Gift Exchange App

[HTML, CSS, TypeScript, Next.js, React.js Tailwind, MongoDB and Responsive Design] Introduction During the holidays, our friend group gets together for a Secret Santa. I realized that the hassle of matching gifts could be a great little project for me to understand and play around with JavaScript logic, functions, and data extraction. Taking on the challenge of building this small app allowed me to further my understanding of front-end development and allowed me to engage more deeply with storing, displaying, and manipulating data, providing a comprehensive learning experience in both front-end and back-end development.

Learning Next.js, TypeScript and Tailwind: I come to enjoy it - writing more secure and robust code, reducing runtime errors. building server-side rendered React application. API routes within the same project.

Implementing MongoDB, Creating Schema and Query Data: efficiently store and query data in a format that's highly scalable and flexible for the app's needs.

Mastering Key Concepts: understanding the intricacies of keys and IDs, alongside the passing of props and the retrieval/display of data

Advantages of using third-party libraries: shadcn/ui, react-hook-form and Clerk reduce development time.

Better understanding of Server-Side Rendering (SSR) vs. Client-Side Rendering (CSR)

user privacy and personalization by ensuring that each user's events are kept separate and secure.

introduce functionalities such as editing and deleting events directly within the app.

Conclusion Starting this side-project has been a deeply learning experience for me, both technically and personally. Every time I develop, I learn new things and face different bugs each day. For this project, instead of creating everything from scratch, I utilized third-party libraries and integrated them into my website. That in itself felt like a new project on its own, especially when it came to understanding the documentation and implement. By integrating MongoDB, I have discovered new possibilities in data management, understanding the database and how to visualize it beautifully in the front end. Currently, I have been sending it out to my friends and fellow tech enthusiasts for feedback, and oh boy—reiterating based on their suggestions has been an insightful journey. As I share this journey, my hope is that it reflects my commitment to crafting meaningful digital solutions and my eagerness to tackle the challenges that lie ahead in the evolving landscape of web development.