Assignment Management System (AMS)

Streamlining Education through Technology

A comprehensive desktop application for managing academic assignments, courses, and grading.

Developed for Object Oriented Programming (Semester 2)

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📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Key Features
• Technology Stack
• Architecture
• Getting Started
• Project Configuration
• Project Structure
• Database Schema
• Contributing
• License

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📖 Overview

AMS (Assignment Management System) is a robust desktop application designed to bridge the gap between students, teachers, and administrators. Built with a focus on Object-Oriented principles, this system automates assignment distribution, submission tracking, and grading workflows in an educational environment.

This project was developed as a core coursework requirement for the Object Oriented Programming module (2nd Semester), demonstrating practical application of inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, and abstraction.

Key Highlights

• Role-Based Access Control - Secure login for Admins, Teachers, and Students.
• Dynamic Course Management - flexible assignment and course allocation.
• Integrated Grading System - seamless feedback loop from teacher to student.
• Portable Database - Embedded MS Access database for easy deployment.
• Modern Java Swing UI - User-friendly forms and dashboards.

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✨ Key Features

🎓 For Students

• Dashboard: personalized view of academic progress.
• Course Registration: Browse and self-register for available modules.
• Assignment Hub:
  • Download assignment briefs/resources.
  • Upload submissions (assignments) directly within the app.
  • View submission deadlines.
• Gradebook: View grades and feedback for completed work.

👩‍🏫 For Teachers

• Course Administration: Overview of taught courses.
• Assignment Management:
  • Create new assignments with descriptions and due dates.
  • Attach resource files for students.
• Grading Portal:
  • View list of student submissions.
  • Assign grades and feedback.
• Student Tracking: Monitor enrollment in your courses.

🛡️ For Administrators

• User Management: Add, update, or remove Students and Teachers.
• System Oversight:
  • View all registered users.
  • Manage global course list.
  • Assign teachers to courses.

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🛠 Technology Stack

Core Technologies

Technology	Version	Purpose
Java JDK	22	Core Language & Runtime
Java Swing	-	Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Maven	3.x	Dependency Management & Build Tool
MS Access	2010+	Relational Database System

Libraries & Dependencies

Library	Version	Description
UCanAccess	5.0.1	JDBC Driver for MS Access
SLF4J	2.0.7	Logging Facade
Logback	1.4.11	Logging Implementation

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🏗 Architecture

The project follows a layered architecture pattern to separate concerns and ensure maintainability.

graph TB
    Client["📱 GUI Layer<br/>Swing Forms"]
    Mgmt["⚙️ Management Layer<br/>Business Logic & Facades"]
    DAO["💾 DAO Layer<br/>Data Access Objects"]
    DB[("🗄️ MS Access Database<br/>AMS. accdb")]
    
    Client --> Mgmt
    Mgmt --> DAO
    DAO --> DB
    
    style Client fill:#e1f5ff,stroke:#01579b,stroke-width:2px
    style Mgmt fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:2px
    style DAO fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px
    style DB fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px

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Layer Breakdown

Layer	Package	Responsibility
GUI Layer	GUIForms	JFrame classes for user interaction (SignIn, Dashboard, etc.)
Management Layer	ManagementClasses	Business logic and validation; acts as facade/controller
DAO Layer	DAO	Direct database operations using SQL queries
Entity Layer	EntityClasses	POJOs representing domain models (User, Course, Assignment, etc.)
Database Layer	Database	Connection management and configuration
Security Layer	Security	Authentication and authorization utilities

Design Principles Applied

• Separation of Concerns: Each layer has a distinct responsibility.
• Dependency Inversion: Higher layers depend on abstractions, not concrete implementations.
• Encapsulation: Data access logic is isolated in the DAO layer.
• Facade Pattern: Management classes provide simplified interfaces to complex subsystems.

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed on your machine:

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 22 (or compatible newer version)
• Maven
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/CodeWithFarhn/AMS.git
   cd AMS

2. Build the Project

   mvn clean compile

3. Run the Application

   mvn exec:java

   Alternatively, run the GUIForms.SignIn class directly from your IDE.

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⚙️ Project Configuration

Database Connection

The application uses an embedded Microsoft Access database (AMS.accdb) located in the project root.

Configuration is managed in src/main/resources/application.properties:

db.url=jdbc:ucanaccess://./AMS.accdb;newDatabaseVersion=V2010

Note: A pre-configured AMS.accdb file is included in the repository, so the application runs out-of-the-box. If you wish to reset the data, you can recreate the database using the provided schema.

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📂 Project Structure

AMS/
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── java/
│   │   │   ├── DAO/               # SQL & Database Interaction
│   │   │   ├── Database/          # Connection Handler
│   │   │   ├── EntityClasses/     # Data Models (User, Course, etc.)
│   │   │   ├── GUIForms/          # User Interface Screens
│   │   │   ├── ManagementClasses/ # Business Logic
│   │   │   └── Security/          # Auth Utilities
│   │   └── resources/
│   │       ├── images/            # Icons and Logos
│   │       ├── application.properties
│   │       └── logback.xml
├── target/                        # Build Artifacts
├── database_schema.sql            # SQL Schema Definition
├── pom.xml                        # Project Dependencies
└── README.md                      # Documentation

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🗄️ Database Schema

The database consists of 7 relational tables designed to minimize redundancy.

Table	Description
Users	Base table for all user credentials (Admin, Teacher, Student).
Student	Extension of Users, specific to student attributes.
Teachers	Extension of Users, specific to teacher attributes.
Courses	Academic modules managed by teachers.
Assignments	Tasks created within a course.
Submissions	Student work uploaded for an assignment.
StudentCourses	Junction table for course enrollment.

See database_schema.sql for the full DDL.

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🤝 Contributing

Since this is an academic project, direct contributions to the main branch may be restricted. However, suggestions are welcome!

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/NewFeature).
3. Commit your changes.
4. Push to the branch.
5. Open a Pull Request.

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📄 License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.

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Built using Java, Maven, and MS Access