Expense Tracker

A simple command-line application built in Java for managing personal expenses. It allows users to add, list, update, delete, and summarize expenses, with data persisted to a local file using serialization.

Features

• Add new expenses with description and amount.
• List all expenses in a formatted table.
• Update an expense's description or amount by ID.
• Delete (or remove) an expense by ID.
• View a summary of total expenses, formatted as US currency.
• Persistent storage of expenses in a local file (expenses.dat).

Requirements

• Java 8 or higher (uses features like streams and LocalDate).
• A Java compiler (e.g., javac) and runtime (e.g., java).

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/HamDean/expense-tracker.git
   

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd expense-tracker
   

3. Compile the source files:

   javac src/*.java
   

Usage

Run the application from the comand line using commands.

Commands are provided as the first argument, followed by options in the format --key value.

Available Commands

• add: Add a new expense.

  java -cp src Main add --description "Lunch" --amount 15.50
  

• list: Display all expenses in a table format.

  java -cp src Main list
  

• update: Update an existing expense by ID (can update description and/or amount).

  java -cp src Main update --id 1 --description "Dinner" --amount 20.00
  

• remove or delete: Delete an expense by ID.

  java -cp src Main remove --id 1
  

  (Both "remove" and "delete" perform the same action.)

• summary: Show the total expenses summary.

  java -cp src Main summary
  

Expenses are stored in src/expenses.dat. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created on the first save. Note that this is a binary file using Java serialization.

Project Structure

• src/
  • Main.java: Entry point of the application.
  • Expense.java: Represents an individual expense with ID, description, amount, and date.
  • ExpensesManager.java: Manages the list of expenses (add, update, delete, summary, print).
  • CommandHandler.java: Handles command-line inputs and executes actions.
  • CommandParser.java: Parses command-line arguments into commands and parameters.
  • ExpenseStorage.java: Handles saving and loading expenses to/from a file.
  • expenses.dat: (Generated) Binary file for storing expenses.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit pull requests for bug fixes, improvements, or new features.

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature-branch).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature-branch).
5. Create a new Pull Request.

Notes

• The application uses Java's built-in serialization for persistence, which is simple but not suitable for large-scale or secure applications.
• Dates are automatically set to the current date when adding expenses.
• Error handling is basic; invalid commands or parameters will throw exceptions.
• For production use, consider adding more robust error handling, validation, or a database instead of file serialization.

If you encounter issues or have suggestions, open an issue on GitHub!