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Manage teacher accounts, profiles, and access to class management features.

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Teacher Registration

Endpoint: register.php Method: POST Description: Creates a new teacher account with a unique teacher ID.

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Request Parameters

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user_type
string
required
Must be set to teacher
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teacher_id
string
required
Teacher identifier in format T\d{4} (e.g., T1234, T5678)
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name
string
required
Teacher’s full name
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email
email
required
Valid email address for account management
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password
string
required
Account password (minimum 8 characters)
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confirm_password
string
required
Password confirmation (must match password)

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Teacher ID Format

Pattern: ^T\d{4}$ Valid Examples:
  • T0001
  • T1234
  • T9999
Invalid Examples:
  • 1234 (missing ‘T’ prefix)
  • T123 (only 3 digits)
  • T12345 (too many digits)
  • t1234 (lowercase)

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Validation Process

  1. Password Match: 
    if ($password !== $confirm_password) {
    echo "Passwords do not match";
}
  2. Teacher ID Format: 
    if (!preg_match('/^T\d{4}$/', $teacher_id)) {
    echo "Teacher ID must be in format T followed by 4 digits (e.g., T1234)";
}
  3. Uniqueness Check: 
    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM teachers WHERE teacher_id = ?

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Database Insertion

INSERT INTO teachers (teacher_id, name, email, password) 
VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)
Password Hashing: 
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

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Response Messages

Success: 
<div class="success-message">Teacher registration successful! You can now login.</div>
Errors:
  • “Passwords do not match”
  • “Teacher ID must be in format T followed by 4 digits (e.g., T1234)”
  • “Teacher ID already exists”
  • “Registration failed: [database error]”
Teacher IDs must be unique across the entire system. Each teacher must have a distinct ID starting with ‘T’.

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Teacher Profile Management

Page: teacher_dashboard.php Authentication: Required (teacher session)

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View Profile Information

Session Data: 
$_SESSION['teacher_id']    // e.g., "T1234"
$_SESSION['teacher_name']  // e.g., "John Smith"
$_SESSION['user_type']     // "teacher"
Database Query: 
SELECT email FROM teachers WHERE teacher_id = ?

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Response Fields

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teacher_id
string
Unique teacher identifier (format: T\d)
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name
string
Teacher’s full name
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email
string
Registered email address

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Update Email Address

Email update functionality for teachers is currently not implemented. The teacher dashboard UI references update_email.php, but this file does not exist in the source code.
Intended Endpoint: update_email.php (not implemented) Method: POST Authentication: Teacher session required

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Expected Implementation

To implement this feature, create update_email.php with the following functionality: Request Parameters:
​
new_email
email
required
New email address
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password
string
required
Current password for verification
Suggested Validation Process:
  1. Password Verification: 
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT password FROM teachers WHERE teacher_id = ?");
$stmt->execute([$teacher_id]);
$teacher = $stmt->fetch();

if (!password_verify($password, $teacher['password'])) {
    $_SESSION['error'] = "Incorrect password";
    header("Location: teacher_dashboard.php");
    exit();
}
  2. Email Uniqueness Check: 
    SELECT COUNT(*) FROM teachers 
WHERE email = ? AND teacher_id != ?
  3. Update Database: 
    UPDATE teachers SET email = ? WHERE teacher_id = ?
Students can update their email through student_dashboard.php (inline processing). Reference that implementation for consistency.

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Change Password

Endpoint: update_password.php Method: POST Authentication: Teacher session required

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Request Parameters

​
current_password
string
required
Current account password
​
new_password
string
required
New password (minimum 8 characters)
​
confirm_password
string
required
Must match new_password

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Validation Steps

  1. Password Match: 
    if ($new_password !== $confirm_password) {
    $_SESSION['error'] = "Passwords do not match";
}
  2. Current Password Verification: 
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT password FROM teachers WHERE teacher_id = ?");
$stmt->execute([$teacher_id]);
$teacher = $stmt->fetch();

if (!password_verify($current_password, $teacher['password'])) {
    $_SESSION['error'] = "Current password is incorrect";
}
  3. Update Password: 
    $hashed_password = password_hash($new_password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("UPDATE teachers SET password = ? WHERE teacher_id = ?");
$stmt->execute([$hashed_password, $teacher_id]);

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Response Messages

Success: 
<div class="message success">Password updated successfully</div>
Errors:
  • “Passwords do not match”
  • “Current password is incorrect”
  • “Password must be at least 8 characters long”
Password changes require verification of the current password to prevent unauthorized modifications.

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View Teacher’s Classes

Query: Retrieve all classes owned by the teacher 
SELECT * FROM classes 
WHERE teacher_id = ? 
ORDER BY name

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Response Fields

​
id
integer
Unique class identifier
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teacher_id
string
Owner teacher’s ID
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name
string
Class name

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Usage

Displayed in teacher dashboard for class selection: 
<select class="class-select" onchange="window.location.href='?class_id=' + this.value">
    <option value="">Select a class</option>
    <?php foreach ($classes as $class): ?>
        <option value="<?= $class['id'] ?>">
            <?= $class['name'] ?>
        </option>
    <?php endforeach; ?>
</select>

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Class Ownership Verification

Purpose: Ensure teachers can only access their own classes

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Verification Query

SELECT id FROM classes 
WHERE id = ? AND teacher_id = ?
Parameters:
  • ? - Class ID being accessed
  • ? - Logged-in teacher’s ID

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Implementation

if ($selected_class) {
    $verify_class = $pdo->prepare(
        "SELECT id FROM classes WHERE id = ? AND teacher_id = ?"
    );
    $verify_class->execute([$selected_class, $teacher_id]);
    
    if ($verify_class->rowCount() === 0) {
        $_SESSION['error'] = "You don't have permission to view this class";
        $selected_class = null;
    }
}
All class-related operations must verify ownership before allowing access or modifications.

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View Class Statistics

Queries: Get attendance metrics for a specific class

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Total Students in Class

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM class_students 
WHERE class_id = ?

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Present Today

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT a.student_id) 
FROM attendance a 
WHERE a.class_id = ? AND a.date = CURRENT_DATE()

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Attendance Rate Calculation

$attendance_rate = $student_count > 0 
    ? round(($attendance_count / $student_count) * 100) 
    : 0;

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Response Fields

​
student_count
integer
Total number of students enrolled in the class
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attendance_count
integer
Number of students present today
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attendance_rate
integer
Percentage of students present (0-100)

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View Today’s Attendance

Query: Get attendance records for all students in class 
SELECT 
    cs.student_id,
    s.name,
    a.id as attendance_id,
    a.time,
    COALESCE(a.status, 'absent') as status
FROM class_students cs
JOIN students s ON cs.student_id = s.student_id
LEFT JOIN attendance a ON cs.student_id = a.student_id 
    AND a.class_id = cs.class_id 
    AND a.date = CURRENT_DATE()
WHERE cs.class_id = ?
ORDER BY s.name

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Response Fields

​
student_id
string
Student identifier
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name
string
Student’s full name
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attendance_id
integer
Attendance record ID (null if absent)
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time
time
Check-in time (null if absent)
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status
string
Attendance status: on-time, late, or absent

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Update Attendance Status

Endpoint: teacher_dashboard.php Method: POST Description: Allows teachers to manually modify attendance status

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Request Parameters

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update_status
string
required
Action identifier (set to “1”)
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attendance_id
integer
required
ID of the attendance record to update
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new_status
string
required
New status: on-time, late, or absent

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Verification Process

  1. Ownership Check: 
    SELECT a.id 
FROM attendance a
JOIN classes c ON a.class_id = c.id
WHERE a.id = ? AND c.teacher_id = ?
  2. Update Status: 
    UPDATE attendance 
SET status = ? 
WHERE id = ?

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Response Messages

Success: 
$_SESSION['success'] = "Attendance status updated successfully";
Error: 
$_SESSION['error'] = "You don't have permission to modify this attendance record";
Teachers can only modify attendance records for classes they own. The system verifies ownership before allowing any updates.

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