Django) to enable real-time communication.
   • Establish a WebSocket server that listens for incoming connections from clients.

2. Client-Side Implementation:

   • Implement WebSocket client-side scripts to connect to the WebSocket server.
   • Define events for sending and receiving messages.

3. Message Handling:

   • Define server-side event handlers to broadcast messages to appropriate recipients (individual users or rooms).
   • Ensure messages are delivered instantly and reliably.

3. Room Creation and Management

Description:
Users can create chat rooms and share them with friends for group conversations.

Implementation Steps:

1. Room Creation:

   • Provide an interface/button for users to create a new chat room.
   • Collect necessary details such as room name, description, and privacy settings (public/private).
   • Generate a unique room ID or invite link.
   • Save the room details in a Rooms table/collection with references to the creator.

2. Sharing Room with Friends:

   • Implement functionality to share the room ID or invite link via the application or external platforms.
   • Allow invited users to join the room upon accepting the invitation.

3. Room Management:

   • Allow room creators or administrators to add/remove members, assign roles, and modify room settings.
   • Implement a feature to delete or archive rooms.

4. Real-Time Communication in Rooms:

   • Use WebSocket channels specific to each room to ensure messages are broadcasted only to room members.
   • Implement features like typing indicators, read receipts, and message notifications within rooms.

4. Direct Messaging

Description:
Users can send direct messages to their friends privately.

Implementation Steps:

1. Initiating Chat:

   • Provide a contacts list or search functionality for users to find and select friends to chat with.
   • On selecting a friend, open a chat window or screen dedicated to that conversation.

2. Message Sending and Receiving:

   • Implement real-time sending and receiving of messages using WebSockets.
   • Save each message in a Messages table/collection with references to the sender, receiver, timestamp, and message content.

3. Chat History:

   • Retrieve and display past conversations between users when they open the chat window.
   • Implement pagination or infinite scroll for loading older messages.

4. Notifications:

   • Notify users of new messages when they are not in the chat window through in-app notifications or push notifications.

5. Friend Search

Description:
Users can search for friends using a unique username.

Implementation Steps:

1. Search Interface:

   • Provide a search bar where users can input a username to search for other users.

2. Backend Search Logic:

   • Implement an API endpoint that searches the Users database/table for matches to the inputted username.
   • Ensure the search is case-insensitive and returns relevant results.

3. Displaying Results:

   • Show a list of matching users with basic information like profile picture, name, and username.
   • Provide an option to send a friend request or view profile directly from the search results.

4. Handling No Results:

   • Display an appropriate message if no users are found matching the search criteria.

6. Recent Chats

Description:
Users can view a list of their recent chats with friends.

Implementation Steps:

1. Chat History Retrieval:

   • Query the Messages database/table to fetch the latest message from each conversation the user is part of.

2. Displaying Recent Chats:

   • Present a list view showing recent chats with details like friend's name, profile picture, last message snippet, and timestamp.
   • Sort the list by most recent activity.

3. Unread Messages Indicator:

   • Highlight conversations with unread messages using badges or bold text.
   • Keep track of the last read message in each conversation for accurate unread counts.

4. Navigating to Chat:

   • Allow users to click/tap on a conversation to open the full chat history and continue messaging.

7. User Profile

Description:
Each user has a profile containing personal information such as name, image, email, etc.

Implementation Steps:

1. Profile Data Structure:

   • Define additional fields in the Users database/table for storing full name, profile image URL, bio, email, phone number, and any other relevant information.

2. Profile View Page:

   • Create a dedicated page or modal where users can view their own profile information.
   • Display all profile details in a structured and visually appealing format.

3. Profile Picture Upload:

   • Implement functionality to upload and store profile images securely.
   • Use services like AWS S3, Cloudinary, or store them on the server with proper access controls.

4. Privacy Settings:

   • Allow users to set privacy levels for different pieces of information (e.g., making email visible only to friends).

8. Friend Status Indicator

Description:
Users can see whether their friends are currently active or not.

Implementation Steps:

1. Tracking User Activity:

   • Update the user's status in the database when they log in, log out, or become idle.
   • Utilize WebSocket connections to detect real-time activity. When a user connects/disconnects, update their status accordingly.

2. Displaying Status:

   • Show a green dot or "Online" label next to friends who are currently active.
   • Indicate inactive or offline status with a grey dot or appropriate label.

3. Real-Time Updates:

   • Implement real-time updates so that when a friend's status changes, it immediately reflects in the user's interface.

4. Last Seen Timestamp:

   • Optionally, display the last active time for offline users.

9. Add Contacts with Invitation

Description:
Users can add contacts by sending an invitation message to another user's email.

Implementation Steps:

1. Add Contact Form:

   • Provide a form where users can enter the email address of the person they want to add and write an invitation message.

2. Invitation Email:

   • Upon submission, send an email invitation to the provided email address containing the invitation message and a link to join the chat application or accept the contact request.
   • Use email services like SendGrid, Mailgun, or SMTP servers for sending emails.

3. Handling Invitations:

   • If the recipient is not registered, direct them to a sign-up page upon clicking the link.
   • If the recipient is already a user, notify them of the contact request within the application, allowing them to accept or decline.

4. Updating Contacts List:

   • Upon acceptance, add each user to the other's contacts/friends list in the database.
   • Allow users to view pending sent and received invitations.

10. User Status (Active/Busy)

Description:
Users can set their status to indicate if they are active or busy.

Implementation Steps:

1. Status Selection Interface:

   • Provide options in the user interface for users to select their current status: Active, Busy, Away, etc.

2. Updating Status:

   • When a user selects a status, update this information in their user profile in the database.
   • Broadcast the status change to all friends or relevant contacts through WebSockets.

3. Displaying Status:

   • Show the user's current status next to their profile picture or name in chats and contact lists.
   • Use different icons or colors to represent different statuses for easy recognition.

4. Automatic Status Changes:

   • Implement logic to automatically change the user's status to Away after a period of inactivity.
   • Allow users to customize these settings according to their preferences.

11. Edit Profile Information

Description:
Users can edit their profile information except for their unique username.

Implementation Steps:

1. Edit Profile Interface:

   • Create an Edit Profile page or modal where users can update their information such as name, email, profile picture, bio, etc.
   • Disable or hide the username field to prevent changes.

2. Form Validation:

   • Implement client-side and server-side validation to ensure data integrity (e.g., valid email format).

3. Updating Database:

   • Upon submission, update the user's information in the Users database/table.
   • Handle profile picture uploads and updates appropriately, replacing old images if necessary.

4. Feedback and Notifications:

   • Provide feedback to the user upon successful or failed updates.
   • Optionally, notify friends of significant profile changes like a new profile picture.

12. Delete Friend

Description:
Users can remove a friend from their contacts list.

Implementation Steps:

1. Delete Option:

   • Provide a delete or remove button next to each contact in the user's friends list or within the friend's profile view.

2. Confirmation Prompt:

   • Before deletion, display a confirmation dialog to prevent accidental removals.

3. Updating Contacts:

   • Upon confirmation, remove the association between the two users in the Contacts/Friends table/collection.
   • Optionally, delete the chat history between the two users or archive it based on privacy policies.

4. Notifications:

   • Decide whether to notify the other user about the removal. If so, send an appropriate notification or message.

5. Handling Edge Cases:

   • Ensure that after deletion, neither user can send messages to each other unless a new friend request is accepted.

13. View Friend Information

Description:
Users can view detailed information about their friends.

Implementation Steps:

1. Friend Profile Page:

   • Create a profile view for each friend displaying information such as full name, profile picture, bio, email (if shared), status, and last active time.

2. Accessing Profile:

   • Allow users to access a friend's profile by clicking on their name or profile picture in chats or contact lists.

3. Privacy Considerations:

   • Respect the friend's privacy settings, displaying only the information they have chosen to share.

4. Common Actions:

   • Include options on the friend's profile page to start a chat, remove friend, or view mutual friends.

14. Change Password

Description:
Users can change their account password for security purposes.

Implementation Steps:

1. Change Password Interface:

   • Provide a form where users can enter their current password, new password, and confirm new password.

2. Form Validation:

   • Validate that the current password matches the one in the database.
   • Ensure the new password meets security requirements (e.g., minimum length, includes numbers and special characters).
   • Confirm that new password and confirm new password fields match.

3. Updating Password:

   • Hash the new password using a secure algorithm like bcrypt.
   • Update the user's password in the Users database/table.

4. Feedback and Notifications:

   • Inform the user of a successful password change.
   • Optionally, send an email notification to the user's registered email address informing them of the password change. This can help in detecting unauthorized changes.

5. Handling Errors:

   • Provide appropriate error messages for issues like incorrect current password or weak new password.

Next Steps:

• Define the technology stack to be used (e.g., Frontend: React, Angular; Backend: Node.js, Django; Database: MongoDB, PostgreSQL).
• Set up the development environment and version control using Git and GitHub.
• Implement security measures such as input sanitization, authentication tokens, and secure password storage.
• Develop a testing strategy to ensure all functionalities work as intended.
• Plan for deployment and scaling of the application.