Developing a Node.js Assignment Plagiarism-Checker
Discover how to create a website where users can seamlessly submit assignments and check for plagiarism, empowering you with the knowledge to complete your web development assignment. This comprehensive step-by-step guide covers project setup, dependencies installation, and creating the core of your plagiarism-checking platform using Node.js. By following these instructions, you'll not only accomplish your web development tasks but also enhance your understanding of web application development.
Prerequisites
Before diving into the development process, ensure you have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your system. You can download them from the official Node.js website and verify the installation by running node -v and npm -v in your terminal.
Step 1: Project Setup
Set up the project directory: Create a new folder to contain your project files. This directory will serve as the workspace for your plagiarism-checking website.
```bash
mkdir plagiarism-checker
cd plagiarism-checker
```
Initialize the project with npm: Run npm init -y to create a package.json file. This file will store project metadata and dependencies information.
```bash
npm init -y
```
Step 2: Installing Dependencies
To ensure your project runs smoothly, you need to install essential packages. Execute npm install express multer string-similarity to install Express.js for the web server, multer for handling file uploads, and string-similarity for basic plagiarism checks.
```bash
npm install express multer string-similarity
```
Step 3: Setting Up the Express.js Application
In this step, we'll create the core of our plagiarism-checking website using Express.js. The provided code in app.js sets up a server, handles file uploads, and performs plagiarism checks using a similarity algorithm. Ensure you understand the code structure and how it functions to customize it as needed.
```javascript
// app.js
const express = require('express');
const multer = require('multer');
const stringSimilarity = require('string-similarity');
const app = express();
const port = 3000;
// Middleware for handling file uploads
const upload = multer({ dest: 'uploads/' });
// Serve HTML for the file submission form
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.sendFile(__dirname + '/index.html');
});
// Handle file uploads and check for plagiarism
app.post('/upload', upload.single('file'), (req, res) => {
// Read the uploaded file content
const uploadedText = req.file.buffer.toString();
// Simulated database of previously submitted assignments
const assignments = ['assignment1', 'assignment2', 'assignment3'];
// Calculate similarity between the uploaded text and stored assignments
const similarities = assignments.map((assignment) => ({
assignment,
similarity: stringSimilarity.compareTwoStrings(uploadedText, assignment),
}));
// Sort assignments by similarity
similarities.sort((a, b) => b.similarity - a.similarity);
// Render the result page
res.send(`Plagiarism Check Results:
${JSON.stringify(similarities, null, 2)}`);
});
app.listen(port, () => {
console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});
```
Step 4: Creating the HTML Form
This step involves building the user interface for submitting assignments. The index.html file contains a basic HTML form where users can select and upload their assignment files in .txt format. You can further enhance this form with additional features and styling to improve the user experience.
```html
< !-- index.html -->
< !DOCTYPE html>
< html lang="en">
< head>
< meta charset="UTF-8">
< meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
< title>Assignment Plagiarism Checker
< /head>
< body>
< h1>Assignment Plagiarism Checker
< form action="/upload" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
< input type="file" name="file" accept=".txt">
< input type="submit" value="Check for Plagiarism">
< /form>
< /body>
< /html>
```
Step 5: Running the Application
To see your plagiarism-checking website in action, run the Node.js application using node app.js. This will start a server, and your website will be accessible locally at http://localhost:3000. You can test the file submission and plagiarism-checking functionality. Remember that this is a foundational step, and you can expand and customize your website to meet your specific requirements in the future.
```bash
node app.js
```
Your application will be accessible at http://localhost:3000 in your web browser.
Conclusion
You've accomplished the creation of a fundamental system that enables users to submit assignments and conduct plagiarism checks using Node.js. However, this marks just the initial phase of your project. In a real-world context, it's crucial to prioritize further enhancements such as bolstering system security, integrating databases for efficient data management, implementing robust user authentication, and exploring advanced plagiarism detection algorithms to transform your platform into a comprehensive and dependable plagiarism-checking solution.