Building a Full-Stack Expense Tracker Application

Jul 14, 2024

Lecture Notes: Building a Full-Stack Expense Tracker Application

Overview

In this lecture, we learned how to build a full-stack Expense Tracker application using Next.js, React, Tailwind CSS, and Drizzle ORM. The lecture walked us through the application's UI, backend setup, and deployment process.

Technologies Used:

  • Next.js: For server-side rendering and static site generation.
  • React: For building the user interface.
  • Tailwind CSS: For styling.
  • Drizzle ORM: For database operations.
  • PostgreSQL: As the database.

Application Walkthrough

1. Landing Page

  • Social Authentication: Users can log in using their social accounts.
  • Dashboard: Displays an overview of budget analytics, total budget, money spent, and the number of budgets created.
  • Charts: Integrated using Recharts for visual representation.
  • Latest Expenses and Budgets: Displayed on the right side.

2. Budget Section

  • Existing Budgets: Displayed in a list format with options to create new budgets.
  • Emoji Picker: Allows users to add unique emojis for their budgets.
  • Real-Time Updates: Budgets update without the need for a page refresh.

3. Adding Expenses

  • Detail View: Clicking on a budget shows the details and allows adding or editing expenses.
  • Progress Bar: Shows the amount spent and remaining budget.

4. Deleting Items

  • Delete Functionality: Budgets and expenses can be deleted with confirmation prompts.
  • Responsive Design: The application layout adjusts according to the screen size.

Backend Setup

1. Setting Up Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL

  • Drizzle Configuration: Configure Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL.
  • Schema Definition: Define tables for budgets and expenses.
  • Database Operations: Insert, update, delete, and fetch data from the database.

2. Implementing CRUD Operations

  • Create: Add new budgets and expenses.
  • Read: Fetch and display budgets and expenses in the UI.
  • Update: Edit existing budgets and expenses.
  • Delete: Remove budgets and expenses after confirmation.

User Interface Components

1. Header and Hero Section

  • Header: Includes the logo and a button for social login or user profile.
  • Hero Section: Displays application tagline and a dashboard preview image.

2. Budget List and Forms

  • Budget List: Lists all budgets with an option to add new ones.
  • Forms: Forms to create and edit budgets, integrated with validation and emoji picker.

3. Dashboard Analytics

  • Total Budgets, Spent, and Count: Summary cards displaying key metrics.
  • Bar Chart: Visual representation of expenses using Recharts.
  • Latest Expenses: List of recent expenses with delete functionality.

Deployment

Pushing Code to GitHub

  • Initialize Git: Initialize a Git repository and push code to GitHub.
  • Create a GitHub Repo: Set up a repository to host your code.

Deploying with Vercel

  • Connect to Vercel: Link your GitHub repo to Vercel for deployment.
  • Environment Variables: Add necessary environment variables for configuration.

Going Live

  • Once deployed, the application goes live and can be shared via a Vercel-provided URL.

Extras

Responsive Design

  • Ensuring all components and layouts are responsive.
  • Using Tailwind CSS classes to manage responsiveness.

Loading States and Skeletons

  • Adding skeleton loaders for a better UX during data fetches.
  • Disabling buttons during loading to prevent duplicate submissions.

Key Takeaways

  • Full-Stack Knowledge: Building full-stack applications involves both frontend and backend integration.
  • Database Management: Using ORMs like Drizzle makes database operations simpler and more structured.
  • Deployment Practices: Effective deployment requires understanding of platforms like Vercel and managing environment configurations.
  • Responsive Design: Ensuring that the application is usable across different devices is crucial for a good user experience.

Next Steps

  • Explore More Charts: Experiment with other chart types and data visualizations.
  • Enhance Authentication: Add more social login options or multi-factor authentication.
  • Optimize Performance: Look into performance optimizations for faster load times.

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