Welcome to the ThunderCat Developer Guide.

ThunderCat is a desktop app designed for Year 2 Computing Students and acts as an address book for contacts with added support for group projects. Users can manage contacts, organise them into project groups and manage their tasks according to those groups.

This guide contains detailed information on the architecture, implementation and design decisions for ThunderCat. This guide has been designed for our intended audience of software testers and developers who are interested in the inner workings of ThunderCat, or those who seek to alter and extend the app for their own use.

Acknowledgements

This project is based on the AddressBook Level-3 project created by the SE-EDU initiative.

Setting up, getting started

Refer to the guide Setting up and getting started.

Design

:bulb: Tip: The .puml files used to create diagrams in this document can be found in the diagrams folder. Refer to the PlantUML Tutorial at se-edu/guides to learn how to create and edit diagrams.

Architecture

The Architecture Diagram given above explains the high-level design of the App.

Given below is a quick overview of main components and how they interact with each other.

Main components of the architecture

Main has two classes called Main and MainApp. It is responsible for,

  • At app launch: Initializes the components in the correct sequence, and connects them up with each other.
  • At shut down: Shuts down the components and invokes cleanup methods where necessary.

Commons represents a collection of classes used by multiple other components.

The rest of the App consists of four components.

  • UI: The UI of the App.
  • Logic: The command executor.
  • Model: Holds the data of the App in memory.
  • Storage: Reads data from, and writes data to, the hard disk.

How the architecture components interact with each other

The Sequence Diagram below shows how the components interact with each other for the scenario where the user issues the command delete 1.

Each of the four main components (also shown in the diagram above),

  • defines its API in an interface with the same name as the Component.
  • implements its functionality using a concrete {Component Name}Manager class (which follows the corresponding API interface mentioned in the previous point.

For example, the Logic component defines its API in the Logic.java interface and implements its functionality using the LogicManager.java class which follows the Logic interface. Other components interact with a given component through its interface rather than the concrete class (reason: to prevent outside component’s being coupled to the implementation of a component), as illustrated in the (partial) class diagram below.

The sections below give more details of each component.

UI component

The API of this component is specified in Ui.java

Structure of the UI Component

The UI consists of a MainWindow that is made up of parts e.g.CommandBox, ResultDisplay, ListPanel, StatusBarFooter etc. All these, including the MainWindow, inherit from the abstract UiPart class which captures the commonalities between classes that represent parts of the visible GUI.

The UI component uses the JavaFx UI framework. The layout of these UI parts are defined in matching .fxml files that are in the src/main/resources/view folder. For example, the layout of the MainWindow is specified in MainWindow.fxml

The UI component,

  • executes user commands using the Logic component.
  • listens for changes to Model data so that the UI can be updated with the modified data.
  • keeps a reference to the Logic component, because the UI relies on the Logic to execute commands.
  • depends on some classes in the Model component, as it displays Person, Group, Task objects residing in the Model.

Logic component

API : Logic.java

Here’s a (partial) class diagram of the Logic component:

How the Logic component works when executing a command:

  1. When Logic is called upon to execute a command, it uses the AddressBookParser class to parse the user command.
  2. The AddressBookParser class may then call other Parser classes to parse specific commands.
  3. This results in a Command object (more precisely, an object of one of the classes that implement it e.g., AddCommand).
  4. The Command object is checked if it can be executed in the current ApplicationState.
  5. If it cannot be executed, then a CommandException is thrown and the Command object is not executed. Otherwise, if it can run in the current ApplicationState, then the Command object is executed by the LogicManager.
  6. The command can communicate with the Model when it is executed (e.g. to add a person).
  7. The result of the command execution is encapsulated as a CommandResult object which is returned from Logic.
  8. The current ApplicationState is updated using the details from the CommandResult.

The Sequence Diagram below illustrates the interactions within the Logic component for the execute("delete 1") API call, assuming the application is in a state where it can execute the delete command.

Interactions Inside the Logic Component for the `delete 1` Command

:information_source: Note: The lifeline for DeleteCommandParser should end at the destroy marker (X) but due to a limitation of PlantUML, the lifeline reaches the end of diagram.

Parser classes

Here are the other classes in Logic (omitted from the class diagram above) that are used for parsing a user command:

How the parsing works:

  • When called upon to parse a user command, the AddressBookParser class creates an XYZCommandParser (XYZ is a placeholder for the specific command name e.g., AddCommandParser) which uses the other classes shown above to parse the user command and create a XYZCommand object (e.g., AddCommand) which the AddressBookParser returns back as a Command object.
  • While parsing, the AddressBookParser may use information from the ApplicationState such as what type of state it is or what data it is storing. Stored data can include things like Group objects.
  • All XYZCommandParser classes (e.g., AddCommandParser, DeleteCommandParser, …) inherit from the Parser interface so that they can be treated similarly where possible e.g, during testing.

Command classes

There are different Command sub-types:

  • Any implementation of UndoableCommand can be undone. After they execute and modify the contents of Model, they can undo these modifications.
  • Any implementation of StateDependentCommand can check what ApplicationState the application is currently in and allow itself to be executed if the command can run in that ApplicationState, or instead block execution.

Class diagram of command classes

Application state classes

In order to keep track of when the application is on the Home Page or the Group Information Page, the application keeps track of what state it is currently in or what state it will be in after a Command is executed. The ApplicationState interface is used for this purpose. There are different ApplicationState sub-types:

  • The HomeState refers to the state the application is in when it is showing the Home Page.
  • The StoredDataApplicationState is an ApplicationState sub-type that can store data to be used by the components of the application.
  • The GroupInformationState refers to the state the application is in when it is showing the Group Information Page. It stores the Group object representing the group that is being displayed in the Group Information Page. This Group object can be used by Command implementations to perform operations on the object or by the Ui component for displaying the group’s details.

Model component

API : Model.java

The Model component,

  • stores the ThunderCat data i.e.
    • all Person objects (which are contained in a UniquePersonList object).
    • all Group objects (which are contained in a UniqueGroupList object).
    • all Task objects (which are contained in a UniqueTaskList object).
  • stores the currently ‘selected’ Person objects (e.g., results of a search query) as a separate filtered list which is exposed to outsiders as an unmodifiable ObservableList<Person> that can be ‘observed’ e.g. the UI can be bound to this list so that the UI automatically updates when the data in the list change.
  • works similarly for the Group objects.
  • stores a UserPref object that represents the user’s preferences. This is exposed to the outside as a ReadOnlyUserPref objects.
  • does not depend on any of the other three components (as the Model represents data entities of the domain, they should make sense on their own without depending on other components)
  • UniqueTaskList is stored inside every group
:information_source: Note: An alternative (arguably, a more OOP) model is given below. It has a Tag list in the AddressBook, which Person references. This allows AddressBook to only require one Tag object per unique tag, instead of each Person needing their own Tag objects.

Storage component

API : Storage.java

The Storage component,

  • can save both address book data and user preference data in json format, and read them back into corresponding objects.
  • inherits from both AddressBookStorage and UserPrefStorage, which means it can be treated as either one (if only the functionality of only one is needed).
  • depends on some classes in the Model component (because the Storage component’s job is to save/retrieve objects that belong to the Model)

Common classes

Classes used by multiple components are in the seedu.addressbook.commons package.

Implementation

This section describes some noteworthy details on how certain features are implemented.

Mark As Done Command (Task)

The mark-as-done mechanism is facilitated by MarkAsDoneCommand and MarkAsDoneCommandParser. This command allows users to mark a task in a group as done.

Implementation

Given below is an example usage scenario and how the done mechanism behaves at each step.

  1. User enters the done INDEX command, and the user input is taken into LogicManager#execute(String commandText).
  2. LogicManager calls AddressBookParser#parseCommand(String userInput, ApplicationState currentApplicationState) which parses the user input along with the current application state.
  3. MarkAsDoneCommandParser#parse(String args) retrieves the task index from the arguments parsed, as well as the group specified by the current application state.
  4. A new MarkAsDoneCommand object will be created with the task index and the group.
  5. LogicManager#execute(String commandText) checks if this command object is able to run in the current application state. This operation is exposed in the LogicManager class as LogicManager#checkIfCommandCanRunInApplicationState(Command command).
  6. If the command is able to run, MarkAsDoneCommand#execute(Model model) will check if the task index is a valid index (Ie if the task index is within the bounds of the indices of the task list). If it is not valid, an error message will be displayed.

  7. If the task index is valid, the task’s done status is retrieved and marked as done. This operation is exposed in the Task class as Task#setDoneTask().

    • Note: If the task has already been marked as done, an error message will be displayed.
  8. The CommandResult of the execution will then be retrieved, and the display will change to show the result of the execution.

The following activity diagram shows the workflow of a typical MarkAsDoneCommand:

MarkAsDoneCommandActivityDiagram

Design Considerations

Aspect: How done executes:

  • Alternative 1: If the task is already marked as done, done command simply toggles the done status to not done.
    • Cons: May mark a done task as not done if User accidentally calls the command twice.
    • Pros: Allows User to toggle between done and not done if they realise that a task was previously accidentally marked as done.
  • Alternative 2 (current implementation): If the task is already marked as done, display error message.
    • Pros: Simple and more intuitive for the user, prevents user from accidentally entering duplicate done commands.
    • Cons: No option to reverse the done status of a task if task has been accidentally marked as done. To rectify this, we have added an undo command to prevent such situation.

Add Task Command

The add-task mechanism is facilitated by AddTaskCommand and AddTaskCommandParser. This command allows users to add a task into the tasklist of a group.

Implementation

Given below is an example usage scenario and how the addT mechanism behaves at each step.

  1. User enters the addT d/TASK_DESCRIPTION command, and the user input is taken into LogicManager#execute(String commandText).
  2. LogicManager calls AddressBookParser#parseCommand(String userInput, ApplicationState currentApplicationState) which parses the user input along with the current application state.
  3. AddTaskCommandParser#parse(String args) retrieves the task description from the arguments parsed, as well as the group specified by the current application state.
  4. A new AddTaskCommand object will be created with the group and a new Task object created with the task description.
  5. LogicManager#execute(String commandText) checks if this command object is able to run in the current application state. This operation is exposed in the LogicManager class as LogicManager#checkIfCommandCanRunInApplicationState(Command command).
  6. If the command is able to run, AddTaskCommand#execute(Model model) will check if a task with the same description already exists in the tasklist of the group. If such task already exists, an error message indicating duplicate tasks entered will be displayed.
  7. If the task is not a duplicate task, it is added to the tasklist of the group successfully. This operation is exposed in the UniqueTaskList class as UniqueTaskList#add(Task toAdd).
  8. The CommandResult of the execution will then be retrieved, and the display will change to show the result of the execution.

The following sequence diagram illustrates how the addT operation works, assuming no exception is thrown:

AddTaskCommandSequenceDiagram

The following activity diagram shows the workflow of a typical AddTaskCommand:

AddTaskCommandActivityDiagram

Undo feature

Implementation

The execution of the undo command is enabled by the CommandResult and the LogicManager classes, which then leads to the execution of the undo method in the appropriate UndoableCommand.

The undo command is first started when the execute method of the LogicManager object l is called. l calls the parseCommand method of the AddressBookParser object p which creates and returns an UndoCommand object u. Then l calls the execute method of u, which returns to l a CommandResult object cr which has its isGoingToCauseUndo boolean variable set to true. After that, l calls its own undoIfMustUndo method to actually cause any undoable modifications carried out by an UndoableCommand object uc to be undone. The undoIfMustUndo method returns the CommandResult object ur which is the result of undoing the undoable modifications. Finally, ur is returned by the execute method of l.

Undo command overall sequence diagram

cr is constructed by first creating a CommandResult.Builder object b, because CommandResult uses the builder software engineering pattern. The goCauseUndo method of b is called in order to set isGoingToCauseUndo to true for cr when it is eventually constructed. Then the build method of b is called to finally construct cr, which is returned to u. Then the execute method of u returns cr to l.

Undo command result sequence diagram

When the undoIfMustUndo method of l is called, l first checks if cr has isGoingToCauseUndo set to true. l also checks if the Stack<UndoableCommand> object s, which is a stack of UndoableCommand objects, is empty. If isGoingToCauseUndo is false, then there is no need to undo anything at all. Alternatively, if s is empty, then there is no UndoableCommand object that can be undone. In either case or if both occur, then undoIfMustUndo just returns cr immediately because there is no need to undo. Otherwise, if isGoingToCauseUndo is true and s is not empty, then there is an UndoableCommand object uc that can be undone, and it must be undone. This is carried out by calling the undo method of uc, which returns a CommandResult object ur which is the result of undoing the undoable modifications previously carried out by uc. ur is then returned by the undoIfMustUndo method.

Method undoIfMustUndo sequence diagram

An example of an UndoableCommand is AddCommand, which adds a person to the records. Calling the undo method of an AddCommand object ac causes the previously added Person object person to be deleted. ac does this by calling the deletePerson method of the Model instance m to delete person.

Undo add command sequence diagram

Design considerations:

Aspect: How undo executes:

  • Alternative 1: Saves the entire address book.
    • Pros:
      • Easy to implement.
    • Cons:
      • May have performance issues in terms of memory usage.
  • Alternative 2 (current choice): Individual command knows how to undo by itself.
    • Pros:
      • Will use less memory (e.g. for delete, just save the person being deleted).
      • Execution is different for each command so specific execution can be fine-tuned for each individual command.
    • Cons:
      • We must ensure that the implementation of each individual command are correct.

Add Panel to the UI

Implementation

The adding Panel mechanism is facilitated by MainWindow.fxml. It extends the MainWindow with one more main panel, making it easier to render Group list and Task list at the same time.

Overall, .fxml files uses different kind of containers to organize the structure of the file. The main window of the application, which is MainWindow.fxml, uses VBox (Vertical Box), Stack Panel, and other layouts to components (e.g. CommandBox, ResultDisplay).

Therefore, the key point to implement the extension is using HBox (Horizontal Box) layout. Panels insides the layout is ordered horizontally, making two parallel display panels at the same time. To add a framework of the additional panel inside MainWindow.fxml, simply just add one more listPanelPlaceholder to the HBox, manipulated by class MainWindow.java. The final step is resizing the parent components in order to fit the additional panel nicely.

Toolkit

UndoRedoState5

Scene Builder is written as a JavaFX application, supported on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is the perfect example of a full-fledge JavaFX desktop application. Scene Builder is packaged as a self-contained application, which means it comes bundled with its own private copy of the JRE.

Application Scence Builder makes it easier to imagine and implement the feature by the running time visualization and list of possible components.

Rounded-corners UI

Implementation

The Rounded-corners UI mechanism is facilitated by DarkTheme.css. By making the rounded-corners UI, the user’s experience with the application can be enhanced significantly.

Overall, the .css files are specialized for the theme of the application. All the components including background color, font size and shape can be manipulated with this file. By referring to this online instruction and implementing it in the UI components in the theme file, those components’ corners can be altered to rounded as prefered.

Edit Group Command

The edit group mechanism is facilitated by EditGroupCommand, EditGroupCommandParser and EditGroupDescriptor. This command allows users to edit data of the selected group.

Implementation

EditGroupCommand Sequence Diagram

  1. User enters the editG GROUP_INDEX n/NEW_NAME command, and the user input is taken into LogicManager#execute(String commandText).
  2. LogicManager calls the AddressBookParser#parseCommand(String userInput, ApplicationState currentApplicationState) method which parses the user input along with the current application state.
  3. EditGroupCommandParser#parse(String args) retrieves the group index from the arguments parsed then creates the EditGroupDescriptor object.
  4. A new EditGroupCommand object will be created with the parameters extracted from EditGroupDescriptor and group index.
  5. LogicManager#execute(String commandText) checks if this command object is able to run in the current application state. This operation is exposed in the LogicManager class as LogicManager#checkIfCommandCanRunInApplicationState(Command command).
  6. If the command is able to run, the EditGroupCommand then interacts with the Model class to edit the data. This operation is exposed in the Model class as Model#setGroup(). Note: The UniquePersonList and UniqueTaskList from the group to be edited will also be copied over to the new group object created by the EditGroupCommand.
  7. The CommandResult of the execution will then be retrieved, and the display will change to show the result of the execution.

The implementations of the other Edit command which can be used to edit persons data, is similar to the EditGroupCommand in the way the Logic component behaves. A sequence diagram of EditGroupCommand is provided below for better visualisation.

EditGroupCommand Ref Sequence Diagram

The following steps describe the execution of the EditGroupCommand.

  1. EditGroupCommand uses the provided Index and EditGroupDescriptor to create the updated Group object.
  2. EditGroupCommand calls the setGroup method of the Model class to replace the previous Group object with the newly updated one.
  3. Model calls the setGroup function of the AddressBook to update the Group data of the AddressBook.

Adding Persons to Group Command

The add person to group mechanism is facilitated by JoinGroupCommand and JoinGroupCommandParser. This command allows forming of an association between two main data types in ThunderCat, Groups and Persons.

Implementation

JoinGroupCommand Sequence Diagram

  1. User enters the joinG p/1 g/1 command, and the user input is taken into LogicManager#execute(String commandText).
  2. LogicManager calls the AddressBookParser#parseCommand(String userInput, ApplicationState currentApplicationState) method which parses the user input along with the current application state.
  3. JoinGroupCommandParser#parse(String args) retrieves the group index and person index from the arguments parsed.
  4. A new JoinGroupCommand object will be created with person index and group index.
  5. LogicManager#execute(String commandText) checks if this command object is able to run in the current application state. This operation is exposed in the LogicManager class as LogicManager#checkIfCommandCanRunInApplicationState(Command command).
  6. If the command is able to run, the JoinGroupCommand then interacts with the Model class to edit the data. This operation is exposed in the Model class as Model#addToGroup(). Note: If the person has already been added to the group, an error message will be displayed.
  7. The CommandResult of the execution will then be retrieved, and the display will change to show the result of the execution.

Any error present in the User Input will throw exceptions and this is shown in the following activity diagram.

JoinGroupCommand Activity Diagram

  1. JoinGroupCommandParser throws an exception if command format is invalid (negative/missing index, missing group prefix)
  2. JoinGroupCommand throws an exception if the Index does not exist in the student list. It also throws an exception if the person has already been added to the current group. The workflow for throwing these exceptions is similar to the first two and is not shown in the activity diagram below.

The interaction between the Logic and Model classes are shown in the following sequence diagram: JoinGroupCommand Ref Sequence Diagram

The following steps describes the execution of the joinG command:

  1. JoinGroupCommand uses the provided set of person indexes and Group index to obtain both a reference to all the persons (using set of person Index) and the Group (using Group Index).
  2. JoinGroupCommand then uses these references to call the addToGroup method of the Model CLass which in turn calls the addToGroup method of the AddressBook CLass.
  3. persons is obtained from personSet and it will be looped through until every single person in persons has been added into the UniquePersonList of the groupToChange.

Design considerations:

  • Current Implementation: Have UniquePersonList that stores person inside each Group
    • Pros: Relatively Easy to implement. Relevant information of person inside Group can be easily accessed. Smaller JSON file size due to smaller volume of information being referenced to, lesser coupling due to only a unidirectional association.
    • Cons: Implementing Delete to delete a person from contact list is slightly more complicated as they would have to search through the groups to remove this person. No information of reference between a person and a group as person contact does not store information of which group they belong in.
  • Alternative: Have the person save a reference to the groups they are in using either groupName or groupId and have the groups they are in save a reference to them.
    • Pros: Able to display each person’s every group they have joined. Also able to display all the persons that joined a particular Group.
    • Cons: Bigger JSON file size due to larger amount of information being referenced to. Increased in coupling between the Person and Group classes due to bidirectional association.

Documentation, logging, testing, configuration, dev-ops

Appendix: Requirements

Product scope

Target user profile:

  • Year 2 Computing Student
  • Taking the modules CS2103T, CS2101 and ES2660
  • Has a need to manage and organise a significant number of contacts of group mates
  • Has a need to manage different tasks related to different groups
  • Wants to gain practical experience using CLI and manipulating JSON files
  • Prefer desktop apps over other types
  • Can type fast
  • Prefers typing to mouse interactions to navigate applications
  • Is reasonably comfortable using CLI apps
  • Has other applications to message group mates

Value proposition:

ThunderCat is able to manage contacts faster than a typical mouse/GUI driven app. It centralises all information the user needs about a person and even allows users to group multiple contacts.

ThunderCat provides a practical way for users to gain confidence using a CLI to navigate an application and manipulate JSON files.

User stories

Priorities: High (must have) - * * *, Medium (nice to have) - * *, Low (unlikely to have) - *

Priority As a …​ I want to …​ So that I can…​
* * * user have a fast and easy way to input multiple contact details of a group mate save time when I’m doing work
* * * user input the details of my group mates in a simple command save time when I input the information
* * * user delete a contact which will remove them from all groups within my address book in case there is a change of groupings -
* * * user directly change details in the address book from the JSON file gain confidence in using JSON files
* * * user only have a few basic commands to use my address book -
* * * user use a CLI to control the application gain confidence in using commands to navigate an application
* * * user remove contacts from my project group remove them when there is a change in group members
* * * user create groups locate group mates easily
* * * user list all groups have a overview of all the groups
* * * user delete a group remove them once they are not needed anymore
* * user easily access the contacts of my group mates, for centralising all the contact details I can access them when I need them on my laptop
* * user input shared links of project groups (tele chat, msteams grp etc) have all documents/information of my group on 1 place and don’t have to spend a long time to find these details/documents
* * user access my group mates’ contacts with a hyperlink single tap to copy to clipboard.
* * user be able to archive contacts of old group mates once a project is over -
* * user categorise by different group projects -
* * user find project members by categories -
* * user have a visually bright address book lift my mood amidst the tiresome group projects.
* * user be able to update the contacts of my group mates update them if I have keyed them in wrongly or they have been changed
* * student with many contacts be able to search for their contact by date/time created -
* * student with many groups be able to search for a module by date/time created -
* * user be able to search through the bulk of contacts using their name search with more efficiency
* * user be able to use my computer to search for contacts use my computer instead of my phone which is more convenient for a heavy computer user
* * student rushing deadlines have more than one way of contacting one person (emergency contact) reach him in times of emergency
* * user be able to see my overlapping groups with a person -
* * user be able to star/favourite a group as a way of categorising people find them more easily
* * user divide my contacts to many different types see each type when it is needed
* * user look for my contact by it’s type, group I can find it when i cannot remember the name
* * user automatically imports the contact from my current contacts avoid typing it all over again
* * user be able to set reminders so that I will remember to perform a task for this contact
* * user find what groups are associated with a module find details of any of those groups
* * student taking modules find a module by searching for its code I can find its details
* * student taking modules find a module by searching for its name I can find its details
* * student doing modules with group projects find what modules a group is associated with -
* * student doing modules update module details -
* student doing group projects find out what tasks need to be done in the group project -
* student doing group projects find out what tasks was assigned to each group member -
* student doing group projects I can find out what tasks that were assigned are not yet done -
* student doing group projects reassign tasks to indicate somebody else is doing them now -

Use cases

(For all use cases below, the System is the ThunderCat AddressBook and the Actor is the user, unless specified otherwise)

Use case: UC01 - View basic instructions

MSS

  1. User enters help command into the terminal or clicks “help” button.
  2. ThunderCat opens the instruction page for the user.
    Use case ends.

Use case: UC02 - Add a new person without the optional address and tags

MSS

  1. User enters the person’s name, phone number and email to be added into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the person has been successfully added.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command format.
    • 1a1. ThunderCat requests for the correct command format, and gives examples
    • 1a2. User enters a new command.
      Steps 1a1-1a2 are repeated until the command format entered are correct.
      Use case resumes from step 2.
  • 1b. ThunderCat detects that the person already exists in the application.
    • 1b1. ThunderCat announces that the person already exists.
    • 1b2. Use case restarts from step 1.

Use case: UC03 - Edit an existing person’s phone number

MSS

  1. User enters the phone number replacing the current contact’s phone number into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the person’s phone number has been successfully edited.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command format (UC02 -extension 1a).

Use case: UC04 - Delete a Person

MSS

  1. User enters the displayed person index to delete into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the person has been successfully deleted.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 - extension 1a).

Use case: UC05 - Add a new Group

MSS

  1. User enters the group name and description to be added into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the group has been successfully created.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 1b. ThunderCat detects that the group already exists in the application.
    • 1b1. ThunderCat announces that the group already exists.
    • 1b2. Use case restarts from step 1.

Use case: UC06 - Edit an existing group’s description

MSS

  1. User enters the description replacing the current group’s description into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the group’s description has been successfully edited.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command format (UC02 -extension 1a).

Use case: UC07 - Delete a Group

MSS

  1. User enters the displayed group index to delete into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the group has been successfully deleted.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 - extension 1a).

Use case: UC08 - Add a Person to a Group

MSS

  1. User enters the adding command into the terminal.
  2. ThunderCat announces that the person has been successfully added.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 1b. ThunderCat detects that a person specified is already in the group.
    • 1b1. ThunderCat announces that the person is already in the group and the person index is not valid.
    • 1b2. ThunderCat requests for a valid person indexes to be input.
      Steps 1b1-1b2 are repeated until all person indexes input are valid.
      Use case resumes from step 2.

Use case: UC09 - Remove a Person from a Group

MSS

  1. User navigates to the group which the user want to remove person from.
  2. User enters the displayed index of the person they want to remove into the terminal.
  3. ThunderCat announces that the person has been successfully removed from the group.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 1b. ThunderCat is unable to find the group with the given index.
    • 1b1. ThunderCat requests for a valid group index and gives examples
    • 1b2. User enters a new command with a valid group index.
      Steps 1b1-1b2 are repeated until the group index entered is valid.
      Use case resumes from step 2.
  • 2a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 2b. ThunderCat is unable to find the person with the given index.
    • 2b1. ThunderCat requests for a valid person index and gives examples
    • 2b2. User enters a new command with a valid person index.
      Steps 2b1-2b2 are repeated until the person index entered is valid.
      Use case resumes from step 3.

Use case: UC10 - Add a Task to a Group

MSS

  1. User navigates to the group which the user want to add tasks to.
  2. User enters the task to be added to the group into the terminal.
  3. ThunderCat announces that the task has been successfully added to the group.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 1b. ThunderCat is unable to find the group with the given index (UC09 -extension 1b).
  • 2b. ThunderCat detects that the task already exists in the group.
    • 2b1. ThunderCat announces that the task already exists.
    • 2b2. Use case resumes from step 2 again.

Use case: UC11 - Mark a Task as Done

MSS

  1. User navigates to the group in which the user wants to mark task as done in.
  2. User enters the task index to be marked as done into the terminal.
  3. ThunderCat announces that the task has been successfully marked as done.
    Use case ends.

Extensions

  • 1a. ThunderCat detects an error in the entered command (UC02 -extension 1a).
  • 1b. ThunderCat is unable to find the group with the given index (UC09 -extension 1b).
  • 2b. ThunderCat detects that the task has already been marked as done.
    • 2b1. ThunderCat announces that the task has already been marked as done.
    • 2b2. Use case resumes from step 2 again.

Use ase: UC12 - Undo after accidental clear command

MSS

  1. User clears the ThunderCat application and all its stored data.
  2. User undoes the action.
  3. ThunderCat announces that the task has been successfully undone.
    Use case ends.

Non-Functional Requirements

  1. Should work if Java 11 or above is installed.
  2. Should be platform-independent, minimally working on any mainstream OS.
  3. Should be able to hold up to 1000 records (persons, groups, etc.) without a noticeable sluggishness in performance for typical usage.
  4. A user with above average typing speed for regular English text (i.e. not code, not system admin commands) should be able to accomplish most of the tasks faster using commands than using the mouse.
  5. Should be intended for use by a single user.
  6. Data should be stored locally.
  7. Data should be stored in a human-editable format.
  8. Data should not be stored with a database management system.
  9. Should be portable; it should not require any installer.
  10. Should not depend on a remote server to function.
  11. Should have a GUI that works well for screen resolutions 1920x1080 and higher.
  12. Should have a GUI that works well for screen scales of 100% and 125%.
  13. Should have a GUI that is still usable for screen resolutions 1280x720 and higher.
  14. Should have a GUI that is still usable for screen scales of 150%.
  15. Should be packaged into a single file, ideally a JAR file.
  16. Should have a total app size of at most 100 MB.

Glossary

  • Mainstream OS: Windows, Linux, Unix, OS-X
  • API: Application programming interfaces, or APIs, simplify software development and innovation by enabling applications to exchange data and functionality easily and securely.

Appendix: Instructions for manual testing

Given below are instructions to test the app manually.

:information_source: Note: These instructions only provide a starting point for testers to work on; testers are expected to do more exploratory testing.

Launch and shutdown

  1. Initial launch

    1. Download the jar file and copy into an empty folder

    2. Double-click the jar file Expected: Shows the GUI with a set of sample contacts. The window size may not be optimum.

  2. Saving window preferences

    1. Resize the window to an optimum size. Move the window to a different location. Close the window.

    2. Re-launch the app by double-clicking the jar file.
      Expected: The most recent window size and location is retained.

Adding a person

  1. Adding a person while in the home page with all contacts being shown.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • List all persons using the list command. This will navigate you to the home page.
      • An exisiting contact with these details:
        Name: John Doe, Phone: 98765432, Email: johnd@example.com

    2. Test case: add n/Johnny Simpson p/85432617 e/johnnyS@example.com a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25
      Expected: The contact with the corresponding details are added to the displayed person list. Details of the added person is displayed in the result box.

    3. Test case: add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com
      Expected: No person is added. Error details is shown in the result box. Error message of “Person already exists in the address book” is shown in the result box. Displayed person list remains the same.

    4. Test case: add n/Kenny
      Expected: No person is added. Error details is shown in the result box. Error message of “Invalid command format!” is shown. Followed by an example of how the correct command input format should be. Displayed person list remains the same.

    5. Other incorrect delete commadns to try: add p/55, add d/hello (where the command format is not as specified in the user guide)
      Expected: Similar to previous test case result(Test case iv).

Deleting a person

  1. Deleting a person while in the home page with all contacts being shown.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • List all persons using the list command. This will navigate you to the home page.
      • Multiple persons in the list.

    2. Test case: delete 1
      Expected: First contact is deleted from the displayed person list. Details of the deleted contact shown in the status message.

    3. Test case: delete 0
      Expected: No person is deleted. Error details shown in the status message. Error message of “Invalid command format!” is shown. Followed by an example of how the correct command input format should be. Displayed person list remains the same.

    4. Other incorrect delete commands to try: delete, delete x, ... (where x is larger than the list size)
      Expected: Similar to previous.

  2. Deleting a person after filtering the displayed person list by searching for name.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • List all persons using the list command. This will navigate you to the home page.
      • Multiple persons already present in the list.
      • Add a contact using the add command. Specifically add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com.
      • Ensure that “John Doe” does not have a displayed index of 1 when using the list command.
      • Use the find command and make sure “John Doe” now has the displayed index of 1.

    2. Test case: delete 1 Expected: First contact is deleted from the displayed person list. Details of the deleted contact shown in the status message. “John Doe” is deleted from the address book.

    3. Test case

Adding a person to a group

  1. Adding a person to a group while in the home page with all contacts being shown.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • List all persons using the list command. This will navigate you to the home page.
      • 3 contacts present.
      • 3 groups present.

    2. Test case: joinG p/1 p/2 g/1
      Expected: The first and second person in the displayed person list are added to the first group in the displayed group list. Details of the group which had people added to it, is displayed in the result box .

    3. Test case: joinG g/1
      Expected: No person is added to the first group. Error details is shown in the result box. Error message of “Invalid command format!” is shown in the result box.

    4. Test case: joinG p/1
      Expected: Similar to previous test case result( Test case 1.3 ).

    5. Other incorrect delete commands to try: joinG p/52 g/1, joinG p/1 g/55, joinG p/0 g/0 (where the command format is not as specified in the user guide. The indexes provided are out of bounds of the indexes displayed in the application.)
      Expected: Similar to previous test case result( Test case 1.3 ).

  2. Adding a person to a group while in the home page without any contacts present.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • 0 contacts present.
      • 1 group present.
    2. Test case: joinG p/1 g/1 Expected: Similar to previous test case result ( Test case 1.3 ).

  3. Adding a person to a group while in the home page without any group present.

    1. Prerequisites:
      • 1 contact present.
      • 0 group present.
    2. Test case: joinG p/1 g/1 Expected: Similar to previous test case result ( Test case 1.3 ).

Effort

AddressBook Level-3 (AB3) only uses Person entities, but now we deal with Group and Task entities in addition to Person objects, each with their own attributes. This was more difficult than AB3 because we had to also add commands to create, read, update, and delete all of them. We also had to maintain an application state for the Home and Group Information pages. This was more difficult than AB3 because AB3 only has one page. Furthermore, our pages each have two list panels, and they are displaying different types of data (Person, Group, Task), unlike AB3 which has only one list panel to display only Person cards for objects. We also had to ensure that in certain pages, certain commands don’t run if they did not make sense to run. This was difficult more difficult than AB3 because in AB3, all commands can run, and they do not depend on the application state.