What is CloudDoc?

Definition

CloudDoc is a student document sharing system where a document is not published immediately after upload. Instead, it moves through storage, metadata persistence, moderation, and state synchronization before it becomes visible to end users. This model fits user-generated learning platforms because it improves content quality control and makes the document collection manageable.

Problem statement

The project needs to solve several concerns at the same time:

• users should be able to upload documents easily from the web interface,
• the backend should not become a bottleneck for large file transfers,
• metadata must be stored in a structured form for search and moderation,
• document state must be tracked across the full lifecycle,
• and AWS resources must be observable and cleanly removable after validation.

Why this workflow matters

An upload-only feature would solve only the first step of the problem. The real value of CloudDoc comes from turning a newly uploaded file into a managed, reviewable, searchable, and distributable document. For that reason, this workshop goes beyond S3 upload and includes moderation, visible state updates, preview, download, and monitoring.

Document lifecycle

1. pending: the document has been uploaded and is waiting for review.
2. approved: the administrator has approved the document.
3. available: the document can be shown in search, preview, and download features.