Our Chat

A modern Android chat application with real-time messaging, push notifications, and support for audio messages, image sharing, and file sharing. Built with Kotlin and following MVVM architecture patterns.

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Android Studio Hedgehog (2023.1.1) or later
• JDK 17 or later
• Android SDK 34
• Firebase project

Configuration

1. Firebase Setup

1. Create a Firebase project at Firebase Console
2. Add an Android app to your Firebase project
3. Download the google-services.json file
4. Place google-services.json in the app/ directory
5. Configure Firestore Security Rules:
   • Go to Firebase Console > Firestore Database > Rules
   • Deploy the security rules from firestore.rules file in this project
   • The rules allow authenticated users to:
     • Read any user document
     • Create/update/delete their own user document
     • Read/create/update/delete messages they are part of
   • Important: Without proper security rules, the app will crash with permission errors

Building the Project

1. Clone the repository
2. Open the project in Android Studio
3. Sync Gradle files
4. Ensure all prerequisites are met
5. Add google-services.json to the app/ directory
6. Build and run the project

Technology Stack

Architecture & Design Patterns

• MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) - Clean architecture pattern
• Single Activity Architecture - Multiple fragments with Navigation Component
• ViewBinding & DataBinding - Type-safe view references and declarative layouts
• Lifecycle-Aware Components - AndroidX Lifecycle 2.7.0

Libraries & Frameworks

• AndroidX Navigation 2.7.7 - Type-safe navigation with Safe Args
• Material Design Components 1.11.0 - Modern Material 3 UI components
• AndroidX Lifecycle 2.7.0 - ViewModel, LiveData, and lifecycle management
• Glide 4.16.0 - Image loading and caching
• EventBus 3.3.1 - Event-driven communication
• Gson 2.10.1 - JSON serialization
• Dexter 6.2.3 - Runtime permissions handling

Firebase Services

• Firebase Authentication - Email/password authentication
• Cloud Firestore - Real-time NoSQL database
• Firebase Storage - File and media storage
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) - Push notifications
• Firebase Analytics - User analytics and insights
• Firebase Crashlytics - Crash reporting and monitoring
• Firebase BoM 32.8.0 - Dependency version management

Android System Services

• Download Manager - File downloads
• Media Recorder - Audio recording
• Notification Manager - Push notifications

Features

Feature	Description	Screenshots
Messages List	View all your conversations in one place with real-time updates
Chatting	Send and receive messages in real-time with rich media support
User Profile	Update your profile information and pictures from camera or gallery
Find Friends	Search for users to connect with
Incoming Friend Requests	View and manage friend requests from other users
Contacts List	Access your contacts and start conversations

Project Structure

app/src/main/java/com/ganainy/ourchat/
├── data/
│   └── model/          # Data models (User, Message, ChatParticipant, etc.)
├── service/             # Background services (FCM, etc.)
├── ui/                  # UI components organized by feature
│   ├── chat/           # Chat functionality
│   ├── contacts/       # Contacts management
│   ├── findUser/       # User search and discovery
│   ├── home/           # Home screen with chat previews
│   ├── login/          # Authentication
│   ├── profile/        # User profile management
│   └── ...
└── Utils/              # Utility classes and helpers

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum SDK: 23 (Android 6.0 Marshmallow)
• Target SDK: 34 (Android 14)
• Compile SDK: 34