Q&A System

Question-and-answer platform built with Java, JavaFX, and SQL that supports account, role, and post management.

This project is closed source. The section below is the repository README, included here to provide additional context.

Project Overview

  • JavaFX desktop application for managing academic Q&A, peer reviews, and instructor support workflows.
  • Built by a 5-person team as a multi-role system with separate experiences for students, instructors, reviewers, staff, and admins.
  • Designed around role-based permissions, persistent data storage, and user workflow management rather than just basic CRUD screens.
  • Uses Java, JDBC, and an H2 database to store users, questions, answers, reviews, messages, and request history.

Core Features

  • First-run admin setup when the database is empty.
  • Invitation-code account creation for new users.
  • Username and password validation during account setup.
  • User login with role-aware navigation.

Q&A Features

  • Create, update, and delete questions.
  • Create, update, and delete answers.
  • Mark answers as correct.
  • Add clarifications to answers.
  • Search questions by keyword.
  • View answers directly alongside matching questions.

Role-Based Functionality

  • Students can manage their Q&A activity, request reviewer status, and manage trusted reviewers.
  • Instructors can create admin requests, view closed requests, and reopen requests with updated descriptions.
  • Reviewers can write, edit, and delete reviews for questions or answers.
  • Reviewers can maintain a profile with experience/bio information and view feedback on their reviews.
  • Staff can flag questions and answers, remove flags, and leave staff-only moderation notes.
  • Admins can approve or deny reviewer requests, promote users to staff, generate invitation codes, and manage admin requests.

Review and Trust System

  • Reviewers can leave written reviews on questions and answers.
  • Students can maintain a list of trusted reviewers with adjustable weighting.
  • Students can search questions and view reviews only from their trusted reviewers.
  • Students can leave feedback on reviews they receive.

Request and Moderation Workflow

  • Instructors can submit support requests for admins.
  • Admins can close requests and attach action history to each request.
  • Instructors can reopen closed requests while preserving links to the original request.
  • Staff can review flagged content and document internal notes for moderation.

Messaging and Data Features

  • Private messaging between users.
  • Read/unread message tracking.
  • Persistent storage for users, Q&A content, reviews, trusted reviewers, moderation data, and request history.

Testing and Quality

  • Backend behavior is supported by JUnit tests.
  • The test suite covers user registration, permissions, request workflows, moderation actions, reviewer request handling, and search behavior.
  • The project includes around 30 test cases focused on verifying major user stories and role restrictions.

Tech Stack

  • Java
  • JavaFX
  • JDBC
  • H2 Database
  • JUnit 5

Team Context

  • Developed collaboratively by a 5-person team.
  • Focused on combining UI, backend logic, database persistence, and workflow-based permissions into a single desktop application.
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