Journal App

Overview

This project is a Journal Application that allows users to sign up and sign in using Firebase Authentication. Users can view a list of journals along with their descriptions, and they have the ability to add new journals, including uploading images. All data is securely stored in Firebase Firestore and Firebase Storage.

Features

• User Authentication:

  • Sign up and sign in using Firebase Authentication.

• Journal Management:

  • Display a list of journals tailored to each user.
  • Each journal includes a description.

• Image Upload:

  • Users can upload image associated with their journals.
  • Images are stored in Firebase Storage for easy retrieval.

Components Used

This project utilizes various components to create a robust and user-friendly journal application:

• RecyclerView: A powerful component for displaying large sets of data in a scrollable list, efficiently reusing item views to improve performance.

• Navigation Component: Manages fragment transactions and navigation within the app, simplifying the implementation of navigation patterns.

• Fragment: Represents a portion of the user interface in an activity, allowing for better organization and reuse across different screens.

• Single Activity Architecture: Uses a single activity to host multiple fragments, promoting modularization of the codebase.

• Firebase Authentication: Provides secure user authentication, allowing users to sign up and log in using email and password.

• Firebase Firestore: A NoSQL cloud database for real-time data synchronization, used to store and retrieve journal entries.

• Firebase Storage: A cloud storage solution that allows users to upload images associated with their journal entries securely.

• XML: Used for designing user interface layouts in Android, defining the structure and appearance of UI components.

• Glide: An image loading library that simplifies loading images into ImageViews while handling caching and memory management efficiently.

• Options Menu: Provides a menu for users to manage their session such as logout.

How to Use This Project

Create and Setup Your Own Firebase Project

1. Clone This Project:

   • Clone the repository using the following command or by downloading the zip file.

     git clone https://github.com/yourusername/journal-app.git

2. Create a Firebase Project:

   • Go to the Firebase Console.
   • Click on "Add project" and follow the prompts to enter your project name, select your country/region, and accept the terms of service. Click "Create project" when done.

3. Enable Services:

   • After creating your project, navigate to the "Build" section in the left sidebar.
   • Enable the following services:
     • Authentication: Set up sign-in methods (e.g., Email/Password).
     • Firestore Database: Click on "Create database" and choose "Start in test mode" for development purposes.
     • Storage: Click on "Get Started" to enable Cloud Storage for file uploads.

• Also do not forget to download the google-services.json file and place into the root directory of your app module (usually located at app/ in Android Studio).

4. Create Firestore Collection:
   • In Firestore, create a collection reference named "Journal". This will be used to store journal entries for each user.

Google Services Configuration

To properly configure your project, please ensure you add your own google-services.json file. This file is essential for integrating Firebase services into your application.

Steps to Add google-services.json

1. Create a Firebase Project:

   • Go to the Firebase Console.
   • Click on "Add project" and follow the prompts to create a new project.

2. Register Your App:

   • In the Firebase console, select your project.
   • Click on the gear icon (⚙️) next to "Project Overview" and select "Project settings."
   • In the "Your apps" section, click on "Add app" and choose Android.
   • Enter your app's package name (make sure it matches the applicationId in your build.gradle file).

3. Download google-services.json:

   • After registering your app, you will see an option to download the google-services.json file.
   • Click on "Download google-services.json" to obtain the configuration file.

4. Add the File to Your Project:

   • Move the downloaded google-services.json file into the root directory of your app module (usually located at app/ in Android Studio).

5. Add Google Services Plugin and dependency:

   • Open your project-level build.gradle file and add 'com.google.gms:google-services' dependency:

6. Sync Your Project:

   • After making these changes, sync your project with Gradle files to ensure everything is set up correctly.

7. Verify Configuration:

   • Run your app to verify that Firebase services are properly configured and working as expected.