Tickify

Tickify is a tertiary event ticketing platform for South African universities and colleges. It is built as a Java EE (JEE) web application and organized into three connected components:

1. Admin Console
2. Client Site
3. Security Scanner

Overview

Tickify helps campus event teams publish and manage events, while students and external attendees can discover events and buy digital tickets. Each ticket includes a unique QR code used at venue entrances for fast and secure verification.

The platform supports institutions such as UJ, Wits, UP, and UCT, and can enforce student-only event access using institutional email-domain validation.

Core Components

1. Admin Console

Administrators can:

• Create and manage campus events
• Configure student-only restrictions
• Track ticket sales and attendance
• Monitor revenue through a real-time dashboard

2. Client Site

Students and external attendees can:

• Browse upcoming campus events
• Register using university credentials
• Purchase event tickets
• Receive unique QR-coded tickets for entry

3. Security Scanner

Venue guards use a mobile-first web interface to:

• Scan ticket QR codes via camera
• Validate tickets through manual code entry (fallback)
• Receive instant validation feedback (visual, audio, and vibration)

Java EE Architecture

This system follows a layered Java EE structure:

• Presentation layer: JSP pages and servlet controllers (controllers call application services, not DAOs directly)
• Application layer: service classes in za.ac.tut.application.* for authentication and registration workflows
• Data-access layer: DAO classes in za.ac.tut.databaseManagement for entity operations
• Persistence layer: entities and persistence configuration

All client applications communicate with the backend through REST-style API calls. Authentication state is maintained on the client using localStorage session tokens.

Data Storage and Initialization

The datastore layer supports:

• Local JSON file storage
• Oracle database connectivity

On first launch, the server seeds default administrator and security accounts to simplify initial setup.

Database Credentials (Required)

Tickify now requires explicit database credentials. No default database password is used.

Set either JVM properties or environment variables before starting the app:

• JVM properties: -Dtickify.db.user=... -Dtickify.db.password=...
• Environment variables: TICKIFY_DB_USER and TICKIFY_DB_PASSWORD

Optional connection settings (if not provided):

• TICKIFY_DB_HOST (default: localhost)
• TICKIFY_DB_PORT (default: 1527)
• TICKIFY_DB_NAME (default: tickifyDB)

Password Reset Email Delivery

Client password reset links are now delivered by email (not shown on-screen).

Configure SMTP via environment variables or JVM properties:

• TICKIFY_SMTP_HOST or -Dtickify.smtp.host=...
• TICKIFY_SMTP_PORT or -Dtickify.smtp.port=... (default: 587)
• TICKIFY_SMTP_USER or -Dtickify.smtp.user=...
• TICKIFY_SMTP_PASSWORD or -Dtickify.smtp.password=...
• TICKIFY_SMTP_FROM or -Dtickify.smtp.from=...
• TICKIFY_SMTP_STARTTLS or -Dtickify.smtp.starttls=true|false (default: true)
• TICKIFY_SMTP_SSL or -Dtickify.smtp.ssl=true|false (default: false)

Branding and link generation settings:

• TICKIFY_APP_BASE_URL or -Dtickify.app.baseUrl=... for absolute reset links in email.
• TICKIFY_LOGO_URL or -Dtickify.logo.url=... for the logo rendered in the email template.

Project Context

This repository contains the Java EE implementation for the web platform, including servlets, DAO classes, entities, and JSP-based views for the different user roles.

Branding

This project uses the Tickify brand name across the application and documentation.

Production Hardening

Use PRODUCTION_HARDENING_CHECKLIST.md as the release gate checklist for security, validation, scanner readiness, client readiness, admin readiness, and deployment operations.

Oracle Cloud Free Tier Deployment

Deployment automation for Oracle Cloud Free Tier VM is included in:

• deploy/oracle-free-tier/setup-vm.sh
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/deploy-app.sh
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/provision-and-deploy-oci.sh
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/terminate-oci-vm.sh
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/tickify.service
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/nginx-tickify.conf
• deploy/oracle-free-tier/tickify.env.example

Detailed step-by-step guide:

• docs/ORACLE_CLOUD_FREE_TIER_DEPLOYMENT.md