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 Assignment 3 - Persistence: Two-tier Web Application with Database, Express server, and CSS template
 ===
 
-Due: September 19th, by 11:59 AM.
+https://a3-jjcool1128.glitch.me/login.html
 
-This assignnment continues where we left off, extending it to use the most popular Node.js server framework (express), 
-a database (mongodb), and a CSS application framework / template of your choice (Boostrap, Material Design, Semantic UI, Pure etc.)
+username: jj
+password: jj (or register your own :))
 
-Baseline Requirements
----
+I ended up making a complete new website due to the issues with my last assignment.
 
-Your application is required to implement the following functionalities:
+The primary goal of the journal website is to provide users with a secure and private platform to write and manage their personal journal entries. 
+One of the significant challenges in realizing this application was ensuring a seamless user experience across different functionalities such as 
+registration, login, entry submission, and entry management, while maintaining robust security standards. 
+To handle user authentication, I opted for Passport.js with the local strategy. 
+This choice was driven by its simplicity and widespread adoption, which made it easier to implement and reliable for managing credentials securely. 
+It also supports a range of other authentication methods should the need for expansion arise.
 
-- a `Server`, created using Express (no alternatives will be accepted for this assignment)
-- a `Results` functionality which shows all data associated with a logged in user (except passwords)
-- a `Form/Entry` functionality which allows users to add, modify, and delete data items (must be all three!) associated with their user name / account. 
-- Persistent data storage in between server sessions using [mongodb](https://www.mongodb.com/cloud/atlas) (you *must* use mongodb for this assignment). You can use either the [official mongodb node.js library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mongodb) or use the [Mongoose library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mongoose), which enables you to define formal schemas for your database. Please be aware that the course staff cannot provide in-depth support for use of Mongoose.  
-- Use of a [CSS framework or template](https://github.com/troxler/awesome-css-frameworks). 
-This should do the bulk of your styling/CSS for you and be appropriate to your application. 
-For example, don't use [NES.css](https://nostalgic-css.github.io/NES.css/) (which is awesome!) unless you're creating a game or some type of retro 80s site.
+For the website's styling, I chose Pico.css because of its minimalistic approach that offers a clean and modern design with a small footprint, making it fast to load and simple to customize. 
+This framework provides sensible defaults, which reduces the effort needed to make the site look presentable right out of the gate. 
+I made specific modifications to the default CSS provided by Pico.css by adding custom styles to enhance form elements and buttons, ensuring they are more prominent and user-friendly. 
+These customizations included changing button colors to improve contrast against the background, increasing font sizes for better readability, and adjusting padding for a more tactile interface. 
+The alterations were aimed at enhancing the user interface without overloading the site with excessive design elements, keeping the focus on functionality and user experience.
 
-Your application is required to demonstrate the use of the following concepts:  
-
-HTML:  
-- HTML input tags and form fields of various flavors (`<textarea>`, `<input>`, checkboxes, radio buttons etc.)
-- HTML that can display all data *for a particular authenticated user*. Note that this is different from the last assignnment, which required the display of all data in memory on the server.
-
-Note that it might make sense to have two pages for this assignment, one that handles login / authentication, and one that contains the rest of your application.
-For example, when visiting the home page for the assignment, users could be presented with a login form. After submitting the login form, if the login is 
-successful, they are taken to the main application. If they fail, they are sent back to the login to try again. For this assignment, it is acceptable to simply create 
-new user accounts upon login if none exist, however, you must alert your users to this fact.  
-
-CSS:  
-- CSS styling should primarily be provided by your chosen template/framework. 
-Oftentimes a great deal of care has been put into designing CSS templates; 
-don't override their stylesheets unless you are extremely confident in your graphic design capabilities. 
-The idea is to use CSS templates that give you a professional looking design aesthetic without requiring you to be a graphic designer yourself.
-
-JavaScript:  
-- At minimum, a small amount of front-end JavaScript to get / fetch data from the server. 
-See the [previous assignment](https://github.com/cs-4241-23/shortstack) for reference.
-
-Node.js:  
-- A server using Express and a persistent database (mongodb).
-
-General:  
-- Your site should achieve at least 90% on the `Performance`, `Best Practices`, `Accessibility`, and `SEO` tests 
-using Google [Lighthouse](https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse) (don't worry about the PWA test, and don't worry about scores for mobile devices).
-Test early and often so that fixing problems doesn't lead to suffering at the end of the assignment. 
-
-Deliverables
----
-
-Do the following to complete this assignment:
-
-1. Implement your project with the above requirements. I'd begin by converting your A2 assignment. First, change the server to use express. Then, modify the server to use mongodb instead of storing data locally. Last but not least, implement user accounts and login. User accounts and login is often the hardest part of this assignment, so budget your time accordingly.
-2. If you developed your project locally, deploy your project to Glitch (unless completing the alternative server technical acheivement described below), and fill in the appropriate fields in your package.json file.
-3. Test your project to make sure that when someone goes to your main page on Glitch (or an alternative server), it displays correctly.
-4. Ensure that your project has the proper naming scheme `a3-yourfirstname-yourlastname` so we can find it.
-5. Fork this repository and modify the README to the specifications below.
-6. Create and submit a Pull Request to the original repo. Name the pull request using the following template: `a3-firstname-lastname`.
-
-Acheivements
----
-
-Below are suggested technical and design achievements. You can use these to help boost your grade up to an A and customize the 
-assignment to your personal interests, for a maximum twenty additional points and a maximum grade of a 100%. 
-These are recommended acheivements, but feel free to create/implement your own... just make sure you thoroughly describe what you did in your README, 
-why it was challenging, and how many points you think the achievement should be worth. 
-ALL ACHIEVEMENTS MUST BE DESCRIBED IN YOUR README IN ORDER TO GET CREDIT FOR THEM.
-
-*Technical*
-- (10 points) Implement OAuth authentication, perhaps with a library like [passport.js](http://www.passportjs.org/). 
-*You must either use Github authenticaion or provide a username/password to access a dummy account*. 
-Course staff cannot be expected, for example, to have a personal Facebook, Google, or Twitter account to use when grading this assignment. 
-Please contact the course staff if you have any questions about this. THIS IS THE HARDEST ACHEIVEMENT OFFERED IN WEBWARE. You have been warned!  
-- (5 points) Instead of Glitch, host your site on a different service like [Heroku](https://www.heroku.com) or [Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com). Make sure to describe this a bit in your README. What was better about using the service you chose as compared to Glitch? What (if anything) was worse? 
-- (5 points) Get 100% (not 98%, not 99%, but 100%) in all four lighthouse tests required for this assignment.
-- (up to 5 points) List up to five Express middleware packages you used and a short (one sentence) summary of what each one does. THESE MUST BE SEPARATE PACKAGES THAT YOU INSTALL VIA NPM, NOT THE ONES INCLUDED WITH EXPRESS. So express.json and express.static don't count here. For a starting point on middleware, see [this list](https://expressjs.com/en/resources/middleware.html).
-
-*Design/UX*
-- (10 points) Make your site accessible using the [resources and hints available from the W3C](https://www.w3.org/WAI/), Implement/follow twelve tips from their [tips for writing](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tips/writing/), [tips for designing](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tips/designing/), and [tips for development](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tips/developing/). *Note that all twelve must require active work on your part*. 
-For example, even though your page will most likely not have a captcha, you don't get this as one of your twelve tips to follow because you're effectively 
-getting it "for free" without having to actively change anything about your site. 
-Contact the course staff if you have any questions about what qualifies and doesn't qualify in this regard. 
-List each tip that you followed and describe what you did to follow it in your site.
-- (5 points) Describe how your site uses the CRAP principles in the Non-Designer's Design Book readings. 
-Which element received the most emphasis (contrast) on each page? 
-How did you use proximity to organize the visual information on your page? 
-What design elements (colors, fonts, layouts, etc.) did you use repeatedly throughout your site? 
-How did you use alignment to organize information and/or increase contrast for particular elements. 
-Write a paragraph of at least 125 words *for each of four principles* (four paragraphs, 500 words in total). 
-
-Sample Readme (delete the above when you're ready to submit, and modify the below so with your links and descriptions)
----
-
-## Your Web Application Title
-
-your glitch (or alternative server) link e.g. http://a3-charlie-roberts.glitch.me
-
-Include a very brief summary of your project here. Images are encouraged, along with concise, high-level text. Be sure to include:
-
-- the goal of the application
-- challenges you faced in realizing the application
-- what authentication strategy you chose to use and why (choosing one because it seemed the easiest to implement is perfectly acceptable)
-- what CSS framework you used and why
-  - include any modifications to the CSS framework you made via custom CSS you authored
 
 ## Technical Achievements
-- **Tech Achievement 1**: I used OAuth authentication via the GitHub strategy
+- **Tech Achievement 1**: I used OAuth authentication using passport
+- **Tech Achievement 2**: express-session: Manages sessions across HTTP requests by storing server-side session data and using cookies to identify client requests, useful for maintaining user login states.
+passport: Authentication middleware for Node.js that is extremely flexible and modular, supporting a variety of strategies like OAuth, OpenID, and credentials.
+passport-local: A Passport strategy for authenticating with a username and password, typically used in applications where users register with login credentials stored locally.
+body-parser:Parses incoming request bodies in a middleware before your handlers, available under the req.body property, supporting JSON, and URL-encoded forms.
+bcryptjs: A library to help you hash passwords securely, often used in middleware to process and secure user password data before storing it in a database.
 
 ### Design/Evaluation Achievements
-- **Design Achievement 1**: I followed the following tips from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative...
+- **Design Achievement 1**: 
+Contrast
+The website employs contrast most notably through the use of colors and typography to draw attention to different elements across the pages. 
+On the login page, the "Login" button is styled with a distinct, bold color that stands out from the rest of the form elements, ensuring it catches the user’s eye immediately. 
+This button uses a contrasting blue shade compared to the neutral background, making it the element with the most emphasis. 
+This design choice not only enhances the visual appeal but also functionally guides users towards the next step in the interaction process.
+
+Repetition
+Repetition is used throughout the site to create a cohesive visual experience and reinforce familiarity and branding. 
+The same set of colors, fonts, and button styles are used across all pages, which helps in creating a unified look. 
+The use of a consistent font family (Arial, sans-serif) and color scheme (shades of blue and gray) across all pages establishes a professional and accessible appearance. 
+This repetition not only aids in branding but also helps users navigate the site more intuitively as they come to recognize the recurring styles and layouts.
+
+Alignment
+Alignment is strategically used to organize information cleanly and effectively throughout the site. 
+All text fields and labels in forms are left-aligned, creating a clean and organized structure that facilitates quick scanning and input. 
+This alignment extends to button placement, which is consistently positioned at the center below the form fields, maintaining a clear and predictable flow from top to bottom. 
+On the index page, journal entries are displayed in a grid layout where each entry aligns with others in columns and rows, enhancing readability and order.
+
+Proximity
+Proximity is employed to logically group related content and controls, which helps in reducing clutter and increasing user comprehension. 
+On the registration page, input fields for username and password are placed closely together to indicate that they are part of the same form group, separate from the register and login buttons that are spaced further below. 
+This grouping informs the user of the form's structure and expected interaction sequence without overwhelming them with too much information at once. 
+Similarly, on the index page, related elements like the date, time, and entry description of a journal post are grouped together, making it easy for users to associate these elements with each other.
+
+