A 12-Hour Coding Sprint: Building a Livestock Management System from Scratch

The clock was ticking. I set a bold challenge for myself: build a complete, multi-user livestock management system in just 12 hours. No pre-built frameworks, just raw PHP, MySQL, and determination. The goal? Take it from a blank screen to a functional platform that farmers, veterinary officers, and an admin could actually use.

The Blueprint: Three Roles, One Goal

Before touching a line of code, I mapped out the architecture. The secret was clear separation of user roles:

• The Farmer: Manage their own animals, view health records, and book appointments.
• The Veterinary Officer: Record treatments, vaccinations, and manage upcoming appointments.
• The Admin: Oversee the system, manage users, and view health trend reports.

The database had to connect farmers, animals, treatments, and appointments seamlessly with foreign keys and joins everywhere.

The Grind: From Idea to Reality

I went with a simple stack:

• PHP for backend logic
• MySQL for relational data
• Bootstrap for a fast, responsive frontend

First came login & registration with sessions and secure password hashing. Then I built dashboards - farmer first, then vet, then admin. Linking everything with correct foreign keys was the toughest (and most satisfying) part.

My AI "Co-Pilot"

I didn't do it entirely alone. I used AI sparingly, almost like a rubber duck debugger. It never built full features it just caught typos, missing semicolons, and subtle logic bugs that would've cost me 10 -15 minutes each. These small time-savers added up across 12 hours.

The Finish Line

By the deadline, the system was complete:

• Admins could view reports and manage users.
• Farmers could track livestock health and vaccinations.
• Vets could log treatments and upcoming appointments.

Lessons learned?

1. Planning first is key in time-constrained projects.
2. Focus on core features before polish.
3. AI isn't replacing devs; it's a silent partner.