The purpose of this project is to learn and practice. As this was my first time using Python3 and Flask to build a small application I've took some ideas from: pyr/url-shortener

tURL

Simple URL shortener using:

• Python3
• Flask
• Redis

How it works?

1. Calculate MD5 of the original URL
2. Convert it to base64. Taking care of using only URL-valid characters.
3. Crop the base64 (actually not 64 because not all characters are URL-valid) to 8 characters. This gives 64⁸ ≃ 280 trillion possible combinations.

Flaws

Collisions are not detected/managed , yet.

Running it

1. Setup Redis:

Fastest way is to use Docker:

$ docker run -itd -p 6379:6379 redis:alpine

So now we have a Redis DB listening on localhost:6379. By default no credentials are set. So you can acces the DB with

$ redis-cli 
127.0.0.1:6379> 

2. Start the server:

$ ./turl.py

By default FLASK_PORT = 5001. Update it in config.py or set the set the env var FLASK_PORT to change it.

3. Access:

Access localhost:5001 (or FLASK_HOST:FLASK_PORT) with a browser.

License

GNU GPLv3