Ecommerce Application Installation and Configuration Guide

This assignment provides a detailed guide on installing and configuring an ecommerce application. It outlines the prerequisites, including the use of XAMPP or WAMPP for web server setup, and explains the steps for placing the application files in the correct directory. The guide covers how to access the application through a web browser and details the user authentication process, including login and error handling. Furthermore, it explains the functionality of the application, such as adding products to a cart, updating the total price, and removing items from the cart. The document offers a comprehensive overview of the installation and operational aspects of the ecommerce application, making it useful for students learning about web development and application setup.

Installation
To install the unit the following steps are followed. But, there are prerequisites which are required for
the application to run successfully.
Prerequisites
The prerequisites are;
 The computer must be running an apache web server which can be installed using XAMPP of
WAMPP for windows operating system. Installation does not require any databases so after
installing XAMPP or WAMPP you’re supposed to start the apache module only.
 Alternatively, the application can be installed on a public web server which requires you to buy a
host from a web hosting account like Hostgator.
To run the application the following steps are followed.
 Locate the location of your apache web server files. Typically after installing XAMPP or WAMPP
the location is usually C://xampp/htcdocs
 Copy the application folder in the location specified above. The folder name can be named as
ecommerce
 To run the application open a web browser like Mozilla Firefox and on the link bar type
http://127.0.0.1/ecommerce
 The browser will open the index page of the application which is index.php and since there no
user session exists the application will by default display the user section from where the user is
supposed to be created by logging in.
 Use the username and password to login. If the username is incorrect the application will display
an error message with message invalid username or password. If the username and password
are authenticated successfully the application will display the username of the user and a link to
log out from the application then a cart with an empty cart button and a list of all the products.
 The user is supposed to click on a product to add it to the cart. When the product is added the
cart total price is updated.
 Every product added to the cart is added with a remove button which the user can use to
remove the button from the cart. When the remove button is pressed for a specified product,
the product is removed from the cart and the cart total price is deducted the amount of the
removed product.