Online Auction System

The Online Auction System is a web-based platform that allows users to create auctions, place bids, and participate in buying and selling various items through an online auction format.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies
• Installation
• Usage
• Contributing
• License

Features

• User Registration and Authentication: Users can create an account, log in, and authenticate using their credentials.
• Auction Creation: Users can create new auction listings, providing details such as title, description, starting bid, and end date.
• Bidding: Users can place bids on active auctions and manage their bidding activity.
• Auction Search: Users can search for auctions based on various criteria such as title, category, and price range.
• User Profile: Users have access to their profile information and can update their details.
• Category Management: Users can view available auction categories and explore auctions by category.

Technologies

• Backend Development:
  • Python: Programming language for backend development.
  • Flask: Lightweight web framework for building the backend.
  • SQLite or MySQL: Database options for storing auction data.
  • Flask-RESTful: API framework for creating RESTful APIs.
• Frontend Development:
  • HTML, CSS, JavaScript: Web technologies for building the frontend user interface.
  • CSS Frameworks: Bootstrap or Bulma for responsive design and styling.
• Authentication and Authorization:
  • Flask-JWT: Lightweight authentication library for securing API endpoints.

Future Implementation

• Payment Integration: Integration with a payment gateway API to facilitate secure payment transactions for won auctions.
• Payment Gateway Integration:
  • Stripe or PayPal: Payment gateway API for secure payment processing.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/nchimunya-joseph/auction-marketplace

2. Install the required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Set up the database:

   • If using SQLite: No additional setup is required as SQLite creates a database file automatically.
   • If using MySQL: Set up a MySQL database and update the database configuration in config.py.

4. Configure the environment variables:

   • Rename the .env file to .env.
   • Update the environment variables in the .env file with your specific configurations.

Usage

1. Start the application:

   python app.py

2. Access the application in your web browser at http://nchimunya.pythonanywhere.com/.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please submit an issue or create a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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