Overview
The final project of my freshman year Java class was to work in a team of 5 to create a local social media platform.
The users and server had to be running independently and talking to each other via Sockets. After a lot of work, we were able to build a social media platform with working friend requests, password security, customizable profiles, and deletable accounts.
While it may seem simple on paper, being able to coordinate a network like this and make sure things don’t break was a monumentally difficult task for us. Through the process, we learned an incredible amount about backend programming, systems, and just how complicated things have to be to look simple to a user.
At first a signup GUI is presented to the user, and they are asked to enter a username and password for their account.
Their data is then stored and can be accessed even after closing the GUI by re-logging in with the correct username and password.
The credentials are then actually checked and made sure to be correct. If not, the user is not allowed into the account and has to re-enter their username and password.
Users are then able to create profiles for themselves which are displayed in another GUI like the one shown on the left
Users can send friend requests to other existing accounts, and are given the opportunity to accept, decline, and rescind requests.
The system works for any number of accounts trying to access it at once.