Exercise 01 — File System & JSON

Goal

Read a JSON file, transform its data, and write the result to a Markdown file — all using Node.js built-in modules, no npm install needed.

What you will build

A script that reads students.json and generates a student_report.md file.

Run it

node index.js

If it works, you should see a success message in the terminal and a new student_report.md file appear next to index.js.

Modules you will need

Module	What it does
fs	Read and write files on your filesystem
path	Build file paths that work on any OS

Both are built into Node.js — just require them, no install needed.

Key functions

• fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf-8') — reads a file and returns its contents as a string
• fs.writeFileSync(filePath, content, 'utf-8') — writes a string to a file (creates it if it doesn't exist)
• JSON.parse(string) — converts a JSON string into a JavaScript object
• path.join(__dirname, 'filename') — builds a safe absolute path relative to the current script

Steps

1. Require the fs and path modules
2. Read students.json using fs.readFileSync
3. Parse the JSON string into a JavaScript array using JSON.parse
4. Build a Markdown string by looping over the students array
5. Write the result to student_report.md using fs.writeFileSync

Expected output

The generated student_report.md should look like this:

# Student Report

Generated on: 20/03/2026

## Summary

Total Students: 3

## Student Details

### Alice Martin

- **Email:** alice.martin@epita.fr
- **Major:** Computer Science
- **GPA:** 3.8
- **ID:** 1
  ...

Hints

• __dirname is a Node.js variable that always points to the folder where your script lives — useful for building reliable file paths
• Array.forEach() lets you loop over each student and append their info to your Markdown string
• Template literals (backticks) make it easy to embed variables inside strings: `Hello ${name}`