Merge pull request #28 from Shchoholiev/feature/readme

Update README.md

README.md

@@ -1 +1,112 @@
-# shopping-assistant-api
+# shopping-assistant-api
+.NET Back-end API with OpenAI integration for a Shopping Assistant that utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to interpret user queries for products and gifts. Users interact through a chat-style interface to communicate their shopping requirements.
+
+## Table of Contents
+- [Features](#features)
+- [Stack](#stack)
+- [Installation](#installation)
+  - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
+  - [Setup Instructions](#setup-instructions)
+- [Configuration](#configuration)
+
+## Features
+- Chat-style interface that processes natural language queries for product and gift recommendations.
+- Integration with OpenAI API to generate intelligent product search responses.
+- Server-Sent Events (SSE) streaming product search results to clients in real-time.
+- Personal wishlist management with CRUD operations.
+- Role and user management with authorization and JWT-based authentication.
+- GraphQL API implemented with HotChocolate for flexible queries and mutations.
+- Pagination support for roles, users, wishlists, messages, and products.
+
+## Stack
+- Language: C# (.NET 7)
+- Frameworks & Libraries:
+  - ASP.NET Core Web API
+  - HotChocolate GraphQL
+  - MongoDB with official C# driver
+- Authentication & Security:
+  - JWT Bearer Authentication
+  - Password hashing with PBKDF2 (Rfc2898DeriveBytes)
+- Cloud & DevOps:
+  - Azure App Configuration
+  - GitHub Actions for CI/CD workflows
+- External APIs:
+  - OpenAI API for natural language processing and chat completions
+- Tools & Extensions:
+  - Swagger / OpenAPI for API documentation
+  - Server-Sent Events for realtime streaming responses
+  - Visual Studio Code DevContainer for development environment
+
+## Installation
+
+### Prerequisites
+- [.NET 7 SDK](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/7.0)
+- [MongoDB](https://www.mongodb.com/try/download/community) instance (local or hosted)
+- An OpenAI API key to access the OpenAI services
+
+### Setup Instructions
+
+1. Clone the repository:
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/Shchoholiev/shopping-assistant-api.git
+   cd shopping-assistant-api
+   ```
+
+2. Navigate to the API project and restore dependencies:
+   ```bash
+   dotnet restore ShoppingAssistantApi.Api/ShoppingAssistantApi.Api.csproj
+   ```
+
+3. Build the solution:
+   ```bash
+   dotnet build ShoppingAssistantApi.sln
+   ```
+
+4. Configure the environment variables (see Configuration section).
+
+5. Run the API locally:
+   ```bash
+   cd ShoppingAssistantApi.Api
+   dotnet run
+   ```
+
+6. The API will start and Swagger UI will be available (usually at `https://localhost:7268/swagger`).
+
+7. Use GraphQL Playground or REST clients to interact with the API.
+
+## Configuration
+
+The application uses configuration files and environment variables to configure key settings. Important configuration values are:
+
+- **MongoDB connection:**
+  - Set your MongoDB connection string (default database name is `ShoppingAssistant`) in `appsettings.json` or environment variable:
+    ```json
+    "ConnectionStrings": {
+      "MongoDatabaseName": "ShoppingAssistant"
+    }
+    ```
+  - The connection string URL is typically configured externally.
+
+- **JWT Authentication:**
+  Configure JWT validation parameters in your configuration with keys like:
+  ```json
+  "JsonWebTokenKeys": {
+    "ValidateIssuer": true,
+    "ValidateAudience": true,
+    "ValidateLifetime": true,
+    "ValidateIssuerSigningKey": true,
+    "ValidIssuer": "<your-issuer>",
+    "ValidAudience": "<your-audience>",
+    "IssuerSigningKey": "<your-secret-key>"
+  }
+  ```
+
+- **OpenAI API:**
+  API endpoint and API key settings:
+  ```json
+  "OpenAi": {
+    "ApiUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
+    "ApiKey": "<your_openai_api_key>"
+  }
+  ```
+  Set the API key securely via environment variables or Azure App Configuration.