Algo Platform

A course-originated engineering project that I continued shaping into a stronger full-stack desktop MVP, with clearer ownership across schema, API, admin UI, frontend hooks, editor behavior, tests, and local packaging.

2025

A local-first desktop coding practice platform extended from a course project into a maintainable Electron-based MVP with problem browsing, language presets, submissions, and submission history.

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Overview

Algo Platform began as a team course project and later became a personal redevelopment effort to make the MVP more coherent across data, API, UI, and desktop execution.

Problem

Coding practice tools often split the work across problem lists, submissions, execution, and help. For this project, the challenge was to keep those pieces connected in a local-first desktop experience rather than a browser-only prototype.

Role

End-to-end contributor across schema design, seed data, CRUD APIs, admin UI, frontend hooks, editor integration, testing, and desktop MVP stability.

Context and constraints

The starting point was team coursework, so the codebase already had inherited decisions and uneven boundaries.

Desktop delivery, local persistence, and assistant behavior needed to fit together.

The project had to stay maintainable enough for continued iteration after the course submission.

What I built

The programming language module end to end, covering schema and seed data, CRUD APIs, admin UI, frontend hooks, editor language switching, and tests.

A clearer data-to-API-to-UI path for problem browsing, language presets, submissions, and submission history.

A desktop delivery path using Electron with local execution metadata, starter code, language preferences, and packaging stability work.

Technical approach

Used Electron and React for desktop UI.

Kept the backend structured with Express, TSOA, and Prisma.

Used SQLite for local persistence in line with the local-first direction.

Outcomes

Extended a course-originated Electron, React, Express, TSOA, Prisma, and SQLite platform into a maintainable local desktop MVP.

Improved consistency between persistence, API behavior, and interface flow.

Created a practical full-stack engineering case that complements the AI workflow and healthcare systems evidence.

Reflection

The useful work here was integration: tightening boundaries, connecting layers, and making the MVP easier to continue rather than adding features for their own sake.