Table of Contents
Introduction
Check out the website: https://stefbookofanswers.up.railway.app/
Tools like The Book of Answers are popular because they tap into our need for external guidance and superstition, especially during uncertainty. Randomly opening it offers a low-stakes escape from anxiety, replacing it with the fun of a potential “aha!” moment. While it can’t solve complex problems—which require thought and action—it remains a fascinating, harmless game.
This is also where I got my idea for the website. I am a huge fan of this artist, Stefanie Sun, and I am also a member of her fan club. So, I thought to myself, why not make a Book of Answers - Stefanie Sun’s Edition? It must be fun to get the answer from whatever she said.
So I went through her blogs, interviews, tweets, and lyrics and made this online version of Book of Answers. A lot of my fellow fans also love to just go to this website whenever they feel they may need a bit of luck in their life.
Technologies
| Technology | |
|---|---|
| Front-end | React |
| Back-end | Java (SpringBoot) |
| Database | PostgreSQL |
| Host | Railway |
This project is not only a fun project to do but also an opportunity to put what I have learned so far into practice. This is why I built the server using Spring Boot.
I chose React as the front-end library for its component-based architecture, the power of JSX, and its flexibility.
PostgreSQL is built into Railway, so in the development environment, I used MariaDB and transferred seamlessly to PostgreSQL on Railway.
The deployment stage includes two steps:
- Build the React app to static files and integrate them into the Java Server.
- Build and deploy the jar file to the Railway.
My Takeaways
- Practiced end-to-end backend design: API endpoints, database schema, and data integrity.
- Understood server–client integration in a real application, while keeping frontend minimal.
- Applied Spring Boot features in practice, including REST controllers, data access, and service layers.
- Learned to deploy a full-stack application to a cloud environment (Railway) and maintain stability.