💻 The Gadget Hub | Enterprise E-Commerce System

A modern, multi-role e-commerce system built with ASP.NET Core 8 that enables customers to place orders, distributors to manage inventory and quotations, and employees to oversee the entire order lifecycle.

📋 Overview

GadgetHub consists of four interconnected applications:

Application	Purpose	Tech	Port
GadgetHub.API	REST API backend with JWT authentication, Entity Framework Core, business logic	ASP.NET Core Web API	7151
GadgetHub.CustomerPortal	Customer-facing portal for browsing products, placing orders	Razor Pages	7193
GadgetHub.DistributorPortal	B2B portal for inventory management and quotation handling	Razor Pages	7160
GadgetHub.EmployeeDashboard	Internal admin dashboard for product and order management	Razor Pages	7263

All applications share a single SQL Server database managed through Entity Framework Core with Identity for authentication.

🔧 Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 (with ASP.NET and web development workload)
• .NET 8 SDK or later
• SQL Server LocalDB (included with Visual Studio) or SQL Server Express
• HTTPS enabled for local development

� Technical Stack

Backend

Technology	Purpose
ASP.NET Core 8	Web API framework
Entity Framework Core 9	ORM for database operations
SQL Server	Relational database
ASP.NET Identity	User authentication and authorization
JWT (JSON Web Tokens)	API security and token-based authentication
C# 12	Backend programming language

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
Razor Pages	MVC-based server-side rendering
HTML5	Markup
CSS3	Styling
Bootstrap 5	Responsive UI framework
JavaScript	Client-side interactivity
HttpClient	API communication

Development Tools

Tool	Purpose
Visual Studio 2022	IDE
SQL Server Management Studio	Database management
Swagger/OpenAPI	API documentation
Entity Framework Core Migrations	Database versioning

�📦 Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create the Database

1. Open SQL Server Object Explorer in Visual Studio or SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
2. Connect to (localdb)\mssqllocaldb
3. Execute the provided GadgetHubDb.sql script in the solution root
   • This creates the database schema and inserts seed data (products, roles, users)
4. Verify the database GadgetHubDb appears in your instance

Step 2: Configure Multiple Startup Projects

1. Open GadgetHub.Solution.sln in Visual Studio
2. Right-click Solution in Solution Explorer → Set Startup Projects...
3. Select Multiple startup projects
4. Set all four projects to Start:
   • GadgetHub.API
   • GadgetHub.CustomerPortal
   • GadgetHub.DistributorPortal
   • GadgetHub.EmployeeDashboard
5. Click Apply → OK
6. Press F5 to launch all applications simultaneously

Step 3: Access Applications

Once running, open in your browser:

• Customer Portal: https://localhost:7193
• Distributor Portal: https://localhost:7160
• Employee Dashboard: https://localhost:7263
• API (Swagger): https://localhost:7151/swagger

🔑 Test Credentials

Use these pre-seeded accounts to test different roles:

Role	Username	Password
Admin (Employee)	testadmin	Password123!
Distributor	TechWorld	Password123!
Distributor	ElectroCom	Password123!
Distributor	GadgetCentral	Password123!
Customer	TestCustomer	Password123!

📂 Project Structure

GadgetHub.Solution/
├── GadgetHub.API/
│   ├── Controllers/       → API endpoints (Auth, Products, Orders, etc.)
│   ├── Models/            → Entity models (Product, Order, Distributor, etc.)
│   ├── Data/              → DbContext and migrations
│   ├── Services/          → Business logic (Quotations, etc.)
│   ├── Dtos/              → Data transfer objects
│   └── appsettings.json   → API configuration & JWT settings
├── GadgetHub.CustomerPortal/
│   ├── Pages/             → Razor Pages for customer UI
│   ├── Services/          → HTTP client for API calls
│   └── Models/            → View models
├── GadgetHub.DistributorPortal/
│   ├── Pages/             → Razor Pages for distributor UI
│   ├── Services/          → HTTP client for API calls
│   └── Models/            → View models
├── GadgetHub.EmployeeDashboard/
│   ├── Pages/             → Razor Pages for admin UI
│   ├── Services/          → HTTP client for API calls
│   └── Models/            → View models
├── GadgetHubDb.sql        → Database schema and seed data
└── GadgetHub.Solution.sln → Solution file

🔌 API Endpoints (Key)

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/register	Register new customer or distributor
POST	/api/auth/login	User authentication (returns JWT)
GET	/api/products	Fetch all products with pagination
POST	/api/orders	Create customer order
GET	/api/orders	Retrieve user's orders
POST	/api/quotations	Submit quotation request
GET	/api/quotations	Fetch quotations
POST	/api/purchaseorders	Create purchase order (distributor)

Full API documentation available at /swagger when API is running.

⚙️ Configuration

Connection String (API)

Located in GadgetHub.API/appsettings.json:

"DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=GadgetHubDb;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"

JWT Settings (API)

Configure in GadgetHub.API/appsettings.json:

• ValidAudience: Audience for JWT validation
• ValidIssuer: Issuer of JWT tokens
• Secret: JWT signing key (change in production)

CORS Configuration (API)

The API allows requests from portal applications:

• https://localhost:7193 (Customer Portal)
• https://localhost:7160 (Distributor Portal)
• https://localhost:7263 (Employee Dashboard)

🐛 Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Cannot connect to database	Verify SQL Server is running; check connection string in appsettings.json
HTTPS certificate errors	This is normal for localhost dev environment; add exception in browser
CORS errors in console	Ensure API CORS is configured for your portal port numbers
GadgetHubDb.sql fails to execute	Verify you're connected to the correct SQL Server instance; modify file path if needed
Ports already in use	Change ports in launchSettings.json for each project
Multiple startup projects won't work	Ensure all projects are set to "Start" action, not "None"

🚀 Development Notes

• Authentication: JWT tokens issued by API; stored in session cookies on portals
• Database: Migrations in GadgetHub.API/Migrations/ tracked in source control
• Entity Framework: Using code-first approach; modify migrations if schema changes
• HTTPS: Required for JWT Bearer token validation; localhost certificates auto-generated by Visual Studio
• Session Timeout: 30 minutes on portal applications; configure in Program.cs

📝 Key Features

• Multi-role authentication with ASP.NET Identity and JWT
• Order management from customer perspective
• Inventory tracking for distributors
• Quotation system for B2B operations
• Purchase orders for distributor stock fulfillment
• Role-based access control (Customer, Distributor, Employee)
• SQL Server database with Entity Framework Core migrations

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Developed as a comprehensive C#/.NET enterprise software demonstration.