TankingTanks is a database system designed to store and manage user preferences about tanks.
From tracking favorite tanks to storing user ratings, the system provides a structured way to organize and explore tank data.
This Database System Manager (DBSM) handles the core CRUD operations required to interact with the database efficiently.
- Create a SQL Server database (using SSMS) and execute the SQL script provided below to set up the schema.
- Create a
config.propertiesfile inside theresourcesfolder and configure it based on the example below:
# src/main/resources/config.properties
DB_URL=jdbc:sqlserver://your_pc:1344;databaseName=your_db;encrypt=true;trustServerCertificate=true
DB_USER=your_username
DB_PASS=your_password- Make sure your SQL Server instance has TCP/IP enabled and the port is set to 1344 (or modify the DB_URL to match your configured port).
- Run the application using Gradle.
CREATE DATABASE TankingTanks
GO
USE TankingTanks
GO
CREATE TABLE country (
country_id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY,
country_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL
)
CREATE TABLE manufacturer (
manufacturer_id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY,
manufacturer_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
founded_year INT,
headquarters_country_id INT FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES country(country_id)
)
CREATE TABLE tank (
tank_id INT PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY,
tank_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
made_date_year INT,
manufacturer_id INT FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES manufacturer(manufacturer_id)
CONSTRAINT UQ_tank_manufacturer_name UNIQUE (manufacturer_id, tank_name)
)
INSERT INTO country(country_name) VALUES ('United States of America'), ('Russia'), ('Germany'), ('United Kingdom'),
('France'), ('China'), ('Japan'), ('India'), ('Israel'), ('Ukraine'), ('Poland'), ('Turkey'), ('Iran'), ('Iraq'),
('Syria'), ('Egypt'), ('Saudi Arabia'), ('North Korea'), ('South Korea'), ('Vietnam'), ('Pakistan'), ('Canada'),
('Australia'), ('Italy'), ('Finland'), ('Greece'), ('Serbia'), ('Ukraine'), ('Belarus'), ('Romania'), ('URRS');
INSERT INTO manufacturer(manufacturer_name, founded_year, headquarters_country_id) VALUES ('Ford Motor Company',1903, 1),
('Volgograd Tractor Plant', 1930, 2), ('Krupp', 1811, 3), ('Vauxhall Motors', 1857, 4), ('Renault', 1899, 5),
('Uralvagonzavod', 1936, 31), ('Henschel & Sohn', 1810, 3), ('Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau', 1927, 31),
('Mitsubishi Heavy Industries', 1884, 7), ('Israel Military Industries', 1933, 9), ('General Dynamics Land Systems', 1982, 1),
('Krauss-Maffei Wegmann', 1931, 3), ('Uraltransmash', 1817, 31), ('Ansaldo', 1853, 24), ('Tampella', 1861, 25),
('Military Technical Institute', 1948, 27), ('Leonida', 1943, 30), ('OKMO', 1932, 31), ('Renault', 1899, 5), ('Kirov Plant', 1801, 2),
('Detroit Arsenal', 1940, 1), ('Royal Ordnance Factory', 1930, 4), ('New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR)', 1855, 23),
('Montreal Locomotive Works', 1888, 22), ('Hellenic Vehicle Industry', 1972, 26)
INSERT INTO tank(tank_name, made_date_year, manufacturer_id) VALUES ('M4 Sherman', 1941, 1), ('T-26', 1932, 18),
('T-36', 1940, 2), ('PT-76', 1951, 2), ('BMD-1', 1968, 2), ('BMD-2', 1985, 2), ('BMD-3', 1985, 2), ('BMD-4', 2004, 2),
('Panzer I', 1932, 7), ('Panzer II', 1934, 2), ('Panzer III', 1935, 7), ('Panzer IV', 1936, 2), ('Mk IV (A22) Churchill', 1941, 4),
('Char B1', 1921, 19), ('Char D2', 1936, 19), ('Char 2C', 1921, 19), ('Renault FT', 1917, 19), ('MS-1', 1928, 6),
('Tiger I', 1938, 7), ('Tiger II', 1943, 7), ('ISU-122', 1942, 13), ('IS-2', 1943, 20), ('T-34', 1938, 8),
('M26 Pershing', 1942, 21), ('M60', 1956, 21), ('M1 Abrams', 1972, 21), ('MBT-70', 1965, 1), ('M48 Patton', 1952, 1),
('FV 4030 Challenger', 1983, 22), ('FV4007 (A41) Centurion', 1945, 4), ('Tiger 131', 1943, 7), ('M3 Lee', 1941, 21),
('Churchill Crocodile', 1944, 4), ('Panzer IV', 1936, 3), ('T-80', 1976, 8), ('K1', 1978, 11), ('2S3 Akatsiya', 1967, 13),
('2S19 Msta-S', 1980, 13), ('TACAM R-2', 1943, 17), ('Panzer 35', 1934, 17), ('AC4', 1943, 23), ('AC3 Thunderbolt', 1943, 23),
('P26/40', 1940, 14), ('Type 3 Chi-Nu', 1943, 9), ('Grizzly I', 1943, 24), ('Ram', 1941, 24), ('Type 97 Chi-Ha', 1936, 9),
('Merkava', 1970, 10), ('Leopard 2', 1979, 25), ('Carro Armato M13/40', 1939, 14);- Normalized Database Structure to reduce redundancy.
- Composite Uniqueness for Tank Names was introduced on
(manufacturer_id, tank_name)to ensure that a manufacturer cannot have multiple tanks with the same name. - Surrogate Primary Keys an auto-incrementing integer ID
(IDENTITY)as the primary key instead of natural keys. Ensures stable and efficient indexing. - Configuration via
config.propertiesimproves security - Layered architecture
- While making this DBSM the most frequent challenge I faced was my lack of knowledge. From the wierd TCP/IP bugs and error I had from not knowing how to properly configure SSMS and connecting to the database... it took me so long to realise I had SQL authentication off.
- The first problem I faced was realising that I don't know the password to the DB. That was fixed by enabling the
super adminthat for whatever reason was not enabled. - A particularly frustrating issue involved TCP/IP connectivity. Initially, I was unable to connect to the database remotely, which led me to investigate the network configuration settings. Did you know that by default is closed? I didn't. To fix this I had to go in the
SQL Configuration Manager. To be able to connect to the DB I set theIPAllport to 1344. Using a dynamic port caused connection issues that I could not reliably diagnose at the time, but assigning a static port allowed the connection to work consistently.
- Learning Through Troubleshooting. Although these problems were frustrating during development, they ultimately became valuable learning experiences. Troubleshooting configuration issues forced me to better understand how SQL Server networking, authentication, and server configuration actually work. As a result, I gained practical knowledge that will help me avoid similar problems in future projects and improve my overall development skills.