overview.
Built Smart Hostel, a responsive single-page application for managing hostel room inventory and automating room allocation. Features a smart allocation algorithm, dark/light mode, localStorage persistence, and toast notifications.
about.
Smart Hostel automates the room allocation process with a preference-based matching algorithm. Students specify capacity, AC, and washroom preferences, and the system finds the optimal room. All data persists in localStorage with no backend required, making it a lightweight solution for hostel management.
technical implementation.
Allocation Algorithm
Built a preference-based matching algorithm that filters rooms by AC/washroom requirements, sorts by capacity (ascending), and returns the smallest suitable room. Supports optional student assignment after allocation.
Client-Side Architecture
Pure frontend application using Next.js 16 with TypeScript. All state management uses React hooks with localStorage for persistence. No backend dependencies make deployment trivial.
key features.
- Smart room allocation algorithm with preference matching
- Add, view, search, and filter rooms
- Allocate and deallocate rooms with one click
- Dark/light theme with system preference detection
- localStorage persistence (no backend required)
- Toast notifications for all actions
screenshots.
Responsive card grid with room status indicators.
Smart allocation algorithm finds the best matching room.
challenges & solutions.
Challenge: Finding optimal room matches based on multiple preferences
Solution: Implemented a multi-criteria filtering and sorting algorithm. Rooms are filtered by hard requirements (AC, washroom), then sorted by capacity to find the best fit with minimal waste.
Challenge: Maintaining state consistency without a backend
Solution: Used localStorage with JSON serialization for persistence. Implemented validation on read to handle corrupted data and provide fallback defaults.