$ cat hands-on/clearance-capstone.spec HO-15

Capstone · all seven areas

Barangay clearance request desk

Rehearse a full six-hour sitting: a console program for a barangay hall that files clearance requests, processes them in order, keeps an audit trail and exports a report. Fictional scenario; not an actual LGU process.

Spec no.: HO-15
Level: Capstone · 6 h
Time box: 6 h
Reference: Java · C#
Grading: Self-assessed · rubric is ours, not DICT's

01 Coverage

Area	Sub-skills practised	Role
01 Data manipulation	String, Validation	Also
02 Object-oriented programming	Abstraction, Encapsulation, Inheritance, Composition	Also
03 File handling	Create, Update, Input/output validation	Also
04 Database manipulation	Create, Read, Update, Delete	Also
05 Data structures and algorithms	Queues, Sorting	Also
06 Control structures	Conditional, Iteration	Also
07 Number system	Hexadecimal	Also

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Read the task freely. An account is required before editing and running a solution. Code runs also need an internet connection.

02 Requirements

Abstract Document with an integer id and a control number made of a prefix and the id in 4-digit upper-case hexadecimal (BC-0001, BC-001A).
ClearanceRequest extends Document and owns an Applicant (name, birthdate) created with it. Applicant validates its own name: letters, spaces, . ' and -.
Store requests in SQLite table requests(id, name, birthdate, purpose, status) through one repository class with create, read, list, update-status and delete.
new name|yyyy-mm-dd|purpose files a request (status PENDING), adds it to a FIFO processing queue and prints Filed BC-xxxx for name. Reject bad dates and names.
next releases the oldest waiting request (status RELEASED), skipping cancelled ones, or prints Queue is empty.
find BC-xxxx shows one request; cancel BC-xxxx deletes it only while PENDING.
list prints all requests sorted by applicant name. export writes requests.csv with a header row.
Append FILED, RELEASED and CANCELLED events to audit.log.

03 Input and output

Input

One command per line: new, next, find, cancel, list, export

Output

One result line per command; list prints one line per request
audit.log and requests.csv as shown

Sample input · stdin

new Juan Dela Cruz|1990-05-14|Employment
new Maria Santos|1985-11-30|Business permit
new X|1990-13-01|Loan
new R2D2|1990-01-01|Loan
next
find BC-0002
find bc-0009
cancel BC-0001
cancel BC-0002
list
export
next

Expected output · stdout

Filed BC-0001 for Juan Dela Cruz
Filed BC-0002 for Maria Santos
Invalid birthdate: 1990-13-01
Invalid name: R2D2
Released BC-0001 to Juan Dela Cruz
BC-0002 Maria Santos | Business permit | PENDING
Not found: bc-0009
Cannot cancel BC-0001 (not found or already released)
Cancelled BC-0002
BC-0001 Juan Dela Cruz | Employment | RELEASED
Exported 1 request(s) to requests.csv
Queue is empty

File after the sample run · audit.log

FILED BC-0001
FILED BC-0002
RELEASED BC-0001
CANCELLED BC-0002

File after the sample run · requests.csv

control,name,purpose,status
BC-0001,Juan Dela Cruz,Employment,RELEASED

Match the sample exactly first, then write at least two test inputs of your own.

04 Edge cases to test

A month of 13
A name with digits
Cancelling a released request
Lower-case control numbers in find
next when only cancelled requests remain

05 Database

Engine: SQLite (Java: org.xerial sqlite-jdbc; C#: Microsoft.Data.Sqlite). An embedded database needs no server, which suits a timed sitting.

The reference recreates clearance.db and audit.log on start so the sample is repeatable.

The table definitions are in the requirements above and in the reference solution.

06 Starter outline and hints

Suggested six-hour plan

0:00–0:30 plan classes, table, commands
0:30–2:00 Document, Applicant, ClearanceRequest, repository create/read; new and find
2:00–3:30 queue + next; cancel; list sorted
3:30–4:30 audit log and CSV export
4:30–5:30 validation pass and edge cases
5:30–6:00 tidy names, comments, final run

Hints

Hint 1

String.format("%04X", id) in Java and $"{id:X4}" in C# give the control number; parse it back with base 16.

Hint 2

Keep the queue as ids, and re-read each request from the database when you serve it, so cancellations are respected.

07 Practice rubric

Criterion	Sub-skills	Look for	Pts
OOP design	AbstractionEncapsulationInheritanceComposition	Abstract Document, encapsulated Applicant, composition inside the request.	20
Database CRUD	CreateReadUpdateDelete	All SQL in one repository; parameterised; delete only when pending.	20
Files	CreateUpdate	Audit appended, CSV created; both closed.	15
Queue and sorting	QueuesSorting	FIFO processing; sorted list.	15
Validation	ValidationInput/output validation	Dates, names and purposes checked with clear messages.	15
Control numbers and menu	HexadecimalConditionalIteration	Hex control numbers both ways; one clean command loop.	15
Total			100

Our own weighting for practice. It is not the DICT scoring scheme.

08 Self-check

Tick only what you have verified by running your own program.

I planned the classes and tables on paper in the first 30 minutes.
I had a working new / list loop within two hours, before adding the rest.
audit.log and requests.csv match the expected files after the sample run.
find bc-0002 works as well as find BC-0002.
I finished with at least 30 minutes left to test edge cases.

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09 Reference solution

A compilable sketch of one structure for the capstone. Both versions compiled and reproduced the sample output on Java 21 and .NET 8 when this site was built. Reference solutions are in Java and C#. The 2023 FAQ copy also lists C, C++ and Visual Basic 6.0 / .NET; the same structure carries over, but you will need your language's own file and database APIs.

Try the whole brief first. The reference is one correct approach, not the only one, and reading it early removes most of the practice value.

10 Exam-day habits

Work without internet search to simulate exam conditions.
Type the sample input yourself and compare your output line by line before you look at the reference.