GradeTracker — JDBC + MySQL Edition

A JavaFX desktop application for tracking student grades, where students are automatically categorized as Pass or Fail based on their grade. This version replaces the original in-memory data storage with a real MySQL database, accessed through JDBC.

This repository contains only the database-integration part of a larger university project. Adding a student through the UI performs a real INSERT into MySQL, and the Pass / Fail screens are populated by querying the database directly.

Features

• Add a new student (name, subject, grade 0–10, date) through a simple form.
• Automatic Pass/Fail categorization based on the grade (grade >= 5).
• Two list screens (Pass / Fail) backed by a TableView, with:
  • Sorting by subject, grade, or date.
  • A right-click context menu to delete a record or move it to the other list (manual override for incorrect grade entries).
• All data is persisted in MySQL — nothing is lost when the app is closed.

Architecture

Class	Role	Notes
Student	Model	Holds id, name, subject, grade, date. getStatus() computes "Pass"/"Fail" from the grade.
DBConnection	Connection helper	Opens a Connection to MySQL via DriverManager.
StudentDAO	Data access	The only class that contains SQL: insertStudent(), getPassList(), getFailList(), deleteStudent(), updateGrade().
App	Application bootstrap	Loads primary.fxml on start; exposes setRoot() for screen switching.
PrimaryController	Navigation	Routes to Add / Pass / Fail screens; no business logic.
AddController	Form input	Validates input, builds a Student, and calls studentDAO.insertStudent(...).
PassController / FailController	List display	Bind a TableView to the list returned by StudentDAO; handle sorting and the delete/move context-menu actions.

Why parameterized queries

Every SQL statement in StudentDAO uses PreparedStatement with ? placeholders instead of string concatenation. This prevents SQL injection: a value such as an apostrophe inside a student's name cannot alter the structure of the query, because the driver always sends parameter values as data, never as part of the SQL text. It also removes the need to manually escape quotes, and lets the database cache the query's execution plan since its structure never changes between calls — only the bound values do.

Handling edge cases

• No rows: queryStudents() simply returns an empty ObservableList when the ResultSet has no rows, so the TableView shows an empty (not broken) table.
• Connection lifecycle: every method uses try-with-resources on the Connection, PreparedStatement, and ResultSet, so they are closed automatically even if an exception is thrown.
• Database unavailable: SQLExceptions are caught in the controllers and shown as an alert dialog instead of crashing the application.

Tech stack

• Java 11
• JavaFX 13 (Controls + FXML)
• MySQL 8+ (via mysql-connector-j)
• Maven

Getting started

1. Install MySQL

If you don't already have MySQL Server + Workbench installed, download them from dev.mysql.com. Make a note of the password you set for the root user.

2. Create the database

Open MySQL Workbench (or the mysql command line) and run schema.sql (File → Open SQL Script → Run). This will:

• Create the gradetrackerDB database.
• Create the students table.
• Insert 4 sample rows (2 Pass, 2 Fail).

3. Configure the database connection

Open src/main/java/com/mycompany/gradetracker/DBConnection.java and update the constants to match your setup:

private static final String URL = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/gradetrackerDB?useSSL=false&serverTimezone=UTC";
private static final String USER = "root";
private static final String PASSWORD = "your_password_here"; // put your own MySQL password here

4. Run the app

mvn clean javafx:run

mysql-connector-j is declared as a Maven dependency in pom.xml, so no manual JAR setup is needed.

5. Verify it works

1. Click + Add, fill in a name, subject, grade (e.g. 7), and a date, then Submit.
2. Go to the Pass screen — the new student should appear there.
3. Open MySQL Workbench and run:

   SELECT * FROM gradetrackerDB.students;

   You'll see the new row there — proof that it was actually written to the database.

Project structure

.
├── pom.xml
├── schema.sql
└── src/main
    ├── java/com/mycompany/gradetracker/
    │   ├── App.java
    │   ├── DBConnection.java
    │   ├── StudentDAO.java
    │   ├── Student.java
    │   ├── PrimaryController.java
    │   ├── AddController.java
    │   ├── PassController.java
    │   └── FailController.java
    └── resources/com/mycompany/gradetracker/
        ├── primary.fxml
        ├── add.fxml
        ├── pass.fxml
        └── fail.fxml

Note on the wider project

This app started as a refactor of an earlier "WatchTracker" project and grew in three stages: a JavaFX app with in-memory storage, a relational schema designed separately in Azure SQL, and finally this MySQL/JDBC integration (the part in this repository), which replaced the in-memory storage with real persistence.