Final Project: Student Management Application
1. Project Purpose
The project creates a database-driven web application for managing student records in a university
setting. It demonstrates CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) within the context of a
web-based student management system.
2. Functionalities
Add a New Student: Input form for adding a student's name, email, and other details.
View Student List: Display a table of students with their information fetched from the database.
Update Student Details: Edit functionality to modify existing records.
Delete Student: Remove a student from the database.
3. Architecture Overview
The project is structured using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern:
- Model: Implements the Data Access Object (DAO) design pattern. Centralizes JDBC operations
(query, insert, update, delete) in a StudentDBUtil helper class.
- View: JSP files dynamically generate the front-end using JSTL and Expression Language (EL).
HTML forms for CRUD operations are handled by JSP pages.
- Controller: A Servlet acts as the main controller to manage HTTP requests and responses.
Forwards requests to appropriate JSPs or calls the database utility methods.
4. Database Design
Database: Uses JDBC to connect to a relational database like MySQL.
- Schema: A table for students (students) containing fields such as id, first_name, last_name, and
email.
- Key Methods:
* listStudents(): Retrieve all records.
* addStudent(): Insert a new record.
* updateStudent(): Modify existing records.
* deleteStudent(): Remove records by ID.
5. Technologies Used
JSP: For dynamic content generation and server-side processing. Utilizes JSTL to minimize Java
code in JSP files.
Servlets: Serve as controllers to handle user requests and invoke DAO methods.
JDBC: Establishes a connection to the database and executes SQL queries.
Tomcat Server: Serves as the deployment environment for the web application.
Eclipse IDE: Development environment for coding and testing.
6. Request-Response Flow
- Request: A user performs an action (e.g., adding a student) via a browser.
- Controller: Servlet processes the request and interacts with the StudentDBUtil class.
- Database Interaction: SQL queries fetch or manipulate data in the database.
- Response: The controller forwards the response to a JSP page, which renders the results.
7. User Experience
The web interface includes:
- Input forms for adding or updating students.
- A student list page with options to edit or delete individual records.
- Alerts or confirmation messages for successful operations.
8. Key Learning Objectives
Implementing a real-world MVC web application.
Using JDBC for database interaction.
Managing session state with cookies and sessions.
Using JSTL and Expression Language for clean and maintainable JSP code.
This project not only solidifies your understanding of Java web technologies but also prepares you
for building enterprise-grade applications in the future.
Additional Information
For more information or to access the course, check out the course page on Udemy.
