E-Commerce Platform with AI Integration (ASP.NET Core)

A robust e-commerce solution built with ASP.NET Core MVC, featuring a multi-role system, automated product approval workflows, and an AI-powered FAQ assistant integrated with Google Gemini.

Features

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):
  • Admin: Full control over products, categories, users, and reviews. Dashboard for system overview.
  • Collaborator: Can propose new products. Proposals go through an approval workflow.
  • Registered User: Can browse products, manage a wishlist, add items to cart, and place orders.
• AI FAQ Assistant: Integrated Gemini AI that answers user questions based on product descriptions and historical FAQ data.
• Product Proposal System: Collaborators submit products which remain in a "Pending" state until an Admin approves or rejects them.
• Order Management: Complete flow from shopping cart to order placement and history tracking.
• Reviews & Ratings: Users can leave feedback on products, which Admins can moderate.

Application Gallery

AI Assistant	Admin Dashboard
Context-Aware Support Answers product-specific questions & filters off-topic queries.	Complete Management Track orders, manage users, and view real-time statistics.

Approval Workflow	Store Front
Collaborator System (RBAC) Admins review and approve/reject product proposals.	Modern UX Clean, responsive interface for browsing and shopping.

Tech Stack

• Backend: .NET 9.0 (ASP.NET Core MVC)
• Database: SQL Server with Entity Framework Core
• AI Service: Google Gemini API (via Google.GenerativeAI SDK)
• Identity: ASP.NET Core Identity (Roles: Admin, Colab, User)
• Frontend: Razor Views, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 9.0 SDK
• SQL Server or LocalDB
• A Google Gemini API Key (Get it from Google AI Studio)

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ModernityRejecter/Proiect-DAW.git
   cd Proiect-DAW

2. Configure Environment Secrets: Open appsettings.json and update the connection string and API key:

   {
     "ConnectionStrings": {
       "DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=Proiect;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"
     },
     "Gemini": {
       "ApiKey": "YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY_HERE"
     }
   }

3. Apply Migrations & Seed Data: The project uses an initializer to create roles and seed initial data (Admin, Categories, Products).

   dotnet ef database update

4. Run the application:

   dotnet run

Default Credentials (Seed Data)

Upon first run, the system creates the following accounts:

Role	Email	Password
Admin	admin@test.com	Admin1!
Collaborator	colab@test.com	Colab1!
User	user@test.com	User1!

Project Structure

• Controllers/: Logic for Cart, Orders, Product Proposals, and Admin panels.
• Models/: Database entities and ViewModels.
• Data/: ApplicationDbContext and Seed Data logic.
• Services/: Contains GeminiService.cs for AI interaction.
• Views/: UI templates grouped by feature.

AI Logic (Gemini)

The GeminiService follows a strict logic for the FAQ system:

1. Checks if a similar question was already answered in the FAQ History.
2. Searches Product Info for relevant details.
3. If no information is found, it returns "NU_STIU" to avoid hallucinations.

License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.