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People helping People
Inspiration
I was outgrowing my bed so I had got a new one and gave my old one away to someone who really needed it. When I saw the theme, I immediately thought of that. During the Great Depression, everyone had lost things that they really needed. I also lost something but I gave it to someone who needed it. This is where my app idea came from. I knew the event but the idea was to give things to someone who needed them. That is what my app does and that is what I did.
What it does
If someone needs help, then they have to enter what they need and where they are. This information is sent to a central Apache web server which has a MySQL database on it. This information is then displayed on the screen for everyone to see. If someone is able to help, they go straight to the screen with all the information. They just have to have the item and go to the location. This helps people because, for no cost, people can give their extra things to others. This way, everyone gets things.
How I built it
I first created a web server on my home PC. I made a test database and test table to test the functionality out. Before actually starting the app, I made a dummy app that does the core functionality I need BarterBuddie to do. I made 2 PHP scripts for adding and retrieving data. With all of this working, I had the core elements. Then I started working on BarterBuddie. I made a main menu for needing help and able to help. I also made a screen where the user can input their need(only goes there if help needed). This data was put into the database using one of the PHP scripts. If the user was able to help, all the data would be retrieved using the second PHP script. This was then displayed on the screen. All that was left to do was UI.
Challenges I ran into
Some challenges I ran into were basically the main part of BarterBuddie. I have never done this before so I needed to look up how to create an Apache web server, how to create a MySQL database and a table. I had to learn the basics of PHP and how to add and retrieve elements from a certain table in a certain database through a script. I also had to learn the Java side of it. although I am familiar with Java, to get it working with a database and web server. Another problem I ran into was that my http responses were coming back at a later time than the time it took me to switch between two screens. This problem is not yet solved but it works because I put a sleep there.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of the fact that I managed to do this in the 4 days that I had. In the end, it turned out pretty good and I was surprised that it was actually working. I am also proud that I learned how to use Java in a new way that I never would have thought of.
What I learned
I learned how to set up an Apache web server on mac and use MySQL to set up a database and a table. I also learned how to use PHP to write scripts that can talk to the database and tell it to update or return some value. I basically learned everything that I used for this project.
What's next for BarterBuddie
I hope to add a functionality for fixing my http response problem the right way. I also hope to add a response element so that people can respond the other people's need.
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