Backend & Systems Focused Software Engineer
Java • Python • Full-Stack Capable
Designing maintainable backend systems with clear architecture and strong validation.
Java CLI Customer Management System
Modular architecture and separation of concerns
Executive Technical Summary
A modular Java command-line application for managing customer records within a fixed-capacity system. The project emphasizes clean separation of concerns, centralized validation, and maintainable architecture through refactoring a monolithic implementation into cohesive domain, storage, validation, and orchestration components. The system supports validated data entry, indexed lookup by unique identifier, and range-based queries over customer sales data, demonstrating disciplined backend design and defensive programming practices.
Key Focus Areas: modular refactoring, data modeling, validation-first logic, and maintainable backend architecture.
System Architecture Overview
The system is organized around clearly defined layers that isolate responsibilities and enforce predictable data flow.
Architecture layers:
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CLI Interface Layer: Menu-driven user interaction and command routing
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Controller / Orchestration Layer: Coordinates application operations
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Domain Layer: Customer model and business rules
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Storage Layer: Fixed-capacity customer repository
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Validation Layer: Centralized input and domain validation utilities
This architecture ensures that UI concerns never leak into domain or storage logic.
Repository Structure
The repository is structured to emphasize separation of concerns between customer data modeling, validation, storage, and application orchestration. The design reflects a refactoring from a monolithic implementation into cohesive components that support validated data entry, indexed lookup, and range-based queries.
java-cli-customer-management-system/
├── src/
│ ├── main/
│ │ └── java/
│ │ ├── customer/ # Customer domain model
│ │ ├── controller/ # Application orchestration
│ │ ├── storage/ # Fixed-capacity customer storage
│ │ ├── validation/ # Centralized validation logic
│ │ └── util/ # Shared helpers
│ └── test/
│ └── java/ # Unit tests
├── README.md
└── pom.xml
Core Design Decisions & Rationale
Modular Refactoring from Monolithic Design
The project originated as a single-class implementation and was refactored into discrete components.
Rationale:
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Improves readability and maintainability
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Enables targeted testing
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Clarifies architectural intent
Separation of Concerns
Each layer owns a single responsibility:
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Input handling
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Validation
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Data storage
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Business logic
This prevents tight coupling and simplifies future enhancements.
Centralized Validation Strategy
All validation logic is centralized rather than duplicated across the UI or domain layers.
Validation includes:
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Required field presence
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Data type and range checks
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Unique identifier enforcement
This ensures consistent behavior across all operations.
Fixed-Capacity Data Management
Customer records are stored in a fixed-size structure to enforce explicit capacity constraints.
Rationale:
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Demonstrates defensive programming
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Forces explicit error handling
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Highlights awareness of resource limits
Domain Model & Data Flow
The Customer domain model encapsulates customer attributes and exposes read-only access where appropriate.
Operational flow:
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User input collected via CLI
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Validation applied before storage
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Customer records stored in indexed structure
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Queries executed against validated data
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Results returned to the UI layer
Validation & Data Integrity Strategy
Validation enforces:
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Non-null and non-empty fields
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Numeric ranges for sales values
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Uniqueness of customer identifiers
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Safe handling of invalid or out-of-range input
Invalid data is rejected before persistence or query execution.
Query & Lookup Capabilities
The system supports:
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Lookup by unique customer ID
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Iteration over all customer records
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Range-based queries on customer sales data
These operations demonstrate indexed access and controlled traversal of stored data.
Testing & Verification Approach
System behavior was verified through:
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Manual execution scenarios
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Boundary condition testing (capacity limits)
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Validation failure cases
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Query correctness checks
The architecture supports straightforward expansion into automated unit testing.
Tools & Technologies
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Language: Java
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Paradigm: Object-Oriented Programming
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UI: Command-line interface
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Validation: Centralized validation utilities
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Build: Standard Java project structure
Outcome & Engineering Takeaways
Engineering Capabilities Demonstrated
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Refactoring monolithic code into modular architecture
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Designing validation-first backend systems
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Managing fixed-capacity data structures
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Implementing indexed lookup and range queries
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Enforcing clean separation of concerns
System Qualities Achieved
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Maintainability: modular, readable structure
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Correctness: validation-enforced data integrity
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Predictability: explicit capacity and error handling
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Extensibility: prepared for future UI or persistence upgrades