User Class¶

The User class is the abstract base class for all user types in the School Enrollment System.
It defines the shared attributes, behaviors, and structure that Students, Instructors, and Administrators inherit.

Purpose¶

The purpose of the User class is to:

Provide a unified structure for all system users
Define common fields such as ID, name, email, and password
Enforce consistent behavior through abstract methods
Reduce code duplication across subclasses
Support generic login and logout workflows

All user types extend this class and implement their own role‑specific logic.

Structure and key components¶

1. Attributes¶

The User class defines the following fields:

name
ID
password
email
phoneNumber
role
address

These fields represent the essential profile information required for authentication, communication, and identification within the system.

2. Enum: Role¶

The Role enumeration defines the allowed user types:

STUDENT
INSTRUCTOR
ADMIN

Using an enum ensures type safety and prevents invalid role assignments.

3. Constructors¶

The class provides two constructors:

Default constructor¶

Used when creating an empty user object, typically during file loading or temporary object creation.

Parameterized constructor¶

Initializes all user fields at the moment of object creation.
It uses setter methods to ensure that any future validation logic is automatically applied.

4. Setters and getters¶

The class provides standard getter and setter methods for all fields.

Design notes:

Validation is intentionally kept outside the setters to avoid overloading the class with input logic.
The Helpers class is responsible for validating user input before setters are called.

This separation keeps the User class clean and focused on data representation.

5. Abstract methods¶

The User class defines two abstract methods that all subclasses must implement:

public abstract T login(List<T> list, String id, String password);
public abstract String logout(T user);

Each subclass implements its own login logic.
This allows:

Students to authenticate from the student list
Instructors to authenticate from the instructor list
Administrators to authenticate from the admin list

The method returns the authenticated user or null if authentication fails.

logout¶

Returns a simple confirmation message indicating that the user has logged out.

Summary¶

The User class provides the foundation for all user types in the system.
By defining shared attributes and enforcing abstract login and logout methods, it ensures consistency across Students, Instructors, and Administrators while allowing each subclass to implement its own role‑specific behavior.

This design supports clean inheritance, reduces duplication, and maintains a clear separation of responsibilities.