4X4U - A Currency Arbitrageur

Scan the foreign exchange market (forex) for arbitrage opportunities.

Created by

Olha Hizhytska  
Maxwell Meyer  
Jo Miller  
Scott O'Neil  
Micah Olson  
Jon Stump

Technologies Used

• npm
• webpack
• HTML
• CSS
• Bootstrap
• JavaScript
• jQuery
• ExchangeRate-API
• ESLint
• Markdown
• git

Description

Using this application, a user can check for Arbitrage opportunities by selecting the base currency (from a list of top ten world currencies), and choosing an amount. They will then be shown whether or not an opportunity for Arbitrage exists for that currency at the time. If so, an affirmative message will be displayed. The user will also be able to use the currency exchange converter to enter an amount in any world currency, and then convert it into any other world currency. To determine the most recent exchange rate, this application will make an API call to the following exchange rate API. The correct conversion information will then be displayed!

Specs

Expand Specs

Initial Specs:

Behavior	Input	Output
Click "See a demo of arbitrage opportunity!" button	button click	USD > AED > JPY > USD 1.25
Choose starting currency and enter amount for arbitrage	USD , 1	USD > AED > JPY > USD 1.25 OR Sorry, there is not an opportunity for arbitrage
Allow user to select and convert a currency	AED , JPY , 2	Your total amount is ¥ 57.69 converting from AED to JPY
Receive error if API returns one	Error	You have received an error: Invalid API Key
Receive message if user try to submit empty form	blank fields	Please select an item in the list
Receive message if user input amount is less than 0	-1	Value must be greater than or equal to 0.01

Setup and Installation

• To use this application, you will need to acquire your own API key for the ExchangeRate-API.

  • Go to the ExchangeRate-API website
  • Input your email address and click "Get Free Key!"
  • Complete the "Create Account" form by adding your first name and a password
  • Read the terms of use and, to proceed further, check that you agree
  • Click "Create Account & API Key!"
  • You will be redirected to your account dashboard, where you'll find
    • your unique API key (please keep this private and secure)
    • the status of your monthly quota and usage information

• After acquiring an API key, clone this repository to a local directory using the command-line tool git (how to install git).

  $ cd ~/[directory]/[path]/[of]/[choice]/
$ git clone https://github.com/MicahOlson/4X4U.git

• Navigate into the project using cd to move to the top level of the project directory.

  $ cd 4X4U/

• Make your API key available to the application without hardcoding it into any scripts

  • Create a file called .env that holds your key. This can be done with the single command below, replacing the content in brackets with your API key and removing the brackets

    $ echo "API_KEY=[your-API-key-without-brackets]" > .env

  • Note that the API calls in this project use an embedded expression in a template literal that references the value in .env. Along with .gitignore discussed in the next point, this helps secure the API key by keeping it out of the application's code. Here is the syntax

    https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/${process.env.API_KEY}/...

  • The .gitignore file included in this project already lists .env as one of the files to exclude from git tracking, which keeps .env out of commits and helps ensure it never gets pushed to a public repository. You can double-check that it is indeed listed by running the following

    $ cat .gitignore

  • If for some reason .env is not in .gitignore, you should add it by using the command below. Note the use of two angled brackets (>>) here to append the .gitignore file and not overwrite it

    $ echo .env >> .gitignore

• Install all packages and dependencies listed in package.json using the Node.js package manager npm. Install Node.js to get npm (how to install node and npm).

  $ npm install

• Then build a distribution bundle by running the following. This will create the version of index.html you will access as discussed below.

  $ npm run build

• To view the site locally, start the preconfigured development server to automatically launch the site in your default browser.

  $ npm run start

  • You could also open the file called index.html in the project's dist/ subdirectory to view a static version

  $ cd dist/
$ open index.html

  • Alternatively, you can navigate to these project directories through your system's GUI file manager, then double-click index.html to open it in your default browser

• To edit the project, open the files in your preferred code editor. Here are some recommendations:

  • Visual Studio Code - "Code editing. Redefined."
  • Atom - "A hackable text editor for the 21st Century"
  • SublimeText - "A sophisticated text editor for code, markup and prose"

Known Bugs

• No known bugs.
• If you find a bug, please report it to me at the email address below.

License

MIT - Copyright © 2021 Olha Hizhytska, Maxwell Meyer, Jo Miller, Scott O'Neil, Micah L. Olson, Jon Stump

Contact Information

Olha Hizhytska olgainfotech@gmail.com
Maxwell Meyer maxreadswell@gmail.com
Jo Miller joannadawnmiller@gmail.com
Scott O'Neil scottieoneil@gmail.com
Micah Olson micah.olson@protonmail.com
Jon Stump jmstump@gmail.com