College Lost & Found Tracker is a comprehensive console-based management system designed to streamline campus lost item recovery:

• Secure authentication with SHA-256 password hashing and salt-based encryption
• Role-based access control with Admin and Student privilege levels
• Auto-generated tracking numbers (Format: LF-YYYYMMDD-XXXX) for efficient item identification
• Advanced search functionality with multi-criteria filtering by category, location, and status
• Business intelligence dashboard with comprehensive admin reports and analytics
• JDBC optimization with prepared statements, connection pooling, and ResultSet management

Built with pure Java, MySQL database, and enterprise design patterns for scalability and reliability.

📁 lost-and-found-tracker/ ├── 📁 backend/ │ ├── 📄 DatabaseConnection.java # Singleton DB connection with pooling │ ├── 📄 PasswordUtil.java # SHA-256 hashing utilities │ ├── 📄 ValidationUtil.java # Input validation engine │ ├── 📄 User.java # User model/POJO │ ├── 📄 Item.java # Item model/POJO │ ├── 📄 UserOperations.java # User CRUD operations │ ├── 📄 ItemOperations.java # Item CRUD operations │ └── 📄 SearchOperations.java # Advanced search functionality ├── 📁 frontend/ │ ├── 📄 ConsoleUI.java # Reusable UI components │ ├── 📄 LoginView.java # Authentication screens │ ├── 📄 ItemView.java # Item management views │ ├── 📄 SearchView.java # Search interface │ ├── 📄 StudentMenu.java # Student dashboard │ ├── 📄 AdminMenu.java # Admin dashboard │ └── 📄 Main.java # Application entry point ├── 📄 schema.sql # Database schema ├── 📄 database.properties # DB configuration

• Schema Design: 3-table normalized structure (users, items, status_updates) with foreign key constraints
• User Table: Secure credential storage, role management, login tracking, account activation flags
• Item Table: Comprehensive metadata (tracking_number, category, location, dates), status workflow, soft-delete support
• Status Updates: Complete audit trail with timestamp logging and user attribution
• Indexes: Optimized queries with indexes on tracking_number, username, status, category

Password Security: SHA-256 hashing → Custom salt generation → Secure verification → Account lockout after failed attempts
SQL Injection Prevention: PreparedStatement usage → Parameter binding → Input sanitization → Validation layer
Access Control: Role-based permissions → Session management → Admin privilege checks → User data isolation
Data Integrity: Foreign key constraints → Transaction support → Soft-delete pattern → Audit logging

• Search Capabilities: Keyword search with LIKE patterns, Category filtering, Location-based search, Status tracking
• Admin Reports: Items by status (LOST/FOUND/CLAIMED/RETURNED), Category distribution analysis, User activity metrics, System performance statistics
• Data Export: SQL query results, Business insights, User reports, Item tracking history

MVC Architecture: Clear separation of concerns → Backend services → Frontend views → Modular design
JDBC Optimization: Connection pooling → PreparedStatements → ResultSet management → Resource cleanup
Console UI Framework: Formatted tables → Input validation → Menu navigation → Cross-platform support
Error Handling: Try-catch-finally patterns → User-friendly messages → Graceful degradation → Exception logging

Required Softwares: JDK 8 or higher MySQL Server 5.7+ MySQL Connector/J JDBC Driver (mysql-connector-j-8.0.33.jar) Command Prompt / Terminal

add your actual local mysql password in- database.properties file - "db.password= //your device mysql password " in this line

1. Clone repository git clone https://github.com/vishnupriyanpr/lost-and-found-tracker.git cd lost-and-found-tracker 2. Setup MySQL Database mysql -u root -p < schema.sql 3. Configure database.properties db.driver=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver db.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/lostfound_db db.username=root db.password=your_password 4. Download MySQL JDBC Driver Place mysql-connector-j-8.0.33.jar in project root Download: https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/j/ 5. Compile Java files javac -cp ".;mysql-connector-j-8.0.33.jar" backend/.java frontend/.java 6. Run Application java -cp ".;mysql-connector-j-8.0.33.jar" frontend.Main

Register Admin Account Choose "Register New Account" Enter username: admin Enter email: admin@college.edu Enter phone: 1234567890 Enter password: admin123 Select role: ADMIN Login and Explore Username: admin Password: admin123

Report Lost Item Login → Report Lost Item Item Name: Blue Backpack Category: PERSONAL Location: Library 2nd Floor Date Lost: 2025-10-24 Get Tracking Number: LF-20251024-0001 Search Items Login → Search Items Choose filter: Category Select: ELECTRONICS View results in formatted table

View All Users Login as Admin → View All Users See user table with ID, username, email, role, status Generate Reports Login as Admin → Generate Reports Choose: Items by Status Report View: LOST (15), FOUND (12), CLAIMED (5), RETURNED (3) Delete Item Login as Admin → Delete Item Enter Tracking Number: LF-20251024-0001 Confirm deletion

-- Users Table CREATE TABLE users ( user_id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT, username VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE NOT NULL, hashed_password VARCHAR(64) NOT NULL, email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL, phone VARCHAR(15), role ENUM('STUDENT', 'ADMIN') DEFAULT 'STUDENT', is_active BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE, failed_login_attempts INT DEFAULT 0, last_login TIMESTAMP NULL, created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ); -- Items Table CREATE TABLE items ( item_id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT, tracking_number VARCHAR(20) UNIQUE NOT NULL, user_id INT NOT NULL, item_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL, description TEXT, category ENUM('ELECTRONICS','BOOKS','PERSONAL','DOCUMENTS','ACCESSORIES','OTHER'), location VARCHAR(100), date_lost DATE, date_found DATE, status ENUM('LOST','FOUND','CLAIMED','RETURNED') DEFAULT 'LOST', found_by INT, is_active BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE, created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(user_id), FOREIGN KEY (found_by) REFERENCES users(user_id) );

• ✅ User authentication and registration
• ✅ Lost/Found item reporting
• ✅ Advanced search functionality
• ✅ Admin dashboard and reports
• ✅ Item tracking system

• 🔄 Email notifications for matches
• 🔄 Image upload support
• 🔄 SMS alerts integration
• 🔄 QR code generation for items
• 🔄 Mobile app development

• 📊 AI-powered item matching
• 🌐 Web-based interface
• 📱 Mobile push notifications
• 🔐 Two-factor authentication
• 📈 Advanced analytics dashboard

Contributions are welcome! Development guidelines:

1. Fork Repository → Create feature branch (feature/AmazingFeature)
2. Code Standards → Follow Java conventions → Comment complex logic → Write clean code
3. Testing → Test all CRUD operations → Verify SQL queries → Check error handling
4. Documentation → Update README → Add code comments → Document new features
5. Submit PR → Detailed description → Link related issues → Request review

Areas for Contribution:

• Backend Enhancement - API development - Cloud integration - Performance optimization - Security hardening
• Frontend Development - GUI with JavaFX/Swing - Web interface - Mobile app - Dashboard improvements
• Database Optimization - Query optimization - Caching layer - Database migrations - Backup automation

MIT License (see LICENSE file)

This project is crafted with precision and innovation by Vishnupriyan P R.

Vishnupriyan P R JDBC Optimization • Security Implementation • Enterprise Architecture

• MySQL Community - Database engine and JDBC driver
• Java Community - Platform and libraries
• GitHub - Version control and collaboration platform

• Issues: Report bugs via GitHub Issues
• Discussions: Join GitHub Discussions
• Email: priyanv783@example.com
• LinkedIn: Vishnupriyan P R