Building a URL Shortener

This tutorial guides you through creating a URL shortener using DiceDB, a key-value store, with Go. We’ll set up endpoints to generate short URLs and redirect them to the original URLs.

Prerequisites

Go (version 1.18 or later): Download Go
DiceDB: A DiceDB server running locally. Refer to the DiceDB Installation Guide if you haven’t set it up yet.

Setup

1. Install and Run DiceDB

Start a DiceDB server using Docker:

docker run -d -p 7379:7379 dicedb/dicedb

This command pulls the DiceDB Docker image and runs it, exposing it on port 7379.

2. Initialize a New Go Project

Create a new directory for your project and initialize a Go module:

mkdir url-shortener
cd url-shortener
go mod init url-shortener

3. Install Required Packages

Install the DiceDB Go SDK and other dependencies:

go get github.com/dicedb/dicedb-go
go get github.com/gin-gonic/gin
go get github.com/google/uuid

Understanding DiceDB Commands

We’ll use the following DiceDB commands:

`SET` Command

Stores a key-value pair in DiceDB.

Syntax: SET key value [expiration]
- key: Unique identifier (e.g., short URL code)
- value: Data to store (e.g., serialized JSON)
- expiration: Optional; time-to-live in seconds (use 0 for no expiration)

`GET` Command

Retrieves the value associated with a key.

Syntax: GET key
- key: Identifier for the data to retrieve

Writing the Code

Create a file named main.go and add the following code:

main.go:

package main

import (
    "context"
    "encoding/json"
    "log"
    "net/http"

    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
    "github.com/google/uuid"
    "github.com/dicedb/dicedb-go" // DiceDB Go SDK
)

type URL struct {
    ID       string `json:"id"`
    LongURL  string `json:"long_url"`
    ShortURL string `json:"short_url"`
}

var db *dicedb.Client

// Initialize DiceDB connection
func init() {
    db = dicedb.NewClient(&dicedb.Options{
        Addr: "localhost:7379",
    })
}

// Creates a short URL from a given long URL
func CreateShortURL(c *gin.Context) {
    var requestBody URL
    if err := c.ShouldBindJSON(&requestBody); err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": "Invalid request"})
        return
    }

    // Generate unique short ID and construct the short URL
    shortID := uuid.New().String()[:8]
    requestBody.ID = shortID
    requestBody.ShortURL = "http://localhost:8080/" + shortID

    // Serialize URL struct to JSON and store it in DiceDB
    urlData, err := json.Marshal(requestBody)
    if err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": "Failed to save URL"})
        return
    }

    if err := db.Set(context.Background(), shortID, urlData, 0).Err(); err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": "Failed to save URL"})
        return
    }

    c.JSON(http.StatusCreated, gin.H{"short_url": requestBody.ShortURL})
}

// Redirects to the original URL based on the short URL ID
func RedirectURL(c *gin.Context) {
    id := c.Param("id")

    // Retrieve stored URL data from DiceDB
    urlData, err := db.Get(context.Background(), id).Result()
    if err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusNotFound, gin.H{"error": "URL not found"})
        return
    }

    // Deserialize JSON data back into URL struct
    var url URL
    if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(urlData), &url); err != nil {
        c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": "Failed to decode URL data"})
        return
    }

    // Redirect user to the original long URL
    c.Redirect(http.StatusFound, url.LongURL)
}

func main() {
    router := gin.Default()

    // Define endpoints for creating short URLs and redirecting
    router.POST("/shorten", CreateShortURL)
    router.GET("/:id", RedirectURL)

    // Start the server on port 8080
    if err := router.Run(":8080"); err != nil {
        log.Fatal("Failed to start server:", err)
    }
}

Explanation

1. Initialize the DiceDB Client

We set up the DiceDB client in the init function:

db = dicedb.NewClient(&dicedb.Options{
    Addr: "localhost:7379",
})

2. Create Short URL Endpoint

Input Validation: Ensures the long_url field is present.
Short ID Generation: Uses uuid to create a unique 8-character ID.
Data Serialization: Converts the URL struct to JSON.
Data Storage: Saves the JSON data in DiceDB with the Set command.
Response: Returns the generated short URL.

3. Redirect to Original URL Endpoint

Data Retrieval: Fetches the URL data from DiceDB using the Get command.
Data Deserialization: Converts JSON back to the URL struct.
Redirection: Redirects the user to the LongURL.

4. Start the Server

The main function sets up the routes and starts the server on port 8080.

Running the Application

1. Start the Go Application

go run main.go

This will start the application server on port 8080 by default, you should see output similar to

[GIN-debug] Listening and serving HTTP on :8080

2. Ensure DiceDB is Running

Ensure your DiceDB server is up and running on port 7379.

Testing the application

1. Shorten URL:

Using curl:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"long_url": "https://example.com"}' http://localhost:8080/shorten

Response:

{
  "short_url": "http://localhost:8080/<short ID generated by the server>"
}

2. Redirect to Original URL: