iLunch

An integrated system for managing the needs of the University Student Canteen.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Technologies Used
• Screenshots
• Installation
• Usage
• Contributing
• License
• References

Overview

iLunch is a web‑based platform that streamlines every major workflow in a university canteen—from daily meal planning to real‑time reporting—so that students get faster service and staff spend less time on manual administration.

Features

• Web platform with responsive design, user role management, and bilingual support (Greek/English)
• Seamless integration with UOWM university authentication system via SSO
• Student meal tracking with ID card scanning functionality
• Digital meal cards with QR code generation for special meal plans
• Interactive menu management with nutritional information and periodic rotation
• Anonymous and user-authenticated feedback collection system
• Real-time announcements and notifications system
• Physical feedback station with Arduino interface and Bluetooth connectivity
• Comprehensive analytics dashboard with graphical reports and statistics
• Top-rated dishes tracking feature with weekly/monthly rankings

Technologies Used

Layer	Stack
Frontend	HTML · Blade templates · Vue.js
Backend	PHP (Laravel)

Screenshots

Here are some previews of the iLunch platform:

Start Page

Admin Panel

Android App

Feedback Station

Installation

Prerequisites

• PHP 5.6.4+
• Composer
• Node.js 18+ (for front‑end assets)
• A web server such as Apache or Nginx
• A database such as MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.6

Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mpvasilis/ilunch.git
   cd ilunch

2. Install backend dependencies

   composer install

3. Install frontend dependencies

   npm install && npm run dev

4. Configure environment variables

   cp .env.example .env
   # open .env and update DB_*, MAIL_*, and other keys

5. Generate an application key

   php artisan key:generate

6. Run database migrations

   php artisan migrate --seed

7. Start the development server

   php artisan serve

   The site is now available at: http://localhost:8000

Usage

• Browse or manage meals via the student/staff interface.
• Log in as an administrator to access inventory, menu planning, and user management.
• Export data or drill down into Reports ➜ Analytics for insights.

Contributing

We ❤️ contributions!

1. Fork the repo.

2. Create a feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/my-awesome-feature

3. Commit & push:

   git add .
   git commit -m "feat: add my awesome feature"
   git push origin feature/my-awesome-feature

4. Open a Pull Request against main.

Before submitting, please run:

./vendor/bin/phpunit   # backend tests
npm run test           # front‑end tests

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

References

1. Laravel Framework Documentation – https://laravel.com/docs
2. Vue.js Guide – https://vuejs.org/guide/
3. MIT License – https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT