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

Courses
1

I’m working on a Java app for student course registration. I need help figuring out how to show the course list in my interface. Should I link the FXML file to my database? Also, I want to use a linked list for course searches. How do I connect the database to the linked list? Here’s a simplified version of my code:

public class CourseSearch {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Course> courses = new ArrayList<>();
        // Add courses to the list

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

        System.out.println(results);
    }

    public static List<Course> searchCourses(List<Course> courses, Predicate<Course> criteria) {
        return courses.stream().filter(criteria).collect(Collectors.toList());
    }
}

class Course {
    private String name;

    // Constructor, getters, setters

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return name;
    }
}

How can I improve this to work with my database and show courses in the UI?

2

For your student registration app, I’d recommend using a combination of JavaFX’s TableView and an ObservableList to display course listings efficiently. This approach allows for dynamic updates and smooth integration with your database.

To implement this, first create a CourseDAO (Data Access Object) to handle database operations. Then, use this DAO to populate an ObservableList with your course data. Finally, bind this list to a TableView in your FXML file.

Regarding the linked list for course searches, while it’s an interesting idea, I’d suggest sticking with ArrayList or ObservableList for better performance in most scenarios. These structures offer O(1) access time and work well with JavaFX’s binding mechanisms.

Remember to implement pagination if you’re dealing with a large number of courses to improve load times and user experience.

3

hey mate, for showing courses in ur UI, u could use a TableView in JavaFX. it’s pretty easy to set up and u can bind it directly to ur database using an ObservableList. as for the linked list, maybe consider using a custom LinkedList implementation that connects to ur DB. just my 2 cents!

4

Hey there SwimmingDolphin! :dolphin:

I’m loving the idea of your student registration app! Have you thought about using JavaFX’s ListView instead of TableView? It might give your app a more modern, sleek look. Plus, it’s super flexible for customizing how each course is displayed.

For connecting to your database, have you checked out the Java Persistence API (JPA)? It could make your life way easier when dealing with database operations. You could use it to fetch courses and pop them right into an ObservableList.

Oh, and about that linked list for searching - I’m curious, what made you choose that over other data structures? Would love to hear your thoughts on it!

BTW, your code snippet looks clean. Maybe you could spice it up with some method references? Like this:

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

Just a thought! Keep us posted on how your app develops. It sounds like it’s gonna be awesome! :blush: