Final Project: Community Event Manager

Project Description

Build a complete web application that allows users to browse, create, and manage local community events. This project will integrate all core PHP concepts from the course into a practical, real-world application.

Core Requirements

1. User System (Authentication & Sessions)

• User registration and login system

• Password hashing (using password_hash() and password_verify())

• Session management for logged-in users

• User roles: Regular User and Admin

2. Event Management (CRUD Operations)

• Create: Logged-in users can submit new events with:

  • Title, description, date, time, location

  • Category selection (sports, arts, education, etc.)

  • Image upload capability

• Read: Public browsing of all upcoming events

  • Search and filter by category, date, location

  • Pagination for event listings

• Update: Event creators can edit their own events

• Delete: Event creators can remove their events; Admins can delete any event

3. Database Design

Create a MySQL database with at least these tables:

• users (id, username, email, password_hash, role, created_at)

• events (id, title, description, date, location, category_id, user_id, created_at)

• categories (id, name)

• event_images (id, event_id, filename) [for handling multiple images]

4. Form Handling & Security

• All forms must implement:

  • Input validation and sanitization

  • CSRF protection tokens

  • File upload validation (type, size restrictions)

  • Prepared statements for all database queries

  • Proper output escaping with htmlspecialchars()

5. Advanced Features (Choose 2-3)

• Event Registration: Users can register for events

• Comments/Rating System: Users can comment on and rate events

• Email Notifications: Send confirmation emails for new events/registrations

• AJAX Search: Live search without page reload

• Export Function: Export events to CSV/PDF (Admin only)

• API Endpoint: Basic REST API to fetch events in JSON format

Technical Skills Demonstrated

✅ PHP Syntax & Basics - Variables, arrays, functions, includes
✅ Control Structures - Loops, conditionals for dynamic content
✅ MySQL & PDO - Database design, CRUD operations, joins
✅ Form Handling & Security - Validation, sanitization, prepared statements
✅ File Management - Image uploads and processing
✅ Sessions & Authentication - User login system
✅ Code Organization - Separation of concerns, reusable components

Deliverables

1. Complete source code with organized project structure

2. Database schema (SQL export file)

3. Live demonstration of all features

4. Brief documentation explaining:

   • How to set up the project

   • Security measures implemented

   • Challenges faced and solutions

Evaluation Criteria

• Functionality (40%): All features work as specified

• Security (25%): Proper implementation of security measures

• Code Quality (20%): Clean, organized, commented code

• Database Design (15%): Efficient, normalized structure

Why This Project?

• Comprehensive: Covers every major PHP topic from the course

• Practical: Solves a real-world need (event management)

• Scalable: Can be extended with additional features

• Portfolio-Ready: Professional enough for a student portfolio