Advanced ESA Database Tutorial Notes

Overview

• Tutorial covers from basics to advanced concepts of ESA database.
• Building a simple expense tracker app to monitor, manage, and analyze expenses.

ESA Database Basics

• Definition: Cross-platform, NoSQL, local database for Flutter.
• Platforms Supported: Android, iOS, desktop, and web.
• Storage Engines:
  • ESA Core: Ultra-fast engine for mobile apps.
  • Escalate Engine: Wrapper around Escalate for integration.

Key Features of ESA Database

• NoSQL Format: Stores data in JSON documents instead of tabular format.
• Local Storage: Database is stored on the user's device.
• Scalability: Can store hundreds of thousands of records.
• Asynchronous Queries: Avoids blocking other calls.
• Open Source: Freely available source code.
• ACID Compliance: Ensures atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability of transactions.
• Full-Text Search: Comprehensive search functionality.
• Static Typing: Early error detection and reduced debugging time.

Reasons to Use a Local Database

• Offline Access: Users can interact without internet.
• Faster Access: Quick local data retrieval.
• Data Persistence: User preferences and settings are stored locally.
• Data Caching: Reduces repeated downloads from the server.
• Reduced Data Exposure: Enhances security by limiting data transmission.

Creating the Project

1. Initialize a Flutter application:
   • Command: flutter create expense_tracker
2. Add Dependencies:
   • ESA Database
   • ESA Flutter Libs
   • Path Provider
   • ESA Generator and Build Runner for code generation.

Setting Up the Database

• Define the database and initialize parameters.
• Create collections in the database schema:
  • Budget: Holds unique ID, month, year, and amount.
  • Income: Displays list of income sources.
  • Expense: Contains ID, amount, date, enums for category, and payment methods.
  • Receipt: Holds ID and name of uploaded receipt files.

Indexing and Relationships

• Indexing: Optimizes search functionality.
• Relationships:
  • EZLinks: One-to-many relationship between Expense and Receipt.
  • Backlinks: Reverse relationships to associate receipts with specific expenses.

Interacting with the Database

Repository Design

• Create an abstract class for repository methods:
  • CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
  • Specific queries for expenses, budgets, and receipts.

Querying the Database

• Use filter clauses for specific searches (e.g., by date, category, amount range).
• Examples of specific functions for querying:
  • Get expenses by today.
  • Get total expenses by category.
  • Full-text search in expense descriptions.

User Interface Development

• Implementing user interaction through Dart logic and UI components.
• Implement state management using Riverpod for handling app state and data.

Setting Up Riverpod

• Install necessary dependencies for Riverpod.
• Create notifier classes for managing budget and expense states.
• Use methods to manage and update state based on user actions in the UI.

Conclusion

• The tutorial covers setting up a complete expense tracking application using ESA database with Flutter.
• Emphasizes understanding database operations, data persistence, and user interface integration.