Mersad: Smart Attendance System

Managing university attendance shouldn't take half the lecture. Mersad makes tracking student attendance fast, reliable, and hassle-free using smart QR code simulation. Designed to help universities keep accurate records while letting instructors focus on what matters most: teaching.

About the Project

Mersad is a Java-based Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) project that simulates an attendance tracking system. It allows instructors to seamlessly manage students, course materials, and daily attendance records. By streamlining the traditional roll-call process, it offers a practical, modern solution for educational institutions.

Project Structure

Here is an overview of the file system hierarchy and main directories in the project:

mersad/
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       ├── java/
│       │   └── haga_talga/
│       │       ├── app/          - Application entry point
│       │       ├── model/        - Core project classes
│       │       ├── page/         - UI and page components
│       │       ├── service/      - Hardware integration, file I/O, and external services
│       │       └── util/         - Utility and helper classes
│       └── resources/            - Data storage
│           ├── attendanceExcle/  - Exported .xlsx attendance files
│           ├── CourseStudent/    - .json attendance files
│           ├── courses.json      - Courses data
│           └── doctors.json      - Doctors data
├── pom.xml                       - Maven project configuration
├── LICENSE
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following installed on your machine:

• Java (JDK 17 or higher)
• Maven (If you plan to build or run the project from source)

How to Download

You can get a copy of the project on your local machine using one of the following methods:

Option 1: Forking & Cloning (Recommended)

• Go to the project repository page.
• Click the Fork button in the top right corner to create a copy in your GitHub account.
• Clone your forked repository:

  git clone <your-forked-repository-url>
  cd mersad

Option 2: Direct Clone

• If you don't need to fork, simply clone the repository directly:

  git clone <repository-url>
  cd mersad

• (Alternatively, you can download the project as a ZIP file from the repository page and extract it).

Running the Application

Option 1: Running via the .jar file

If you just want to run the application quickly without building it yourself:

• Ensure Java is installed.
• Locate the compiled .jar file in the project folder (usually inside the target/ directory).
• Open your terminal or command prompt.
• Run the following command:

  java -jar target/mersad.jar

Option 2: Building and Running using Maven

If you prefer to compile and run the project from source:

Building the project

• Ensure both Java and Maven are installed.
• Open your terminal in the root directory of the project.
• Build the project with Maven using:

  mvn clean install

• (mvn compile will just compile the source code, while mvn install compiles, tests, and packages the application into a .jar file in your target/ folder).

Running the project

• Once built, you can easily run the application using Maven's exec plugin:

  mvn exec:java

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Acknowledgments

A very special thanks to the incredible faculty members who made this project possible:

• Dr. Sara Shehab
  Programming-2 OOP Instructor - Thank you for your guidance throughout the course.

• Eng. Abdallah Hemly, Eng. Israa Maged, & Eng. Nader Gamal
  Course Teaching Assistants - We appreciate your continuous support, feedback, and help during the labs.

• Dr. Ibrahim Selim
  Faculty Dean - Thank you for fostering an excellent academic environment that encourages practical, hands-on learning.