What's the best way to show course listings in my student registration app?

Courses
1

I’m building a Java app for students to sign up for classes. I’m stuck on how to show the course list in my interface. Should I link the FXML file to my database? I also want to use a linked list for course searches. How do I set that up? Do I need to connect the database to the linked list too? If so, what’s the process?

Here’s a simplified version of what I’m working with:

import java.util.*;

public class CourseSearch {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Course> courses = new ArrayList<>();
        courses.add(new Course("Java 101"));
        courses.add(new Course("Web Design"));
        courses.add(new Course("Database Management"));

        List<Course> results = searchCourses(courses, c -> c.getName().toLowerCase().contains("java"));

        System.out.println(results);
    }

    public static List<Course> searchCourses(List<Course> courses, CourseMatcher matcher) {
        List<Course> matches = new ArrayList<>();
        for (Course c : courses) {
            if (matcher.matches(c)) {
                matches.add(c);
            }
        }
        return matches;
    }
}

class Course {
    private String name;

    public Course(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public String toString() {
        return name;
    }
}

interface CourseMatcher {
    boolean matches(Course course);
}

I’m not sure how to connect this to my UI or database. Any tips?

2

Hey there, Nate_45Guitar! :wave: Your student registration app sounds like a cool project! I’m kinda curious about a few things though.

Have you thought about using JavaFX TableView for displaying your course listings? It’s pretty nifty for showing data in a table format, and you can easily populate it from your ArrayList of courses.

As for the linked list for course searches, why’d you choose that over other data structures? I’m not saying it’s wrong, just wondering what made you go that route. :thinking:

For connecting to the database, have you looked into JDBC? It’s pretty standard for Java database connections. You could fetch the course data from the DB, pop it into your ArrayList, and then display it in the TableView.

Oh, and about your FXML file - are you using Scene Builder? That can make life a lot easier when designing your UI.

Your code snippet looks solid! Have you considered adding more fields to your Course class? Things like course ID, instructor, or schedule could be useful.

Anyway, I’m super interested to hear more about your project. What features are you most excited about adding?

3

For displaying course listings in your student registration app, I’d recommend using JavaFX TableView. It’s efficient for presenting tabular data and can be easily populated from your ArrayList of courses.

Regarding the linked list for course searches, it’s worth considering whether it offers advantages over your current ArrayList implementation. Linked lists are great for frequent insertions and deletions, but if you’re mainly doing searches, an ArrayList or even a HashMap might be more suitable.

To connect your UI with the database, you’ll want to implement a data access layer. Use JDBC to fetch course data from your database, populate your data structure (ArrayList or otherwise), then bind that to your TableView in the UI.

For your FXML file, ensure it’s properly linked to your controller class. This is where you’ll handle user interactions and update the UI with data from your backend.

Remember to keep your business logic separate from your UI code for better maintainability. Good luck with your project!

4

yo nate, that’s a sick project! for showing courses, JavaFX TableView is ur best bet. it’s easy to use and looks slick.

don’t sweat the linked list thing - ArrayList works fine for searches. just make sure u got a solid DB connection (JDBC ftw) and ur golden.

btw, ur code’s looking good! maybe add more Course details? like teacher, time, etc. keep rockin it!