Tomato: A Food Delivery App

Tomato is a full-featured, responsive food delivery application built using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) with Stripe payment integration. This project delivers a seamless experience for customers, administrators, and delivery personnel, combining a user-friendly frontend, a robust backend, and an intuitive admin panel into a single, comprehensive platform.

Features

Customer Interface (Frontend)

• Responsive Design: Developed with React, Tomato offers a fully responsive interface that adapts to various devices, from desktops to mobile screens, ensuring an optimized user experience.
• User Authentication: Secure user login and registration using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) to manage sessions and protect user data.
• Browse and Search: Users can browse restaurants, view menus, and search for food items by category, popularity, or dietary preference.
• Order Management: Customers can place orders, select their preferred delivery address, and track the status of their orders in real-time.
• Payment Integration: With Stripe integrated, users can make secure, hassle-free payments directly within the app.

Admin Panel

• User Management: Admins can view and manage user accounts, including customer and delivery personnel information.
• Menu and Restaurant Management: Easily add, edit, and delete food items, categories, and restaurant details to keep the offerings up to date.
• Order Tracking: Real-time monitoring of active and past orders, with controls to update the order status (e.g., received, in-progress, completed, delivered).
• Analytics: Track key metrics like popular items, order frequency, and user activity to make informed decisions and improve services.

Backend (Server)

• API Development: Built with Express, the backend provides RESTful APIs to handle requests, manage authentication, and connect the frontend and admin panel to the MongoDB database.
• Data Storage: MongoDB is used for storing user profiles, order details, restaurant data, and menu items in a scalable and efficient manner.
• Real-Time Updates: With WebSockets, users receive live updates on their order status from the moment they place it until delivery.
• Security: Data protection and secure endpoints, with encrypted user information and secure payment processing via Stripe.

Technology Stack

• Frontend: React, CSS3, Bootstrap/Material UI for styling, and Stripe integration for payment processing.
• Backend: Node.js with Express.js, and WebSockets for real-time updates.
• Database: MongoDB for efficient, scalable data storage.
• Payment Integration: Stripe for secure and seamless payment processing.

Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository: git clone <repo-url>
2. Install Dependencies:

   cd client
   npm install
   cd ../server
   npm install

3. Set Up Environment Variables: Add environment variables for MongoDB, Stripe keys, and JWT secrets in a .env file.
4. Run the Application:
   • Start the client: npm start from the client folder.
   • Start the server: npm start from the server folder.

Project Structure

Tomato/
│
├── client/                  # Frontend code (React)
│   ├── public/
│   ├── src/
│       ├── components/
│       ├── pages/
│       └── utils/
│
├── server/                  # Backend code (Node.js, Express)
│   ├── config/
│   ├── controllers/
│   ├── models/
│   ├── routes/
│   └── middleware/
│
├── admin/                   # Admin panel (React, can be separate or part of client)
│   ├── components/
│   └── pages/
│
├── .env                     # Environment variables
├── README.md
└── package.json

Future Enhancements

• Push Notifications: Notify users about order updates and special offers.
• Advanced Analytics: Provide deeper insights for restaurant and admin users.
• Multi-Language Support: Make the app accessible to a broader audience by adding multiple languages.

Contribution Guidelines Feel free to contribute to Tomato by forking this repository, creating a new branch, and submitting a pull request. Please make sure to follow standard coding practices and add meaningful comments to your code.

Enjoy exploring the code and features of Tomato, and feel free to reach out for any questions or suggestions!