McGee Food Ordering System
Java RMI-based Distributed Food Ordering Platform
Overview
The McGee Food Ordering System (FOS) is a distributed application developed using Java RMI to digitize restaurant operations. It replaces a manual, paper-based ordering process with a centralized client-server architecture that handles order management, billing, and reporting. The system utilizes multi-threading for concurrency, serialization for data transmission, and a MySQL database for persistent storage.
Project Goal
To improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction at McGee Restaurant by reducing order wait times, minimizing manual data inaccuracies, and providing a reliable digital platform for order placement and billing.
Key Features
- —Multi-role registration and login (Customer, Manager, Admin)
- —Digital menu viewing and real-time order placement for customers
- —Managerial dashboard for tracking pending/completed orders and managing food items
- —Automated billing and secure payment completion
- —Daily and overall sales report generation for administrators
- —Administrator activity logs and user management system
- —Digital receipt generation and printing functionality
- —Customer feedback system for completed orders
Technical Challenges
Addressing network latency and bandwidth limitations inherent in remote method invocations compared to local calls.
Ensuring data consistency and integrity across distributed JVMs.
Managing complex error handling for RemoteExceptions caused by network failures or server outages.
Securing data transmission against risks such as deserialization attacks.
Developing a thread-safe environment to handle multiple concurrent client requests without delays.
Key Learnings
Mastered distributed system architecture using Java RMI for remote object communication.
Implemented a thread-safe database connection using the Singleton design pattern.
Gained expertise in applying core OOP principles (Abstraction, Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism) to modularize a distributed application.
Learned to utilize serialization to transmit complex Java objects across a network.
Developed robust security measures including role-based authentication and password hashing.
Understood the importance of multi-threading for improving system responsiveness and resource utilization.
Personal Reflection
"I really should reflect on this project... One day, when I'm not too busy shipping code, I'll write something profound here. For now, just know that it was a journey, and I learned things. Many things. Definitely."
Want to Learn More About This Project?
I'm happy to discuss the technical architecture, challenges overcome, and lessons learned from this project.