# Project Knowledge Base

## Overview
This project is a web application built using **Java**, **Spring Boot**, and **Thymeleaf**. It serves as the frontend layer for `sisvietnamvn`, currently rendering static-like pages with dynamic templating provided by Thymeleaf. The static assets seem to be heavily inspired by or imported from UMass Amherst website templates, integrated into a Spring Boot architecture.

## System Architecture
*   **Language:** Java 21
*   **Framework:** Spring Boot (Version 4.0.6 as per `build.gradle`)
*   **Build Tool:** Gradle
*   **Application Type:** Spring Web MVC application
*   **Routing:** Basic MVC routing handled by `@Controller` classes. Currently, `HomeController.java` maps endpoints to Thymeleaf templates:
    *   `/` -> `index.html`
    *   `/about` -> `about.html`
    *   `/flex-finish` -> `flex-finish.html`

## Directory Structure
The structure strictly adheres to standard Maven/Gradle Spring Boot conventions:
*   `build.gradle` / `settings.gradle`: Gradle configuration files defining dependencies and build settings.
*   `src/main/java/com/sisvietnamvn/web/`: Contains Java source code.
    *   `SisvietnamvnApplication.java`: Main Spring Boot entry point.
    *   `controller/HomeController.java`: Web controller managing page routing.
*   `src/main/resources/`: Contains configuration and web assets.
    *   `application.properties`: Spring Boot configuration properties.
    *   `static/`: Stores all static assets (CSS, JS, Images). Assets are organized into subdirectories like `css/`, `images/`, `js/`, and specific page folders like `flex-finish/` and `UMass Amherst _ UMass Amherst_files/`.
    *   `templates/`: Contains Thymeleaf `.html` view templates.
        *   `fragments/`: Contains reusable Thymeleaf layout components (`layout.html`, `header.html`, `footer.html`).

## Libraries and Dependencies
*   **Spring Boot Starter Web** (`spring-boot-starter-webmvc`): For building web, including RESTful, applications using Spring MVC.
*   **Spring Boot Starter Thymeleaf** (`spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf`): For HTML templating.
*   **Thymeleaf Layout Dialect** (`nz.net.ultraq.thymeleaf:thymeleaf-layout-dialect`): Provides decorator pattern for Thymeleaf, allowing the use of a common layout (`layout.html`) that other pages inject content into.
*   **Spring Boot DevTools** (`spring-boot-devtools`): For fast application restarts and live reload during development.
*   **Frontend Libraries:**
    *   jQuery (`jquery.min.js`)
    *   Lazysizes (`lazysizes.min.js`) for lazy loading images.
    *   Various Lottie scripts and custom scripts copied into static folders.

## Coding Conventions & Best Practices
1.  **Templating & Layouts:** The project relies on the Thymeleaf Layout Dialect. Pages should define their content within a `layout:fragment="content"` block and reference the master layout (`layout.html`). Reusable parts (like headers/footers) are stored in the `fragments` folder and included via `th:replace`.
2.  **Asset Management:** Static assets (CSS, images, JS) are referenced via absolute paths starting from the root `/` (e.g., `<script src="/Undergraduate Study _ UMass Amherst_files/base.js.download"></script>`). This relies on Spring Boot's default static resource mapping.
3.  **Controllers:** Keep controllers lightweight. Endpoints should generally just return the template name as a String.
4.  **Language Level:** The project uses Java 21, allowing for modern Java features (records, pattern matching, etc.) if backend logic is expanded in the future.