CineBook - Online Movie Ticket Booking System

CineBook is a full-stack cinema booking web application built as a CMPG 311 group project at North-West University.

This repository represents combined team work by the project group. It is presented in my portfolio to show my involvement in project coordination, integration support, database/backend support, documentation, and collaborative software development.

Project Context

This was an academic group project completed for CMPG 311. The goal was to design and implement a database-backed booking system while applying software engineering, database design, and full-stack development concepts.

The system allows users to browse movies, view show schedules, select seats, make bookings, and complete a simulated payment flow. It also includes role-based dashboards for customers, cinema managers, and administrators.

Team Project Note

CineBook was completed as a CMPG 311 group project at North-West University. This repository represents combined team work, with different members contributing to the database design, backend routes, frontend pages, UI components, authentication, booking flow, documentation, and integration.

I include this project in my portfolio as evidence of collaborative software engineering experience, database-backed application development, and exposure to full-stack project integration.

The .github/CODEOWNERS file was used as a project review and ownership guard during integration. It should not be read as individual authorship of the entire system.

Features

• Movie browsing and movie detail pages.
• Show schedule viewing.
• Seat selection for bookings.
• Customer booking flow.
• Simulated payment flow with ticket confirmation handling.
• JWT-based authentication.
• Role-based access for customers, cinema managers, administrators, and system administrators.
• Admin dashboard for users, movies, shows, bookings, and revenue.
• Manager dashboard for theatre-scoped shows, bookings, occupancy, and revenue.
• MySQL database files for the React/Node web app.
• Oracle SQL files for the academic database phase.

Architecture

CineBook/
├── backend/        Express.js API, authentication, routes, email service
├── frontend/       React + Vite user interface
├── database/
│   ├── mysql/      MySQL schema and seed data for the web app
│   └── oracle/     Oracle SQL Developer submission files
└── .github/        Team ownership and pull request templates

Technologies Used

Layer	Technologies
Frontend	React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, React Router, Axios
Backend	Node.js, Express.js
Database	MySQL, Oracle SQL
Authentication	JWT, bcrypt
Email / Notifications	Nodemailer, SMTP configuration
Security / Middleware	Helmet, CORS, Express rate limiting
Tools	npm, Git, GitHub

Database Design

The database models the main relationships needed for a cinema booking system:

• Users stores customers, managers, administrators, and system administrators.
• Movie stores movie information.
• Theatre, Screen, and Seat model the cinema layout.
• ShowSchedule links movies to screens and show times.
• Booking stores customer bookings.
• BookingSeat connects bookings to selected seats.
• Payment stores payment information linked to bookings.

The project includes both MySQL files for the web app and Oracle files for the academic database submission.

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm 9+
• MySQL 8+

Database Setup

mysql -u root -p < database/mysql/schema.sql
mysql -u root -p cinebook_db < database/mysql/seed.sql

Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
copy env.example .env
npm run dev

Backend URL:

http://localhost:5000

Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend URL:

http://localhost:5173

Test Accounts

The seed data includes local development accounts for testing.

Role	Email	Password
Administrator	admin@cinebook.co.za	Admin123
Cinema Manager	manager.sandton@cinebook.co.za	Test123
Customer	customer@test.co.za	Test123

These are sample local development credentials, not production credentials.

Screenshots

Screenshots will be added after the interface is reviewed and tested.

Screen	Status
Home page	To be added
Movie details	To be added
Seat booking	To be added
Customer profile	To be added
Admin dashboard	To be added
Manager dashboard	To be added

What I Learned

• How frontend, backend, and database layers work together in a full-stack system.
• How role-based access changes application flow and dashboard behaviour.
• How database design supports booking, seat, schedule, and payment workflows.
• How important communication, file ownership, and integration planning are in group projects.
• How to document a group project clearly for future review.

Challenges

• Coordinating work across multiple team members.
• Keeping database files aligned between Oracle academic submission files and MySQL web app files.
• Managing authentication, roles, and protected routes.
• Integrating booking, payment, and email confirmation logic.
• Preserving team contributions while cleaning the repository for portfolio presentation.

Future Improvements

• Add screenshots and a short demo walkthrough.
• Review duplicate frontend files before removing anything.
• Clarify which database files are active and which are academic/reference files.
• Add stronger validation and error handling.
• Add automated tests for core API routes.
• Improve mobile responsiveness and UI polish.
• Add a deployment guide if the project is hosted.

Repository Cleanup Note

This repository is currently being polished for portfolio presentation while preserving the original group-project work. Some duplicate frontend files and overlapping database scripts are being reviewed before removal to avoid deleting any team work that may still be referenced.

Academic Note

This project was built for learning purposes as part of a university group project. It is presented as a student software engineering and database systems project, not as a commercial production system.