📘 Project Overview
Features:
- Track Light Novels: Users can add the URL of a light novel and their email address to receive notifications.
- Regular Updates: The application checks for new chapters every 30 minutes and sends an email notification whether a new chapter is released or not.
- Web Scraping: Uses Selenium to scrape the latest chapter information from the light novel website.
- Email Notifications: Automatically sends an email to the user when a new chapter is detected.
🛠️ Development Timeline
Week 1: Planning & Setup
The initial phase involved outlining the project’s scope and setting up the development environment. Decisions were made regarding the technology stack: Flask for the backend, SQLAlchemy for database management, Selenium for web scraping, and smtplib for sending emails.
Week 2: Backend Development
Development of the Flask backend commenced, focusing on creating routes for adding and managing tracked novels. SQLAlchemy was integrated to handle database interactions, storing user information and tracked novel URLs.
Week 3: Web Scraping Implementation
Selenium was employed to automate the process of checking light novel websites for new chapters. Challenges included handling dynamic content and ensuring the scraper could adapt to different website structures.
Week 4: Email Notification System
The smtplib library was used to set up the email notification system. The application was configured to send emails to users whenever a new chapter was detected. Ensuring reliable email delivery and handling potential issues like spam filters were key considerations.
Week 5: Frontend Development
A simple frontend was developed to allow users to input the URLs of the light novels they wished to track and their email addresses. The interface was designed for ease of use and clarity.
Week 6: Testing & Deployment
Comprehensive testing was conducted to ensure all components functioned correctly. The application was then deployed, making it accessible to users.
🚧 Challenges Encountered
- Dynamic Website Structures: Different light novel websites had varying structures, making it challenging to create a one-size-fits-all scraper.
- Email Deliverability: Ensuring that notification emails were reliably delivered and not marked as spam required careful configuration.
⏱️ Total Development Time
The project was developed over approximately six weeks, encompassing planning, development, testing, and deployment phases.
For more details and to explore the project’s codebase, visit the GitHub repository: LightNovelTrackerNotifier.
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