Create Your Own IMDb

Overview

This project is a simple web application similar to IMDb that interacts with a MySQL/MariaDB database. The application features a Flask-based UI that allows users to view movie and actor details, like movies, and execute SQL queries.

The project is structured to learn SQL by implementing queries and database interactions manually.

IMPORTANT: Object Relational Model (ORM) based queries are not allowed for any task. All queries must be written using raw SQL statements without any Python-based processing.

Updating Your Code for PA 1.2

Before you start PA 1.2, you need to update your existing code with the latest changes. You can do this in one of two ways:

1. Using Git:

   • Open your terminal.
   • Navigate to your project directory using the command:

     cd <path to your project directory>

   • Run the following command to pull the latest changes:

     git pull

2. Manually Downloading the Update:

   • Visit the YourOwnIMDb GitHub repository.
   • Click the green "Code" button.
   • Select "Download ZIP" to get the updated code.

PA 1.1

1. Pre-Requisites

• Python (3.10 or later)
• MariaDB
• Flask (for the web framework)
• PyMySQL (for database connectivity)
• All dependencies from requirements.txt

---

2. Project Setup Instructions

Step 1: Install and Configure MariaDB

1. Installation

   NOTE: If you have already set up MariaDB for Written Assignment 2, you may skip the first two sections (Installation and Starting the MariaDB Server).

   Choose the appropriate installation method for your operating system:

   • MacOS (Homebrew)

     brew install mariadb

   • Ubuntu/Debian

     sudo apt install mariadb-server

   • Windows
     Download and install from MariaDB Official Website.

2. Start MariaDB Server

   # MacOS
   brew services start mariadb
   
   # Linux
   sudo systemctl start mariadb

   (For Windows, the service starts automatically after installation.)

3. Create a new database and user for the project Open a terminal and start MariaDB:

   mysql -u root -p

   Inside MySQL, run the following:

   NOTE: Below commands must be run in your MySQL shell inside terminal.

   CREATE DATABASE moviedb;
   
   CREATE USER 'imdb'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'cosi-127b';
   
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON moviedb.* TO 'imdb'@'localhost';
   
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

---

Step 2: Clone or Download the Project

• Clone the repository using:

git clone https://github.com/SSD-Brandeis/IMDbDatabase

• Or download it manually from GitHub by clicking the green "Code" button → Download ZIP.

---

Step 3: Configure Database Connection

Open the project in your preferred code editor and update the ini.env file:

DB_USER=imdb
DB_PASSWORD=cosi-127b
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=moviedb

(Replace cosi-127b with the password, if you used different while setting up MariaDB in Step 1.3 for imdb user)

---

Step 4: Create Required Database Tables

Use the SQL scripts provided to set up the database.

1. Open a terminal and start MySQL:

   mysql -u imdb -p moviedb

   NOTE: Starting next step, all commands must be run in your MySQL shell inside terminal.

2. Create required tables as per the provided schema and ER-diagram in project document. Pay attention for required constraints (CHECK, PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY with ON DELETE CASCADE) while creating tables. Don't forget to run the below command before you start creating tables.

   USE moviedb; --- This takes you inside moviedb

3. Verify that the tables are created successfully:

   SHOW TABLES;

4. Execute the data.sql commands to insert initial data once tables are created.
5. Verify that your tables have some data into them:

   SELECT * FROM MotionPicture;

---

Step 5: Running the Flask Application

Once your database is set up and populated with sample data, follow these steps to start the Flask application:

NOTE: The following commands must be run in your command prompt (terminal), NOT inside the MySQL shell.

1. Install required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Run the Flask app:

   python run.py

3. Open a browser and visit:

   http://127.0.0.1:5000/
   

---

3. Implementing SQL Queries

The project requires students to write raw SQL queries for two functionalities.

Task 1: Understanding Database Interactions

• Familiarize yourself with database.py, which handles all database queries.
• See how execute() is used to interact with the database.

Task 2: Fetching and Displaying Actors

Modify the function inside actors.py to fetch all actors' details from the database.

• Replace query = """ """ with an SQL query to fetch name, nationality, dob, and gender from People.

Task 3: Implementing Movie Likes Feature

Modify the function inside movies.py to allow users to like a movie.

• Replace query = """ """ with an SQL query to insert a like.
• Use the Database.execute() function correctly with parameters.

---

4. Troubleshooting & Resetting Database

If you encounter issues, use the following commands:

• Truncate table data (removes all rows but keeps table structure):

TRUNCATE TABLE <table_name>;

• Drop table and recreate:

DROP TABLE <table_name>;

• Fix foreign key constraint errors when truncating/deleting:

SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;
TRUNCATE TABLE <table_name>;
SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;

---

5. Submission Guidelines

1. Complete the missing SQL queries in actors.py and movies.py.
2. Ensure your application runs without errors and the database is correctly set up.

To verify:

• Run python run.py and check if movies and actors display correctly.
• Test if users can like a movie.

---

Final Notes

• Do not modify database.py logic.
• Ensure your .sql queries execute correctly before implementing them in Flask.
• Queries in queries.py will be used for future assignments. Do not modify this file now.