User Management

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• Services/UserService.cs
• Models/ApplicationUser.cs
• ViewModels/ExamViewModels.cs
• Data/ApplicationDbContext.cs
• Migrations/ApplicationDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
• Controllers/ExamAppController.cs

The User Management system in PeP5 is built upon ASP.NET Core Identity and provides a robust framework for handling user accounts, roles, and lifecycle. It is responsible for creating, retrieving, and managing users, with a clear distinction between different user types such as Students and Teachers. The system supports both individual user registration and bulk import functionalities, which are crucial for academic environments.

Core components include the ApplicationUser model which extends the base IdentityUser, the UserService which encapsulates all user-related business logic, and various ViewModels like RegisterViewModel for data transfer. The entire system is integrated with Entity Framework Core for data persistence, with ApplicationDbContext defining the schema and relationships.

Data Model

ApplicationUser Entity

The ApplicationUser class extends the default Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.IdentityUser to include properties specific to the PeP5 platform. This allows for storing additional information for both students and teachers.

Sources: Models/ApplicationUser.cs

// From: Models/ApplicationUser.cs
public class ApplicationUser : IdentityUser
{
    [Required]
    [Display(Name = "First Name")]
    public string FirstName { get; set; } = string.Empty;

    [Required]
    [Display(Name = "Last Name")]
    public string LastName { get; set; } = string.Empty;

    [Display(Name = "Full Name")]
    public string FullName => $"{FirstName} {LastName}".Trim();

    public DateTime CreatedAt { get; set; } = DateTime.UtcNow;
    
    public bool IsActive { get; set; } = true;

    // Student-specific properties
    public string? StudentId { get; set; }
    
    // Teacher-specific properties
    public string? Department { get; set; }
}

Sources: Models/ApplicationUser.cs:5-29

The following table details the custom properties added to the ApplicationUser entity.

Property	Type	Description
FirstName	string	The user's first name. Required.
LastName	string	The user's last name. Required.
FullName	string	A computed property that returns the user's full name.
CreatedAt	DateTime	The UTC timestamp when the user account was created.
IsActive	bool	A flag to indicate if the user account is active. Defaults to true.
StudentId	string?	An optional identifier for students.
Department	string?	An optional department name for teachers.

Sources: Models/ApplicationUser.cs:7-29

Entity Relationship Diagram

The ApplicationUser is a central entity, linked to exams, exam attempts, and exam codes. A user can be a creator of an exam (typically a Teacher) or a participant in an exam attempt (a Student).

This diagram illustrates the relationships between ApplicationUser and other key entities in the database.
Sources: Data/ApplicationDbContext.cs:41-140, Migrations/ApplicationDbContextModelSnapshot.cs

User Roles

The system defines a static set of user roles to manage permissions and access control.

Role	Constant	Description
Admin	UserRoles.Admin	Administrator with full system access.
Teacher	UserRoles.Teacher	A user who can create and manage exams.
Student	UserRoles.Student	A user who can take exams.

Sources: Models/ApplicationUser.cs:31-36

Role assignment is handled during user creation within the UserService. For example, when CreateStudentAsync is called, the user is automatically assigned the Student role.

// From: Services/UserService.cs
if (result.Succeeded)
{
    await _userManager.AddToRoleAsync(user, UserRoles.Student);
    return user;
}

Sources: Services/UserService.cs:192-196

Core Service: UserService

The IUserService interface and its implementation, UserService, are the heart of the user management logic. This service abstracts the direct use of UserManager<ApplicationUser> and ApplicationDbContext for common user-related operations.

Sources: Services/UserService.cs:10-25

Key Methods

Method	Description
GetStudentsAsync()	Retrieves a list of all users with the "Student" role.
GetTeachersAsync()	Retrieves a list of all users with the "Teacher" role.
CreateStudentAsync(...)	Creates a new user, assigns the "Student" role.
CreateTeacherAsync(...)	Creates a new user, assigns the "Teacher" role.
ImportStudentsAsync(...)	Bulk creates student accounts from a list of data.
ToggleUserStatusAsync(userId)	Toggles the IsActive flag for a given user.
DeactivateUserAsync(userId)	Sets a user's IsActive flag to false.
ActivateUserAsync(userId)	Sets a user's IsActive flag to true.
SendWelcomeEmailAsync(...)	Sends a welcome email to a new user with their credentials.

Sources: Services/UserService.cs:12-22

User Creation Flow

The following diagram shows the process for creating a new student user.

This flow illustrates how a RegisterViewModel is transformed into an ApplicationUser, created via UserManager, assigned a role, and returned.
Sources: Services/UserService.cs:181-200, ViewModels/ExamViewModels.cs:20-50

User Status Management

User accounts can be activated or deactivated, which controls their ability to log in and access the system. The ToggleUserStatusAsync method provides a simple way to flip the IsActive property on the ApplicationUser model.

The sequence diagram below shows the interaction for toggling a user's status.

Bulk Student Import

A key feature for administrators and teachers is the ability to import multiple students at once. The ImportStudentsAsync method in UserService handles this process.

Import Process Flow

The import process validates each student record before creation to prevent duplicates.

This diagram outlines the validation and creation steps for each student record during a bulk import.
Sources: Services/UserService.cs:98-179

Supporting Data Structures

The import functionality relies on two helper classes to manage data and results.

Class	Property	Type	Description
StudentImportData	FirstName	string	Student's first name.
	LastName	string	Student's last name.
	Email	string	Student's email address.
	StudentId	string	Student's unique ID.
ImportResult	StudentData	StudentImportData	The original data for the student.
	Success	bool	Indicates if the import for this student was successful.
	ErrorMessage	string	Contains error details if the import failed.

Sources: Services/UserService.cs:436-455

Summary

The User Management system is a foundational part of the PeP5 application, providing essential services for account creation, role management, and status control. By extending ASP.NET Core Identity and encapsulating logic within the UserService, the system offers a clean and maintainable architecture. Features like bulk student import and automated welcome emails are tailored to the needs of an educational platform, streamlining administrative tasks. The clear separation of roles ensures that students and teachers have appropriate access levels throughout the application.