Semester Online Registration System

A PHP/MySQL web application that digitizes the GBU university semester registration and payment process.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• MySQL 8.0+
• Composer
• Apache with mod_rewrite (or Nginx with equivalent try_files config)
• SSL certificate (HTTPS required)

Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd semester-online-registration

2. Copy environment file and fill in values

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your database credentials, API keys, and app URL

3. Install PHP dependencies

   composer install --no-dev   # production
   # or
   composer install            # development (includes PHPUnit)

4. Run database migrations (in order)

   mysql -u <user> -p <app_db_name> < database/migrations/001_create_students.sql
   mysql -u <user> -p <app_db_name> < database/migrations/002_create_otp_tokens.sql
   mysql -u <user> -p <app_db_name> < database/migrations/003_create_registrations.sql
   mysql -u <user> -p <app_db_name> < database/migrations/004_create_payments.sql
   mysql -u <user> -p <app_db_name> < database/migrations/005_create_admin_actions.sql

5. Configure web server

   • Point the document root to the public/ directory.
   • Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled (Apache) or configure try_files (Nginx).
   • Enable HTTPS — HTTP requests are automatically redirected.

6. Set up cron jobs

   # Retry pending payment verifications every 6 hours
   0 */6 * * * php /path/to/app/scripts/retry_verification.php
   
   # Purge expired OTP tokens hourly
   0 * * * * php /path/to/app/scripts/purge_otp_tokens.php

7. Create the uploads directory (outside web root)

   mkdir -p storage/uploads
   chmod 750 storage/uploads

Running Tests

./vendor/bin/phpunit --testdox

Directory Structure

├── app/
│   ├── Controllers/
│   ├── Services/
│   ├── Models/
│   ├── Views/
│   └── Middleware/
├── config/
│   ├── app.php
│   └── database.php
├── database/
│   └── migrations/
├── public/          ← web root
│   ├── index.php
│   └── .htaccess
├── scripts/
├── storage/
│   └── uploads/     ← receipt files (outside web root)
├── tests/
├── .env.example
└── composer.json