yu12suf/Ethiopian-UniConnect

# UniConnect - University Book & Material Exchange Platform 🌐 Project Home / Live Demo A professional PHP-based web application for Ethiopian university students to exchange, borrow, donate, and sell academic books and materials. ## Project Overview UniConnect connects students across Ethiopian universities, providing an organized platform for sharing educational resources. The system replaces informal methods (like Telegram groups) with a secure, feature-rich web application. ## Core Technologies - **Backend**: PHP 8.2 with Object-Oriented Programming - **Database**: MySQL (configured for port 3307) - **Frontend**: HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript - **Authentication**: PHP Sessions and Cookies ## PHP Concepts Demonstrated 1. **Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)** - Classes: `Database`, `User`, `Book`, `Request`, `Message`, `Admin` - Encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism - Singleton pattern for database connection 2. **Database Management** - PDO for secure database access - Prepared statements to prevent SQL injection - Database relationships and foreign keys 3. **Session & Cookie Management** - Secure user authentication - "Remember Me" functionality with cookies - Session security best practices 4. **File Handling** - Image upload and storage - File validation and security - Directory management ## Features ### User Features - ✅ Registration with university email validation (.edu.et) - ✅ Secure login with session/cookie support - ✅ Upload and manage book listings - ✅ Search and filter books by multiple criteria - ✅ Send and receive exchange requests - ✅ Messaging system for coordination - ✅ Profile management - ✅ Dashboard with statistics ### Admin Features - ✅ Approve or block book listings - ✅ User management (activate/deactivate accounts) - ✅ System statistics and reports - ✅ Activity logs - ✅ Top departments and exchange type analytics ## Database Schema The application uses 5 main tables: - `users` - User accounts and authentication …