Overview & Purpose

I’ve started building a mobile app called Gas Tracker to keep a personal log of where and when I stop for gas. The goal is to collect this data over time so I can analyze my fuel habits and efficiency.

This project also serves a secondary purpose: it’s a learning experience. I’m using it to get more familiar with working with APIs and building cross-platform mobile apps using .NET MAUI.

Progress So Far

Here’s what I’ve completed up to this point:

• Currently working on the user account system.
• Built the basic app layout using MAUI.
• Integrated the Google Places API to fetch the nearest gas stations.
• Set up tables in Amazon DynamoDB to store data.

TODOs

Account Creation

Users will sign in using an email and password. Each account will be associated with one or more vehicles and their corresponding gas station visits. This will help keep everything organized by user.

Vehicle Registration

Each user can register their vehicle(s) by entering basic information like:

• Make
• Model
• Year
• Current mileage

Tracking mileage allows me to estimate fuel efficiency over time (i.e., MPG calculations based on fill-up logs).

Fills Ups

“Fill-Ups” is the internal term I’m using for each gas station visit. Users will select their vehicle from a dropdown, then enter:

• Price per gallon
• Current mileage at the time of fill-up
• Number of gallons added

This will form the core dataset for later analysis.

Final Touches

After all the core features are built out, I’ll focus on:

• UI/UX improvements
• Adding some simple data visualization (charts, graphs)
• Possibly adding reminders or stats summaries

*Written using AI assistance

In making this website, I went back and forth between Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Initially, I leaned toward Azure because I’m a student and could use their student plan, but it turned out to be pretty restrictive for what I wanted to do. So, I ultimately decided on AWS, which offered me more freedom to experiment and scale without running into early limits.

When setting up AWS, I initially looked into Amazon Amplify along with the React framework, since they offered a straightforward tutorial for launching a website. However, I soon realized the added complexity was unnecessary for the simple site I wanted, so I decided on a more streamlined approach that better suited my needs.

After ruling out AWS Amplify, I decided to go with Amazon LightSail, an easy-to-use cloud virtual machine service. I chose an Ubuntu instance preconfigured with WordPress, and while there was a bit of a learning curve, I quickly picked up the basics and am now quite satisfied with this streamlined setup.

*Written using AI assistance

A brief summary of my multiple attempts of making an website and why this is the one

I’ve always wanted to create my own website. Over time, I’ve made multiple attempts to bring it to life, but for one reason or another, I’d give up before finishing it. I have experience working with Laravel, a powerful PHP framework that can handle large-scale, complex applications. But for my personal website Laravel felt like too much. It’s a fantastic tool, but it comes with a lot of overhead for a simple project.

My earliest attempt at making my own website dates back to high school. I registered a domain on GoDaddy, enlisted a friend to help host it, and that was about it. I can’t remember much about the site itself.

hello

Quick Recreation of what i remember it being

About 2 years later, I met an amazing web developer on Discord who introduced me to Laravel. At the time, I was part of my school’s robotics team and I wanted a better solution for clocking in. With my newly acquired Laravel skills, I built a web-based system to handle attendance tracking.

Initially, it worked well for its main function, but my enthusiasm led me to stuff in more and more features, making it increasingly complex. Eventually, it became bloated and I lost interest

This website is my renewed commitment to completing what I start, keeping my projects focused, and enjoying the journey of learning.

*Written using AI assistance