PamakBook - Social Networking Application

Overview

PamakBook is a Java-based desktop social networking application that simulates a university social media platform. It allows users to create profiles, add friends, join groups, share posts, and analyze social connections through graph theory concepts like friend suggestions and infection tracking.

Key Features

• User Management: Create new users with UoM email validation (dai/ics/iis prefix)
• Friend System: Add/remove friends with bidirectional relationships
• Groups: Open groups and closed groups (friends-only entry)
• Posts: Share text posts with timestamp tracking
• Friend Suggestions: Based on triangular closure (friends of friends)
• Infection Tracking: Identify potentially exposed users through social connections
• Friend Graph Visualization: Interactive graph showing social network structure with diameter calculation
• Persistence: Automatic save/load functionality via serialization

Class Structure

Main

Entry point that initializes sample users, groups, and launches the application. Handles loading saved data from PamakBook.ser or creates a new file if none exists.

LoginWindow

The authentication gateway where users can:

• Create new accounts (validates UoM email format)
• Login to existing user pages
• Save the entire PamakBook state
• View potential infections for a user

User

Core entity representing a platform member with:

• Personal details (name, email)
• Friend list (bidirectional)
• Group memberships
• Posts
• Methods for adding friends, checking friendships, finding common friends, and suggesting friends

UserPage

Main dashboard after login featuring:

• Post creation area
• Recent posts feed from friends
• Group enrollment interface
• Friend addition with suggested friends list
• Friend graph visualization

Post

Timestamped text content linked to a user. Supports chronological sorting for feed display.

Group & ClosedGroup

• Group: Open membership with description
• ClosedGroup: Restricted access - new members must be friends with at least one existing member

FriendGraph

Visual representation of the social network using the JUNG library:

• Circle layout for vertex positioning
• Graph diameter calculation (longest shortest path)
• Interactive visualization with labeled vertices

PossibleInfectionsPanel

Contact tracing simulation that identifies:

• Direct friends of an infected user
• Friends of friends (second-degree contacts)
• Excludes the infected individual from results

Technical Implementation

Serialization: All major classes implement Serializable for persistent storage between sessions.

Graph Library: Uses JUNG (Java Universal Network/Graph Framework) for friend graph visualization and shortest-path algorithms.

GUI Framework: Built with Swing components including JFrame, JPanel, custom OutputStream redirection to display console output in text areas.

Stream Redirection: Custom TextAreaOutputStream class redirects System.out to GUI text components for real-time display of method outputs.

Data Flow

1. Application starts → loads existing .ser file or creates new one
2. User logs in or creates account → validated against existing users
3. UserPage displays personalized content
4. Actions (posts, friends, groups) modify user state
5. User can save manually or data persists on next launch

Dependencies

• JUNG library (edu.uci.ics.jung) for graph algorithms and visualization
• Java Swing for GUI components
• Java I/O for serialization

Usage Notes

• Email format required: [dai|ics|iis][AM]@uom.edu.gr where AM length determines email length
• Friend graph updates automatically when friendships are created
• Recent posts are shown in chronological order (newest first)
• Friend suggestions use triangular closure algorithm
• Closed groups require existing member friendship for enrollment