TextXchange

TextXchange is a web application that me and three other colleagues developed. The website focuses on creating a platform where UH students can exchange books with one another. The user may sell their own textbook or discover books on the site that other students are selling. TextXchange implaments a search feature that is categorized by three components: title, author, and classes used. Users may search for a book title and author by typing into the search bar and the appropriate book would appear. Filtering by classes is also a feature, as users can select all the classes they’re taking and the appropriate books would appear.

I contributed to the front-end development of this project by creating the mockup pages for the landing and discover tabs. I also contributed to creating the UI and color scheme of the website by implamenting user messages on the discover page to help them navigate through the books. I also implamented a bit functionality by creating the class filtering in the search bar, as well as fixing small bugs like forcing a positive decimal input for a book price and ensuring that only the user’s books are published and displayed on their homepage.

Although functional programming is not my stength, I learned through this project that the only way to improve on a skill is to go and tackle the problem. Working with user interfaces and design is my comfort zone so dealing with back-end functionality was a scary feat. I was not alone, however, as my group members helped me along the way to get used to it. Overall, I learned more about back-end development and creating databases from this project experience. The completion of this project could not have been achieved if it wasn’t for effective use of agile project management. Indeed, this process allowed us to efficiently combine our skills to create a functional site.

You can find our Organization GitHub Page here and our TextXchange Home Page here