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Architecture Overview

High-level architecture of the ThePlugg platform.

System Components​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Mobile App (Flutter)            │
│    iOS & Android Native Apps            │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
               │ HTTP/REST API
               │
┌──────────────▼──────────────────────────┐
│      Backend API (Node.js/Express)      │
│         REST API Server                 │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
               │
       ┌───────┴────────┐
       │                │
┌──────▼─────┐   ┌──────▼─────┐
│ PostgreSQL │   │   AWS S3   │
│  Database  │   │   Storage   │
└────────────┘   └────────────┘
       │
       │
┌──────▼──────────────────────────┐
│   Admin Dashboard (React.js)   │
│      Web Application            │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Data Flow​

  1. User Action → Mobile App
  2. API Request → Backend API
  3. Database Query → PostgreSQL
  4. Response → Mobile App
  5. UI Update → User sees changes

Communication Patterns​

  • Mobile App ↔ Backend: REST API over HTTPS
  • Admin Dashboard ↔ Backend: REST API over HTTPS with API key auth
  • Backend ↔ Database: Prisma ORM
  • Backend ↔ Storage: AWS S3 SDK
  • Backend ↔ SMS: BulkSMS REST API
  • Backend ↔ Push: OneSignal API

Technology Stack​

Backend​

  • Node.js + Express
  • TypeScript
  • Prisma ORM
  • PostgreSQL

Mobile​

  • Flutter (Dart)
  • Provider (State Management)
  • GoRouter (Navigation)

Admin​

  • React.js
  • TypeScript
  • React Router

Infrastructure​

  • AWS S3 (Storage)
  • BulkSMS (SMS)
  • OneSignal (Push Notifications)

Key Design Decisions​

  1. RESTful API: Simple, stateless API design
  2. Phone-based Auth: OTP verification via SMS
  3. Role-based Access: Provider, Service Seeker, Admin roles
  4. Real-time Updates: Polling for updates (could be upgraded to WebSockets)
  5. Location Services: GPS-based provider matching