Dining Management System

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Features
3. Technologies Used
4. Architecture
5. Setup and Installation
6. Usage Guide
   • User Registration and Login
   • Dashboard
   • Admin Panel
   • Dining Manager Role
7. Project Demonstration
8. Future Enhancements
9. Contributing
10. License
11. Contact

Overview

The Dining Management System is a comprehensive web application designed to streamline the management of prepaid meals for students living in a university residence hall. The system provides a centralized platform where users can monitor their meal usage, manage their account balances, and for designated administrators and dining managers, to manage and recharge user accounts.

Features

• User Registration and Authentication: Secure user registration with unique phone numbers, password protection, and authentication.
• Personal Dashboard: Users can view their meal status, balance, daily meal usage, and have the ability to activate or deactivate their meal status.
• Automated Balance Deduction: The system automatically deducts a fixed meal charge from the user's balance daily if the meal status is active.
• Admin and Dining Manager Roles: Specific users are granted admin or dining manager roles, providing them with additional functionalities such as recharging balances and selecting a dining manager.
• Search and Filter Capabilities: Admins and dining managers can search and filter users based on room number and floor, simplifying user management.
• Responsive and Professional UI: The system features a professional design using Bootstrap, ensuring a user-friendly interface that is responsive across devices.

Technologies Used

• Backend:
  • Flask (Python-based web framework)
  • SQLite (Lightweight relational database)
  • Flask-Login (User session management)
  • Werkzeug (Password hashing and security)
• Frontend:
  • HTML5, CSS3
  • Bootstrap (Responsive design framework)
  • JavaScript (Interactive elements)
  • Jinja2 (Template engine for dynamic content rendering)
• Deployment: Flask development server for local testing.

Architecture

The Dining Management System follows a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture:

• Model: Represents the database structure and business logic, managed by SQLAlchemy ORM.
• View: The user interface, constructed with HTML templates, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Controller: The Flask routes handling requests, processing data, and rendering appropriate views.

Database Structure

The SQLite database includes the following tables:

• Users: Stores user information including name, phone number, room number, floor number, balance, total meals, meal status, and roles (admin, dining manager).
• Sessions: Tracks user login sessions.

Setup and Installation

To set up the Dining Management System locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <your-repository-url>
   cd dining-management-system

2. Set up a virtual environment (optional but recommended):

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

3. Install required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Initialize the database:

   flask db init
   flask db migrate
   flask db upgrade

5. Run the Flask application:

   flask run

   The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:5000.

Usage Guide

User Registration and Login

• Registration: New users can sign up by providing their name, phone number, room and floor number, and password at /register.
• Login: Existing users can log in using their phone number and password at /login.

Dashboard

• User Dashboard: Upon logging in, users are redirected to their personal dashboard where they can view and manage their meal status, balance, and meal history.

Admin Panel

• Recharge Users: Admins can recharge user balances at /admin/recharge, with options to search users by room and floor number.
• Select Dining Manager: The admin can select a dining manager for the month at /admin/select_dining_manager.

Dining Manager Role

• Recharging Balances: The selected dining manager has access to the recharge route, allowing them to manage other users' balances.

Project Demonstration

A video walkthrough demonstrating the features of the Dining Management System is available at this URL.

Future Enhancements

Planned improvements for the Dining Management System include:

• Email Notifications: Notify users when their balance is low or when a meal is deducted.
• Analytics Dashboard: Provide admins with visual data insights on meal usage and balance trends.
• Mobile App Integration: Develop a mobile app version for easier access.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! If you’d like to contribute, please fork the repository, create a feature branch, and submit a pull request. Ensure your code follows the project’s coding standards and is well-documented.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Contact

For any inquiries or support, please reach out to Khokamoni.