NUSearch User Guide

NUSearch is a desktop app for consolidating NUS professors, teaching assistants (TAs) and students’ profiles, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). If you can type fast, NUSearch add and search for your NUS peers and mentors faster than traditional GUI apps.

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Motivation

We aim to simplify the process of accessing academic information by developing an efficient directory app. This app will help students to consolidate professors, teaching assistants (TAs) and their fellow classmates’ profile, improving the ease of accessing the details of individuals whom the students might need to contact for that semester.

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Unique Selling Point

The app helps students to consolidate important data, such as profiles of professors, teaching assistants (TAs), and fellow classmates, providing students with a single platform that is compact and easy to navigate. With this application, students can save time and energy that would otherwise be spent searching for scattered and hard-to-access essential academic contacts. The app features an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it convenient for users to quickly find the information they need.

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Table of Contents

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Quick Start

1. Ensure you have Java 11 or above installed on your Computer.

2. Make sure you place this app's JAR file in an empty folder before launching it for the first time.

3. Launch the JAR file by double-clicking it.

4. The application should launch, resembling the UI shown below.

5. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

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Features

A guide to reading each feature

This section will guide you through how to interpret the description and the command format of each feature.

The description of each feature will contain the following:

WHAT IT DOES:

Tells you the basic idea of what the command does.

FORMAT:

It specifies how the command should be formatted. You should follow the format specified to ensure that the command gives the desired output.

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

Gives you a few examples of how the command can be used for reference.

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Describes the accepted values used in a command field, specifying any restrictions. Values for the command must satisfy the restrictions for the command to be accepted.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Describes the desired output that you would see when the command is valid.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

Shows the error messages that will be shown to you if an invalid command is given.

How to interpret a command format:

COMMAND FORMAT

command --specifier INPUTFIELD [--specifier INPUTFIELD1, ...] 
[--specifier INPUTFIELD1/SUBFIELD1, ...]

EXAMPLE COMMAND FORMAT

add --name NAME [--role ROLE1, ...]  [--contact CONTACT1, ...] 
[--course COURSECODE1/CLASS1, ...] 

VALID SPECIFIERS

Help page: help

Show the help page of the application

FORMAT:

help

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

help

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Command accepts parameters after the keyword help, i.e. help im dying but they will be ignored and the help command will still be executed.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Quick Guide: 
Adding a person: add --name NAME [--role ROLE1, ...]  
[--contact CONTACT1, ...] [--course COURSECODE1/CLASS1, ...]
Listing all persons: list
Deleting a person: delete INDEX
Search by name: search NAME
Search by role: searchrole ROLE
Search by course: searchcourse COURSECODE
Search by tutorial class: searchtutorial TUTORIAL
Adding persons to favourites: fav INDEX
Removing persons from favourites: unfav INDEX
Display all favourites: favlist
Clear all data: clear
Exit the application: exit
Refer to the User Guide for the detailed implementation.

A help window will pop out as shown:

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

This command only recognises help as the keyword.

Any other command word such as h, he and hel will be seen as an invalid command with the following output:

Unknown command

Adding a person: add

Adds new persons in the person lists.

FORMAT:

add --name NAME [--role ROLE1, ...] [--contact CONTACT1, ...] [--course COURSECODE1/CLASS1, ...]

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

Example 1:

add --name Aiken Dueet --role Student --contact @aikendueet, aikendueet@gmail.com --course CS2103T/Tut8, CS2100/Lab40

Example 2:

add --name Charlie Dueet --role TA, Student --contact @charliee, charliee@gmail.com --course GEA1000, QF2103

Example 3:

add --name Daycon Dueet

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

NAME: Any non-empty input of alphabetical characters.

ROLE1: Any three roles allowed here: Student, TA, Professor

CONTACT1: Any non-empty input of characters.

COURSECODE1: Starts with two or three letter prefix, follows by four digit, can end with or without a letter.

CLASS1: Any non-empty input of characters.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Example 1:

You have added a new person in : 
 Name: Aiken Dueet; Role: Student; Contacts: [@aikendueet], 
 [aikendueet@gmail.com]; Courses: CS2103T, CS2100; 
 Tutorials: CS2103T/Tut8, CS2100/Lab40

Example 2:

You have added a new person in : 
 Name: Charlie Dueet; Role: Student, TA; 
 Contacts: [@charliee], [charliee@gmail.com]; 
 Courses: GEA1000, QF2103; Tutorials: 

Example 3:

You have added a new person in :
Name: Daycon Dueet; Role: ; Contact: ; Course: ; Tutorials: 

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For invalid add command:

Example 4.1: add --

Invalid command format! 
add: Adds a person to the address book. 
Parameters: --name NAME [--role ROLE1, ...] [--contact CONTACT1, ...] 
[--course COURSECODE1/CLASS1, ...]
Example: add --name John --role Student, TA --contact john@example.com, 98765432 
--course CS2103T/G06, CS2101/G06, CS2100/T24

Example 4.2: add

Invalid command format! 
Note: Compulsory name input is missing
Unable to add a person without name

For wrong input value:

Example 5.1: add --name

Names should only contain alphanumeric characters and spaces, 
and it should not be blank

Example 5.2: add --name Charlie --role teacher

A role must take one of the roleTypes: Student, TA, or Professor.

Example 5.3: add --name Charlie --role TA --course CS21111

INVALID COURSE FORMAT!
COURSE CODE SHOULD BE IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT: 
 1. Starts with two- or three-letter prefix
 2. Follows by four digits, first of which indicates the level of the course
 3. Can end with a letter

Example 5.4: add --name Charlie --role TA --course CS2100/ F09

Tutorials should be written in the format COURSECODE/TUTORIAL

For duplicate name:

Example 6: add --name Alex Yeoh [Assuming Alex Yeoh already exists in the list]

Note: A person with the same name already exists.
Please edit the existing person or change the name of this person to be added

For invalid specifier:

Example 7: add --name alex yeoh -/-role TA

Names should only contain alphanumeric characters and spaces, 
and it should not be blank

Example 8: add -/-name alex yeoh

Invalid command format! 
add: Adds a person to the address book. 
Parameters: --name NAME [--role ROLE1, ...] [--contact CONTACT1, ...] 
[--course COURSECODE1/CLASS1, ...]
Example: add --name John --role Student, TA --contact john@example.com, 98765432 
--course CS2103T/G06, CS2101/G06, CS2100/T24

Listing all persons : list

List all the persons added by the user.

FORMAT:

list

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

list

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Command accepts parameters after the keyword list, i.e. list everything but they will be ignored and the list command will still be executed.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

You have 2 persons in your list: 
1. Name: Aiken Dueet  
Role: STUDENT
Contact: @aikendueet, aikendueet@gmail.com
Course: CS2103T, CS2101, CS2100
Tutorials: CS2103T/Tut8 , CS2101/G06, CS2100/Lab40

2. Name: Eren Yeager
Role: TA
Contact: @ErenYeager@gmail.com
Course: CS1101S
Tutorials: CS1101S/Tut8

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

This command only recognises list as the keyword.

Any other command word such as l, li and lis will be seen as an invalid command with the following output:

Adding persons to favourites: fav

Favourite the persons in the user’s current person list.

FORMAT:

fav INDEX

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

fav 2

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

INDEX: Any number representing a positive integer (i.e. 1, 2, 3, …), less than or equal to the number of persons the user currently has. The maximum INDEX allowed is 2147483647.

📝Note:

INDEX refers to the index of the person allocated to the specific person in the current person list.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Favourited Person: Name: Alex Yeoh; Role: Student; 
Contacts: [alexyeoh@example.com]; Courses: CS1101; Tutorials: CS1101/T03E

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For invalid index:

Example fav -1

Invalid command format! 
fav: Favourites the person identified by the index number used in the 
displayed person list. 
Parameters: INDEX (must be a positive integer)
Example: fav 1

For index out of bound:

Example: fav 100 [Assuming the address book currently contains 10 persons]

The person index provided is invalid

Removing a person from favourite: unfav

Un-favourite a favourite person

FORMAT:

unfav INDEX

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

unfav 2

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

INDEX: Any number representing a positive integer (i.e. 1, 2, 3, …), less than or equal to the number of persons the user currently has. The maximum INDEX allowed is 2147483647.

📝Note:

INDEX refers to the index of the person allocated to the specific person in the current person list.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Unfavourited Person: Name: Alex Yeoh; Role: Student; 
Contacts: [alexyeoh@example.com]; Courses: CS1101; Tutorials: CS1101/T03E

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For invalid index:

Example unfav -1

Invalid command format! 
unfav: Unfavourites the person identified by the index number used in the 
displayed person list. 
Parameters: INDEX (must be a positive integer)
Example: unfav 1

For index out of bound:

Example: unfav 100 [Assuming the address book currently contains 10 persons]

The person index provided is invalid

Listing all favourite persons : favlist

List all the persons favourited by the user.

FORMAT:

favlist

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

favlist

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Command accepts parameters after the keyword favlist, i.e. favlist hehe but they will be ignored and the favlist command will still be executed.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

(if user has only favourited 1 person)

You have 1 favourited person in your list. 
Name: Aiken Dueet  
Role: STUDENT
Contact: [[@aikendueet], [aikendueet@gmail.com]]
Course: CS2103T, CS2101, CS2100
Tutorials: CS2103T/Tut8 , CS2101/G06, CS2100/Lab40

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

This command only recognises favlist as the keyword.

Any other command word such as favl, favli and favlis will be seen as an invalid command with the following output:

Unknown command

Deleting a person : delete

Delete the specific person based on the index allocated to the person.

FORMAT:

delete INDEX

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

delete 1

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

INDEX: Any number representing a positive integer (i.e. 1, 2, 3, …), less than or equal to the number of persons the user currently has. The maximum INDEX allowed is 2147483647.

📝Note:

INDEX refers to the index of the person allocated to the specific person in the current person list.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

Deleted person: Deleted Person: Name: Aiken Dueet; Role: Student; 
Contacts: [@aikendueet], [aikendueet@gmail.com]; 
Courses: CS2103T; Tutorials: CS2103T/Tut8

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For invalid index:

Example: delete -1

Invalid command format! 
delete: Deletes the person identified by the index number used in the 
displayed person list.
Parameters: INDEX (must be a positive integer)
Example: delete 1

For out of bound index:

Example: delete 100 [Assuming the address book currently contains 10 persons]

The person index provided is invalid

Searching for persons by name: search

Search for persons using name.

Output persons which match the given name.

Note: The input name is NOT case-sensitive.

FORMAT:

search NAME

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

search Charlie

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

NAME: Any non-empty input of characters (not case-sensitive).

📝Note:

search does not check for invalid name input so no error message will be shown for invalid input

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

1 persons found!

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For incomplete command:

Example: search

Invalid command format!
search: Finds all persons whose names contain any of the specified keywords 
(case-insensitive) and displays them as a list with index numbers.
Parameters: KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...
Example: search alice bob charlie

Searching for persons by role: searchrole

Search for persons using role.

Output persons which match the given role.

Note: The input role is NOT case-sensitive. In other words, searchrole ta is equivalent to searchrole TA, which will find all TA entries.

FORMAT:

searchrole ROLE

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

searchrole TA

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

ROLE: Any non-empty input of characters (not case-sensitive).

📝Note:

searchrole does not check for invalid role input so no error message will be shown for invalid input

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

0 persons found!

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For incomplete command:

Example 1: searchrole

Invalid command format!
searchrole: Finds all persons whose roles contain any of the specified keywords 
(case-sensitive) and displays them as a list with index numbers.
Parameters: KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...
Example: searchrole TA

Searching for persons by course: searchcourse

Search for persons using course.

Output persons which match the given course.

Note: The input course is NOT case-sensitive. In other words, searchcourse cs1101 is equivalent to searchcourse CS1101, which will match both CS1101 and cs1101.

FORMAT:

searchcourse COURSECODE

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

searchcourse CS2100

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

COURSE: Any non-empty input of characters (not case-sensitive).

📝Note:

searchcourse does not check for invalid course input so no error message will be shown for invalid input

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

1 persons found!

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For incomplete command:

Example: searchcourse

Invalid command format!
searchcourse: Finds all persons whose courses contain any of the 
specified keywords (case-insensitive) and displays them as a list 
with index numbers.
Parameters: KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...
Example: searchcourse CS2100

Searching for persons by tutorial: searchtutorial

Search for persons using tutorial class.

Output persons which match the given tutorial class.

Note: The input tutorial is NOT case-sensitive. In other words, searchtutorial cs2100/t03 is equivalent to searchtutorial CS2100/T03 which will match both cs2100/t03 as well as CS2100/T03.

FORMAT:

searchtutorial TUTORIAL

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

searchtutorial CS2100/Tut8

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

TUTORIAL: Any non-empty input of characters (not case-sensitive).

📝Note:

searchtutorial does not check for invalid tutorial input so no error message will be shown for invalid input

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

0 persons found!

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

For incomplete command:

Example: searchtutorial

Invalid command format!
searchtutorial: Finds all persons whose tutorials contain any of the 
specified keywords (case-insensitive) and displays them as a list 
with index numbers.
Parameters: KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]...
Example: searchtutorial CS2100/G07

Clearing the person list: clear

Clears the address book.

FORMAT:

clear

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

clear

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Command accepts parameters after the keyword clear, i.e. clear your mind but they will be ignored and the clear command will still be executed.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

All persons have been cleared!

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

This command only recognises clear as the keyword.

Any other command word such as c, cl and clea will be seen as an invalid command with the following output:

Unknown command

Exiting the application: exit

Closes and exits the application

FORMAT:

exit

EXAMPLE COMMAND:

exit

ACCEPTABLE VALUES:

Command accepts parameters after the keyword exit, i.e. exit world but they will be ignored and the exit command will still be executed.

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON SUCCESS:

There will be no output

The application will close

EXPECTED OUTPUT ON FAILURE:

This command only recognises exit as the keyword.

Any other command word such as e, ex and exi will be seen as an invalid command with the following output:

Unknown command

Autocomplete

What if you needed to quickly write a command? Well, Autocomplete feature is here to save you!

All you need to do is: type your command, and then press Tab for it to suggest the next command!

For example, pressing f and then <Tab> will let the program automatically suggest the fav command. You can continue pressing <Tab> to cycle through the list of commands. For instance, pressing <Tab> again after it suggests fav will cause it to autocomplete favlist instead. After cycling through all possible autocompletions, it will cycle back to your original input, if you want to amend it some more.

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FAQ

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Known issues

1. When using multiple screens, if you move the application to a secondary screen, and later switch to using only the primary screen, the GUI will open off-screen. The remedy is to delete the preferences.json file created by the application before running the application again.

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Command summary