System Architecture & Design
Architecture Overview
The STO Education Platform follows a modern full-stack architecture with clear separation of concerns, microservices integration, and scalable design patterns.High-Level Architecture
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┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Frontend │ │ Backend │ │ External │
│ (React/Vite) │◄──►│ (Supabase) │◄──►│ Services │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ • React 18 │ │ • PostgreSQL │ │ • 100ms Video │
│ • TypeScript │ │ • Edge Functions│ │ • SendBird Chat │
│ • Tailwind CSS │ │ • Auth │ │ • PayMob Payment│
│ • React Router │ │ • Storage │ │ • PostHog Analytics│
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
Frontend Architecture
Component Hierarchy
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App.tsx
├── Router (React Router v6)
├── Context Providers
│ ├── AdminProvider
│ ├── CartProvider
│ ├── LayoutProvider
│ └── PageContentProvider
├── MainNavbar
├── Routes
│ ├── Public Routes
│ ├── Protected Student Routes
│ ├── Protected Teacher Routes
│ ├── Protected Admin Routes
│ └── Protected Trainee Routes
├── AuthModal
└── UpdateNotification
State Management Architecture
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ React Context API │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ AdminContext │ Role-based access control │
│ CartContext │ Shopping cart state management │
│ LayoutContext │ UI layout state (sidebar, etc.) │
│ PageContentContext │ Dynamic content management │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Routing Architecture
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/ (Public)
├── /dashboard/* (Student/Parent Protected)
├── /teacher/* (Teacher Protected)
├── /admin/* (Admin Protected)
├── /training/* (Trainee Protected)
├── /courses/* (Public/Protected)
├── /teachers/* (Public)
├── /exam-papers/* (Public)
└── /blog/* (Public)
Backend Architecture
Supabase Backend Services
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Supabase Platform │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PostgreSQL Database │ Edge Functions (Deno) │
│ • User Management │ • Payment Processing │
│ • Course Data │ • Video Token Generation │
│ • Chat Messages │ • Email Notifications │
│ • File Storage │ • Webhook Handlers │
│ • Real-time Subscriptions│ • Data Processing │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Authentication │ Storage │
│ • JWT Tokens │ • File Upload │
│ • Role Management │ • Image Processing │
│ • Session Handling │ • Document Storage │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Database Schema Overview
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Core Tables │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ profiles │ User profiles and role management │
│ courses │ Course information and metadata │
│ enrollments │ Student course enrollments │
│ live_sessions │ Video session management │
│ chat_messages │ Real-time messaging │
│ assignments │ Assignment management │
│ quizzes │ Quiz system and questions │
│ payments │ Payment processing and records │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Supporting Tables │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ subjects │ Academic subjects │
│ teacher_mark_schemes│ Teacher-created grading schemes │
│ notifications │ User notifications │
│ page_content │ Dynamic content management │
│ blog_posts │ Content management system │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Integration Architecture
Third-Party Service Integration
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ External Service Layer │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 100ms Video │ Real-time video conferencing │
│ • Room Management │ • Token Generation │
│ • Session Recording│ • Webhook Events │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SendBird Chat │ Real-time messaging platform │
│ • User Channels │ • File Sharing │
│ • Push Notifications│ • Message History │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PayMob Payment │ Payment processing gateway │
│ • Payment Intents │ • Webhook Validation │
│ • Multiple Methods │ • Fraud Detection │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PostHog Analytics │ User behavior tracking │
│ • Event Tracking │ • Feature Flags │
│ • User Identification│ • Funnel Analysis │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Data Flow Architecture
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┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ User Action │ │ Frontend │ │ Backend │
│ │ │ Processing │ │ Processing │
├─────────────────┤ ├─────────────────┤ ├─────────────────┤
│ 1. User Input │───►│ 2. Validation │───►│ 3. Business │
│ │ │ │ │ Logic │
│ │ │ 4. API Call │ │ 5. Database │
│ │ │ │ │ Operation │
│ │ │ 6. State Update │◄───│ 7. Response │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 8. UI Update │◄───│ 9. Re-render │ │ │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
Security Architecture
Authentication Flow
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Authentication Flow │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. User Login Request │
│ 2. Supabase Auth Validation │
│ 3. JWT Token Generation │
│ 4. Role-based Access Control │
│ 5. Session Management │
│ 6. Token Refresh Mechanism │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Data Security Layers
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Security Layers │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Transport Layer │ HTTPS/TLS encryption │
│ Application Layer │ Input validation & sanitization │
│ Database Layer │ Row Level Security (RLS) policies │
│ API Layer │ Authentication & authorization │
│ File Storage │ Secure file upload & access control │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Performance Architecture
Frontend Performance
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Frontend Performance Strategy │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Code Splitting │ Lazy loading of route components │
│ Bundle Optimization│ Tree shaking and minification │
│ Image Optimization│ WebP format and lazy loading │
│ Caching Strategy │ Service worker and browser caching │
│ State Management │ Optimized re-rendering patterns │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Backend Performance
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Backend Performance Strategy │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Database Indexing │ Optimized query performance │
│ Connection Pooling│ Efficient database connections │
│ Edge Functions │ Serverless compute optimization │
│ CDN Distribution │ Global content delivery │
│ Real-time Optimization│ Efficient WebSocket connections │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Scalability Architecture
Horizontal Scaling Strategy
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Scaling Architecture │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Frontend Scaling │ Vercel edge network distribution │
│ Backend Scaling │ Supabase auto-scaling infrastructure │
│ Database Scaling │ PostgreSQL connection pooling │
│ Storage Scaling │ Supabase storage auto-scaling │
│ CDN Scaling │ Global content delivery network │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Microservices Integration
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Microservices Architecture │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Authentication Service │ Supabase Auth │
│ Video Service │ 100ms Video Platform │
│ Communication Service │ SendBird Messaging │
│ Payment Service │ PayMob Payment Gateway │
│ Analytics Service │ PostHog Analytics │
│ File Storage Service │ Supabase Storage │
│ Email Service │ Supabase Edge Functions │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Real-time Architecture
WebSocket Connections
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Real-time Communication │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Chat Messages │ SendBird WebSocket connections │
│ Video Sessions │ 100ms WebRTC connections │
│ Database Changes │ Supabase real-time subscriptions │
│ Notifications │ Push notification system │
│ Live Updates │ Optimistic UI updates │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Error Handling Architecture
Error Boundary Strategy
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Error Handling Strategy │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Frontend Errors │ React Error Boundaries │
│ API Errors │ Centralized error handling │
│ Database Errors │ Supabase error handling │
│ Third-party Errors │ Service-specific error handling │
│ User Feedback │ Toast notifications and modals │
│ Error Tracking │ LogRocket session replay │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Deployment Architecture
Production Environment
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Production Deployment │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Frontend Hosting │ Vercel edge network │
│ Backend Hosting │ Supabase cloud infrastructure │
│ Database Hosting │ Supabase PostgreSQL cluster │
│ CDN Distribution │ Global content delivery network │
│ Monitoring │ LogRocket and PostHog analytics │
│ Backup Strategy │ Automated database backups │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Development Environment
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Development Environment │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Local Development │ Vite dev server │
│ Database │ Supabase local development │
│ Testing │ Jest and React Testing Library │
│ Code Quality │ ESLint and TypeScript checking │
│ Version Control │ Git with feature branch workflow │
│ CI/CD Pipeline │ GitHub Actions for automated testing │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Monitoring & Observability
Monitoring Stack
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Monitoring Architecture │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Application Monitoring│ LogRocket session replay │
│ User Analytics │ PostHog behavior tracking │
│ Performance Monitoring│ Vercel Analytics │
│ Error Tracking │ LogRocket error capture │
│ Database Monitoring │ Supabase monitoring dashboard │
│ Uptime Monitoring │ External uptime monitoring │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Future Architecture Considerations
Planned Improvements
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Future Architecture Plans │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Microservices Migration│ Service decomposition │
│ Advanced Caching │ Redis caching layer │
│ Message Queue System │ Background job processing │
│ Advanced Analytics │ Machine learning integration │
│ Mobile App Integration │ React Native mobile app │
│ API Gateway │ Centralized API management │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘