Inventory Management Objectives Use Inheritance To Create Ba

Inventory Managementobjectives Use Inheritance To Create Base And Ch

Use inheritance to create base and child classes. Utilize multiple classes in the same program. Perform standard input validation. Implement a solution that uses polymorphism.

A small electronics company has hired you to write an application to manage their inventory. The company requested role-based access control (RBAC) to increase security. The application menu must be flexible enough to allow adding, reordering, and updating menu items with minimal code changes. Users are authenticated via username and password, with user data stored in a file. A superuser "admin" with password "admin" is hardcoded for initial setup. Users will have roles: manager or employee, affecting their menu options. The menu and inventory are loaded from files, which may not exist at start; default options are provided if files are missing.

Paper For Above instruction

The task of creating a robust inventory management system for a small electronics company requires careful planning and implementation of object-oriented programming principles, chiefly inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation. It also involves implementing role-based access control to segregate user permissions, dynamic menu management, and persistent data storage. This essay discusses how to design such a system, emphasizing the use of inheritance for different user roles and menu items, validating user inputs, and ensuring security through authentication, all integrated into a flexible, maintainable application architecture.

System Design Overview

The core of the system encompasses several classes: a User class hierarchy to represent different roles, a Menu class for dynamic menu management, a Product class for inventory items, and a ProductCatalog class to manage inventory data. The design leverages inheritance by creating a base User class and specialized subclasses for managers and employees, each with tailored menu options and permissions. The Menu class is designed for flexibility, allowing menu items to be added or reordered dynamically by reading from configuration files. The Product and ProductCatalog classes embody inventory management, with Product holding individual product data and ProductCatalog responsible for CRUD operations.

User Authentication and Role Management

Authentication is the initial step of the application, prompting users for credentials and verifying them against stored data in a file, Users.dat. To enhance security, passwords are stored as hashes, and the system includes a hardcoded super user account for initial setup. When a user logs in, their role (manager or employee) determines which menu options are visible. This demonstrates the application of inheritance and polymorphism, where each user type can have distinct behavior and permissions, simplifying permission management and future extensions.

Role-Based Access and Menu Dynamics

RBAC is implemented by associating user roles with menu items. Menu items are loaded from a file, MenuList.dat, allowing for dynamic configuration. Each menu item specifies whether it is restricted to managers or available to all users. The Menu class displays options based on the logged-in user's role, showcasing polymorphism where different user objects can interact with the menu differently. This design allows for easy reordering and updating of menu items without changing the underlying code structure, adhering to the Open/Closed principle for maintainability.

Inventory Management and Data Persistence

The inventory uses Product objects stored within the ProductCatalog class, facilitating add, update, find, and delete operations. Inventory data persists via the Inventory.dat file; when the program starts, it loads existing data if available, else initializes an empty inventory. The retail price calculation employs a property in the Product class, and methods for displaying product details incorporate this calculation. The class hierarchy leverages inheritance to extend product details if needed, exemplifying polymorphism and code reuse.

Implementing Functionality with OOP Principles

Key methods such as AddUser, RemoveUser, ChangePassword, and inventory operations are encapsulated within their respective classes, following the Single Responsibility Principle. Input validation is performed at each step, ensuring data integrity and security. The modular design enables unit testing of individual components, fostering reliable software development.

Sample Workflow

1. The application starts and prompts for user credentials.
2. Credentials are validated against stored data; on success, the user object is instantiated with appropriate role.
3. The inventory is loaded, and the menu is generated dynamically based on the user's role and menu configuration file.
4. The user selects actions, such as viewing inventory, adding products, or managing users, with each command executing respective methods utilizing inheritance and polymorphism where appropriate.
5. The session continues until the user chooses to exit.

Security Considerations

Passwords are hashed using a secure algorithm before storage, and authentication verifies hashed inputs against stored hashes. Role-based restrictions prevent employees from accessing sensitive functions. User management functions prevent duplication and unauthorized modifications, maintaining integrity.

Conclusion

Implementing this inventory management system showcases the power of object-oriented design principles. Inheritance facilitates role management and command expansion, polymorphism allows flexible interaction among parts, and careful input validation enhances security. By loading menu items and inventory data from external files, the application remains adaptable to changing requirements with minimal code modifications. Proper modularization and adherence to design best practices result in a maintainable, scalable, and secure inventory management solution tailored for small electronics businesses.

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