Mini Message Board

A simple message board built with Node.js, Express, and EJS. Users can view messages, add new ones through a form, and open individual message pages. This project was created to practice Express routing, form handling, and server-side rendering.

---

Preview

---

Tech Stack

Technology	Purpose
Node.js	JavaScript runtime
Express.js 5	Web framework
EJS	Templating engine
Neon	Serverless Postgres hosting
@neondatabase/serverless	Neon's serverless driver
Render / Vercel	Deployment

---

Features

• Create Messages - Post new messages with your name
• View Message Details - Click the eye icon to see full message details
• Responsive Design - Fully responsive on all devices
• Serverless Database - Powered by Neon's serverless PostgreSQL

---

📁 Folder Structure

mini-msg-board/
├── app.js                 # Express application entry point
├── vercel.json            # Vercel deployment configuration
├── package.json           # Dependencies and scripts
│
├── db/
│   └── pool.js            # Neon database connection
│
├── routes/
│   └── index.js           # All route handlers (GET /, GET /new, POST /, GET /message/:id)
│
├── views/
│   ├── index.ejs          # Main message board page
│   ├── form.ejs           # New message form page
│   └── message.ejs        # Message detail page
│
├── public/
│   ├── styles.css         # All CSS styles
│   ├── favicon.ico        # Favicon files
│   └── ...                # Other favicon sizes

---

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• A Neon PostgreSQL database

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/roshhi/mini-msg-board.git
   cd mini-msg-board

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   Create a .env file in the root directory:

   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@your-neon-host/database?sslmode=require

4. Create the database table

   Run this SQL in your Neon console:

   CREATE TABLE messages (
       id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
       user_name VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
       text VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL,
       added TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
   );

5. Start the server

   node app.js

6. Open in browser

   http://localhost:3000
   

---

What I Learned

Through building this project, I learned:

• EJS Templating - Dynamic HTML rendering with embedded JavaScript
• Neon Serverless - Using Neon's serverless driver for edge-compatible database connections
• MVC Architecture - Separating concerns with routes, views, and database logic

---

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

---

License

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

---

Acknowledgments

• The Odin Project for the curriculum
• Neon for serverless PostgreSQL