JourneyJournal is a mobile application designed for travelers to document their travel experiences. It allows users to create, view, edit, and delete journal entries, which can include text, images, and geolocation data.
JourneyJournal is an app that uses Firebase for user authentication and Firestore for data storage. It allows users to create, edit, view, and delete journal entries, which are stored as 'Journey' objects. The app integrates with device storage and camera for image upload, and uses Google Play Services for geolocation. The UI design includes a RecyclerView with a custom adapter for displaying journal entries, a custom EditText that resembles a lined notebook, and compliance with Material Design guidelines. External APIs and libraries used include Firebase Firestore, Firebase Authentication, Glide, and Google Play Services. Let’s examine everything in more detail below:
- Firebase Authentication: Firebase provides a strong and secure service for managing user authentication. Although it supports several authentication methods, JourneyJournal primarily uses email and password authentication.
- User Registration: New users can create an account by providing a unique username, email, and a strong password. The registration process involves validating the input data and ensuring that the email is not already in use.
- Login System: Registered users can log in using their email and password. Firebase Authentication handles the login process, including security checks and session management.
- Class
Journey: Acts as the data model for journal entries. It encapsulates attributes such as title, details (text of the journal entry), timestamp (for tracking creation or last edit time), image URI (link to the stored image), and geolocation (stored asGeoPointfor location tagging). - Create/Edit Entry: Users interact with a form to input or modify the details of their journal entries. New entries are instantiated as
Journeyobjects and saved to Firestore. Existing entries can be retrieved, modified, and updated in the database. - View Entry: The main screen lists all journal entries in a user-friendly format. Each entry displays essential information like the title, an image thumbnail (if available), and the date of the entry.
- Delete Entry: Users have the option to delete any of their journal entries. This action removes the entry from the Firestore database.
- Image Upload: Integrates with the device's storage and camera. Users can either select an existing image from their device or capture a new one using the camera. Uploaded images are stored and referenced in journal entries via their URIs.
- Geolocation: The app uses
FusedLocationProviderClient, a part of Google Play Services, to obtain accurate and efficient location data. This feature enhances journal entries by allowing users to tag their exact location at the time of writing.
- Firebase Firestore: A NoSQL cloud database that stores and synchronizes data in real-time. Firestore is used for storing all journal entries, user data, and images (as references). Its real-time capabilities ensure that any changes in the database are immediately reflected in the app.
- Data Model: Each user's journal entries are stored in a separate document under their user ID, ensuring data isolation and personalized user experiences.
- Utility Class: Contains helper methods for common database operations, such as fetching the collection reference for a user's journal entries and converting timestamps to a readable format.
- RecyclerView with Custom Adapter (
JourneyAdapter): This setup provides a dynamic and efficient way to display a list of journal entries. The custom adapter handles the layout and binding of data from Firestore to each item in the RecyclerView. - Custom EditText (
NotebookEditText): A visually appealing custom EditText that resembles a lined notebook. This design choice adds a thematic element to the journaling experience, making the text input area look like a page from a traditional journal. - Material Design Compliance: Adherence to Material Design guidelines ensures a familiar and intuitive user interface. This includes the use of standard components, animations, and responsive layouts that adapt to different screen sizes and orientations.
- Firebase Firestore: For data storage and retrieval.
- Firebase Authentication: For user registration and login.
- Glide: For efficient image loading and handling.
- Google Play Services (Location APIs): For obtaining the user's current location.