Makers4

Specialized Business Application Platform for Woodworkers & Cabinet Makers

Makers4 is an application platform engineered specifically for custom woodworking shops, cabinet fabricators, and millwork manufacturers. Built on top of the QQQ framework, Makers4 combines data model metadata, Liquibase schema management, automated CRUD REST APIs, and a Material Design dashboard into a single codebase.

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Technical Stack & Architecture

• Core Framework: QQQ Metadata Framework (Java 17+)
• HTTP Server: Javalin Web Framework & QQQ REST API Endpoint Router
• Dashboard Interface: React 18 & Material-UI Dashboard Engine
• Database & Schema: PostgreSQL 17 (Production/Dev), Liquibase Migration, H2 In-Memory (Test)
• Build System: Apache Maven 3.9+

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Environment Prerequisites

• Java Development Kit (JDK): OpenJDK 17 or higher (java -version)
• Build Automation: Apache Maven 3.9+ (mvn -version)
• Container Engine: Docker Desktop or Podman (docker --version)

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Local Development Setup

1. Launch PostgreSQL 17 Container

Start a local PostgreSQL database container pre-configured with schema credentials:

# Launch PostgreSQL via Docker Compose
docker compose -f src/test/resources/postgres/docker-compose.yml up -d

2. Apply Database Migrations & Start Server

Set local environment variables, execute Liquibase schema updates, and launch the application:

# Export RDBMS Configuration
export RDBMS_VENDOR=postgresql
export RDBMS_HOSTNAME=localhost
export RDBMS_PORT=5432
export RDBMS_DATABASE_NAME=makers4
export RDBMS_USERNAME=devuser
export RDBMS_PASSWORD=devpass

# Execute Liquibase Migrations & Package Application
mvn liquibase:update
mvn clean package -DskipTests

# Run Application Jar
java -jar target/makers4.jar

Access the user interfaces:

• Dashboard Web UI: http://localhost:8000/
• QQQ REST API Specification: http://localhost:8000/qqq-api/

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Quality Gates & Verification

# Run Unit and Integration Test Suite (H2 In-Memory Database)
mvn test

# Run Code Quality & Dependency Verification
mvn checkstyle:check

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Customizing the Application Template

Makers4 includes a customizer script to re-brand and re-package the codebase for specialized custom manufacturing environments:

# Run Template Customizer Script
python3 scripts/customize_template.py

Follow the interactive prompts to configure groupId, artifactId, package namespace, and application labels.

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License & Intellectual Property

See LICENSE for full licensing terms and conditions.