How i used closures to implement user authentication in javascript
Implementing User Authentication in JavaScript
Introduction
In today's digital age, user authentication is a crucial aspect of web application development. It ensures that only authorized users can access restricted areas or perform specific actions. In this blog post, we'll explore how to implement a basic user authentication system in JavaScript. We'll walk through the code step-by-step, explaining each section along the way.
Implementation
To implement user authentication, we'll use a combination of JavaScript and the Node.js readline module. JavaScript provides the functionality to create objects and handle logic, while Node.js allows us to interact with the command-line interface for user input.
function User() {
var username, password;
function doLogin(usr, pswd) {
// Logic for login
}
var publicAPI = {
login: doLogin,
};
return publicAPI;
}
var fred = User();
const readline = require("readline");
const rl = readline.createInterface({
input: process.stdin,
output: process.stdout,
});
rl.question("Enter your username: ", (user_name) => {
rl.question("Enter your password: ", (user_pass) => {
fred.login(user_name, user_pass);
rl.close();
});
});
console.log();
User Function: We start by defining a function called
User
that represents our user authentication system. Inside this function, we declare private variablesusername
andpassword
.doLogin Function: Within the
User
function, we define another function calleddoLogin
. This function handles the login process. We'll add the login logic in the upcoming sections.Public API: To expose the
doLogin
function outside theUser
function, we create an object namedpublicAPI
with a propertylogin
pointing to thedoLogin
function. This allows external code to access the login functionality.Creating an Instance: We create an instance of the
User
object by callingvar fred = User();
. This gives us access to thedoLogin
function through thefred
object.User Input: We import the
readline
module and create an interface (rl
) to interact with the command-line interface. We prompt the user to enter their username and password usingrl.question
.Calling doLogin: Once the user provides their credentials, we call
fred.login(user_name, user_pass);
to initiate the login process.Closing the Interface: Finally, we close the
readline
interface usingrl.close();
.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we explored how to implement a basic user authentication system in JavaScript. We examined the code step-by-step, understanding each section's purpose and functionality. With this foundation, you can further enhance the system by integrating a database, adding encryption, or implementing more secure authentication techniques.
User authentication is a critical aspect of web application development, ensuring the protection of sensitive user information and maintaining system integrity. By understanding the fundamentals, you can build robust and secure authentication systems for your applications.
Stay tuned for future blog posts, where we'll explore advanced authentication techniques, security best practices, and more!