Building G-Client: My Journey Developing an LMS App

Introduction

In today's digital age, online learning has become an essential part of education and professional development. As part of my course with Azubi Africa's Talent Mobility Program (TMP), I am developing an innovative Learning Management System (LMS) app called G-Client. This project has been a challenging yet rewarding experience, pushing me to enhance my skills in web development, problem-solving, and project management.

Objectives of G-Client

G-Client is designed to provide a seamless learning experience for students and administrators by offering features that enhance course management, user engagement, and accessibility. The core objectives of the app include:

• User-Friendly Interface: A clean and intuitive UI that makes navigation easy for both learners and instructors.
• Course Management: Facilitating the creation, organization, and tracking of courses.
• Learner Dashboard: A personalized dashboard where users can access courses, track progress, and manage applications.
• Admin Panel: A dedicated section for administrators to oversee users, manage course content, and generate reports.
• Authentication & Authorization: Secure login and role-based access control for different user types.
• Scalability: Ensuring the system can grow and support more users over time.

Tech Stack

To build G-Client, I used the following technologies:

• Next.js: For building the frontend and enabling server-side rendering.
• TailwindCSS: For efficient and responsive styling.
• shadcn/ui: For modern and accessible UI components.
• Formik & Yup: For handling forms and validation.
• RESTful API (using fetch): For seamless API integration and data fetching.
• React OAuth: For social login authentication.
• React OTP Input: For implementing OTP-based authentication.
• Lucide React: For icons and UI enhancements.

Challenges Faced

Like any software development project, building G-Client came with its fair share of challenges. Some of the major hurdles I encountered included:

1. Project Structure & Organization: Structuring the Next.js project efficiently to separate learner and admin functionalities.
2. Authentication & User Flow: Managing different user roles (learners, admins) and their respective access levels.
3. API Integration: Integrating the provided APIs to ensure seamless communication between the frontend and backend.
4. Time Constraints: Working within a tight deadline while ensuring high-quality code and functionality.

Solutions & Lessons Learned

Through perseverance and problem-solving, I was able to tackle these challenges by:

• Refactoring the project structure: Separating files into learner/, admin/, and auth/ directories to improve maintainability.
• Implementing Secure Authentication: Using JWT authentication and role-based access control for user security.
• Testing API Endpoints with Postman: Ensuring smooth integration by thoroughly testing API calls before implementing them in the frontend.
• Time Management & Prioritization: Breaking down tasks into smaller milestones to keep the project on track.

Conclusion

Developing G-Client has been an exciting learning journey, filled with challenges and growth opportunities. Through this experience, I have gained deeper insights into Next.js, authentication, API integration, and project structuring.

Being part of Azubi Africa's Talent Mobility Program (TMP) has provided a structured learning environment that has helped me improve my technical and problem-solving skills. As I continue to refine G-Client, I am excited to see how it evolves into a fully functional LMS that can benefit learners and educators alike.

Stay tuned for more updates on the progress of G-Client!

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If you’re interested in web development, project-based learning, or the Talent Mobility Program, feel free to reach out and connect!