cs445 - Spring 2013

Hostel 21

1. Introduction

The purpose of the project is to give you the opportunity to practice the concepts discussed in this class. The requirements are purposely somewhat vague such that you can interact with the client (that's your instructor) to figure out the detailed requirements.

Before we get into the functionality detail, I want to remind you that detail about the programming language, the platform on which the project will be tested, unit-testing, and how to submit your work is available in the syllabus.

Sections 2 through 4 in this document cover acceptance criteria for the project, Q&A, and a description of how you can earn extra credit for the project.

2. Acceptance Criteria

The basic implementation of the project assumes the application runs locally, on a single computer shared between all employees. This is, of course, unrealistic, however it will allow you to get the basic functionality done without having to worry about access control, or how to connect to a remote computer from your local client running the application, etc. For any additional work you do, you can get extra credit, as described below.

The GUI for your application will be written in Swing if you use Java for your project: you can see a mockup -- not complete -- here. If you use a different programming language, then find the equivalent GUI framework and use it. The only interface you *must* implement is a command-line one. You may decide to get extra credit by building a web interface, however you must still deliver a fully functional command-line interface.

Of course the application logic should have no dependency on how data will be presented. Your project should work equally well with a command line interface, like the one described here.

To help with project testing here is an XML file with bed availability: load the bed information from this file instead of creating them by hand through the GUI interface. The following files will be used, at a minimum, for testing your application.

The following scenario will be used to test your application:

  • Load File #1.
  • Load File #2.
  • Multiple searches by date using data loaded from File #1 and File #2.
  • Make multiple reservations for multiple customers using the inventory data loaded earlier.
  • Cancel reservation before the cancellation deadline.
  • Cancel reservation after the cancellation deadline.
  • Load File #3. Should see warning messages about inventory that cannot be updated.
  • Search by date: show that inventory data has been updated where possible
  • Search user by email address.
  • Get admin reporting on revenue, occupancy rate, cancellations.

3. Questions and Answers

Check here for answers before asking your TA or teacher.

4. Extra Credit

The main purpose of this project is to practice object-oriented analysis, design and programming, not to teach you web development frameworks or relational databases. As such, you do not have to develop a web interface for this project, nor do you have to interface with a real relational database.

However, you can get extra credit for doing development work that's not required by the project, as follows:

  • Create a web interface: 20%
  • Interface with a relational database -- PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, no other database will be accepted -- and create a true client-server application: 20%

The web interface will be tested using Firefox 19+ or Chrome.

5. Project Description

I am the owner of the "Hostel 21" a chain of classy hostels all over the world.

Quite frankly I'm tired of doing reservations with pen on paper and having to be always on the phone or have one of my employees on the phone.

I need software that helps me manage my hostel reservations.

For each of the hostels in my chain I want to be able to define availability and price: for example for Hostel 21 in Frankfurt, Germany, located at this-and-that address I could say "10/3/2013, room 1, bed 2, $25", or "10/4/2013, room 2, bed 7, $31" etc.

All prices are in US dollars, though in the future I may want to take payment in the local currency.

When people call to make a reservation, I should be able to look up what's available in the town they want and book them for a bed or more, for the duration of their stay.

When people call to make a reservation I'll need some of their personal information such that we can process payment; in addition we'll need an email address such that we can contact them before the trip starts, in addition to shameless propaganda after they stay at our hostel(s). Having their Twitter handle and Facebook username will enhance our ability to connect with our customers.

Once a customer books space, I'd like to send her a notification with the details of their booking. Later on I'd like the notification to include information about cool stuff that can be done while in town.

For all intents and purposes, the email address is what I use to locate orders in the system, though I may as well use their Twitter handle or Facebook username if I have them.

People who have booked space on our hostels can call to cancel. When a booking is canceled the space becomes immediately available and we should send the customer a notification that the booking has been canceled.

Each hostel may have its own deadline for cancelation, e.g. "tao days before the trip starts" and fee for late cancelation, e.g. "$5 late cancelation fee."

Each hostel has its own check-in and check-out policy as well.

The other thing that I need is some sense of how we're doing as a business. So, I should be able to search for a specific date or date range and see how many bookings we have and how much revenue is associated with those bookings. Also, find out how many cancellations we've had for the same time frame. What is the occupancy rate in our hostels?

Oh, one more thing, every time I look up a customer's booking, I should be able to see if they are repeat-customers and how much money they've spent with us in the past.

That's all for now ... is this super-complicated? Can I get this by the end of April? Mille grazie! Muchas gracias! Danke sehr! Merci beaucoup! Multumim frumos! Ευχαριστώ πολύ! Call me and your next booking will be free.

Last update: Nov 17, 2013 Virgil Bistriceanu cs445 Computer Science
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