CS-210

Corner Grocer Frequency Tracker

📌 Project Summary

This project was developed for the Corner Grocer to analyze and display the frequency of items purchased. The program reads from an input file (CS210_Project_Three_Input_File.txt), counts how many times each item appears, and provides multiple menu options for users:

1. Look up the frequency of a specific item.
2. Print a list of all items with their purchase counts.
3. Display a text-based histogram showing item frequencies with asterisks.
4. Exit the program.

Additionally, the program creates a backup file (frequency.dat) at startup to ensure data persistence.

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✅ What I Did Well

• Designed a modular class (GroceryTracker) with clear public and private sections, encapsulating all functionality for data loading, backup, and display.
• Used maps for efficient frequency counting, ensuring fast lookups and clean code.
• Implemented a menu-driven interface with input validation to make the program user-friendly.
• Applied industry best practices such as descriptive variable names, in-line comments, and consistent formatting to improve readability.

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🔧 Areas for Enhancement

• Input validation could be expanded further to handle edge cases (e.g., empty strings, numeric input for item names).
• Error handling for file operations could be more robust, with custom exceptions instead of simple cerr messages.
• Adding color or formatting to the histogram output would improve user experience.
• Future improvements could include unit tests to validate functionality and ensure long-term maintainability.

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⚡ Challenges and How I Overcame Them

• The most challenging part was implementing the histogram output in a way that scaled cleanly with varying item frequencies. I overcame this by iterating through the map and dynamically printing asterisks based on the count.
• Another challenge was managing file I/O correctly. I relied on zyBooks sections (7.1 and 7.3) and official C++ documentation to ensure proper file handling.
• To support my work, I added resources like the C++ reference site (cppreference.com) and GitHub documentation to my toolkit.

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🎯 Transferable Skills

• Class design and encapsulation: Building modular, reusable components will apply directly to future projects.
• File I/O and data persistence: Handling input/output files is a common requirement across many applications.
• Map usage and data structures: Efficient data handling is critical in both academic and professional coding.
• Problem decomposition: Breaking down requirements into smaller, manageable functions is a skill that transfers to any programming task.

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🛡️ Maintainability, Readability, and Adaptability

• The program is maintainable because functionality is encapsulated in a single class, making future changes localized and easy to manage.
• It is readable thanks to clear naming conventions, inline comments, and consistent formatting.
• It is adaptable because the menu system and class design allow new features (e.g., exporting to CSV, adding graphical UI) to be integrated without rewriting core logic.

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📂 Files

• CS210_Project_Three_Input_File.txt → Input data file.
• frequency.dat → Backup file generated automatically.
• main.cpp → Source code containing the GroceryTracker class and menu system.

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🚀 Reflection

This project strengthened my ability to design structured, maintainable programs while practicing real-world problem solving. By combining file I/O, data structures, and user interaction, I created a tool that not only solves the Corner Grocer’s problem but also demonstrates my growing proficiency in C++. The reflection process helped me identify both strengths and areas for growth, ensuring that I continue to improve as a developer.