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Building Dashfolio - A Scalable Data Visualization Platform with React, Next.js, NestJS, and AWS

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    Building Dashfolio: An End-to-End Scalable Data Dashboard

    Dashfolio is a modern web application designed to explore global agricultural production data. It offers interactive dashboards that help users visualize insights derived from FAO datasets, including regional production and top producers by crop type.

    In this post, I’ll walk you through the technical architecture of Dashfolio, explaining how I built a scalable, performant, and maintainable full-stack application using the following technologies:

    • Frontend: React.js (Next.js), Tailwind CSS, Recharts
    • Backend: Node.js (NestJS), Prisma ORM, Redis
    • Database: PostgreSQL (AWS RDS)
    • Cloud & Deployment: AWS + Vercel
    • CI/CD & Version Control: GitLab Pipelines
    • Testing: Jest (unit tests), Cypress (end-to-end tests)
    • Languages & Tools: TypeScript, JavaScript, SQL, TurboPack, ESLint, Prettier

    Project Goals

    • Deliver a high-performance, interactive dashboard
    • Ensure scalability and maintainability with clean code and software craftsmanship principles
    • Follow industry best practices: clean architecture, code quality, automated testing, CI/CD
    • Provide fast data fetching and caching for optimal user experience

    Frontend - Next.js + Recharts + Tailwind CSS

    • Next.js powers the React.js frontend for SSG/SSR pages and API routes.
    • I use Tailwind CSS for utility-first styling and a consistent design system.
    • Recharts delivers performant, customizable charts for data visualization.
    • TurboPack speeds up the development/build process, optimized for Next.js projects.

    Backend - NestJS + Prisma ORM + Redis

    • NestJS provides a scalable, modular architecture for building APIs.
    • Prisma ORM simplifies database interaction with type safety and auto-generated queries.
    • Redis caches frequently accessed queries, reducing database load and improving API response times.
    • The backend exposes RESTful APIs consumed by the Next.js frontend.

    Database - AWS RDS (PostgreSQL)

    • PostgreSQL runs on AWS RDS for managed, reliable relational data storage.
    • Prisma manages the schema and migrations, ensuring clean and consistent data access.

    Cloud & Deployment Strategy

    • AWS Cloud: Hosting PostgreSQL (RDS) and Redis.
    • Vercel: Deployment for the Next.js frontend for fast CDN-based delivery.
    • CI/CD with GitLab Pipelines: Automated testing, linting (ESLint), formatting (Prettier), and deployment workflows.
    • Version control via GitLab, with feature branches and merge requests to maintain code quality.
    • Integrated automated testing pipelines with Jest for unit testing and Cypress for end-to-end testing, ensuring stability at every release.

    Automated Testing Strategy

    Testing is a key part of Dashfolio’s development lifecycle to ensure code reliability, prevent regressions, and maintain high quality. I implemented two layers of testing:

    Jest - Unit & Integration Testing

    • I use Jest for unit and integration testing across the frontend and backend.
    • It ensures that components, services, and utilities work as expected.
    • Jest + Testing Library helps me write accessible component tests with realistic interactions.
    • Tests are executed automatically in GitLab pipelines with coverage reports, improving confidence with every push.

    Cypress - End-to-End (E2E) Testing

    • Cypress handles end-to-end testing to validate complete user flows in the browser.
    • I test critical workflows like filtering datasets, navigating dashboards, and viewing responsive charts across devices.
    • Cypress tests run in headless mode during GitLab CI pipelines and generate reports for debugging.

    Key Features

    1. Interactive Dashboards

    • Pie charts showing production share by region.
    • Bar charts highlighting top producers by crop.
    • Responsive design and dark mode support.

    2. API Caching with Redis

    Cached results for frequent queries ensure fast loading times and reduce database calls.

    To optimize performance and reduce database load, Dashfolio implements API caching using Redis. By storing the results of frequently accessed API requests in Redis, we minimize the need to repeatedly query the PostgreSQL database. This ensures that users experience faster response times, especially when accessing popular datasets or frequently used filters.

    3. Software Engineering Best Practices

    • Clean Code Principles: DRY, SOLID design.
    • Code Quality Tools: ESLint, Prettier, and strict TypeScript.
    • Automated Testing with Jest (unit tests) and Cypress (end-to-end tests) integrated into GitLab pipelines.
    • Scalable & maintainable folder structure across both frontend and backend.
    • Secure APIs with input validation and exception filters in NestJS.

    Learnings & Takeaways

    • TurboPack dramatically improved build times for the Next.js frontend.
    • Redis caching reduced backend API latency by ~70%.
    • Combining NestJS + Prisma + PostgreSQL offered a smooth and scalable data backend.
    • CI/CD automation with GitLab pipelines ensures consistent deployments and quality checks.
    • Jest and Cypress testing helped catch bugs early, reduced regressions, and improved the overall stability of the platform.
    • AWS services provide flexibility, scalability, and reliability for backend infrastructure.

    Conclusion

    Dashfolio demonstrates how modern technologies like React (Next.js), Node.js (NestJS), AWS, and robust testing strategies with Jest and Cypress can be combined to deliver robust data visualization platforms.

    Check it out live: https://www.dashfoliodata.com/

    If you have a project in mind or need help building modern, scalable web applications, feel free to connect with me:
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