A modern web-based stock trading simulator that evolved from a classroom project into a full-featured application showcasing modern web development practices. Practice trading stocks with virtual money while exploring real-time market data.
This project began as an enhancement of CS50's Finance problem set, where students build a basic stock trading web application. Inspired by the learning opportunity, I transformed the foundational concept into a modern, production-ready application that demonstrates advanced web development techniques.
What started as a classroom exercise became a showcase of:
- Modern Python web development with Flask
- Professional database management with SQLAlchemy ORM
- Responsive frontend design with Bootstrap 5
- Dynamic user interactions with JavaScript
- Production-ready development practices
While the original concept of a stock trading simulator came from the CS50 curriculum, the implementation you see here has been rebuilt from the ground up using modern frameworks and best practices.
- Real-time Stock Quotes - Live market data via third-party APIs
- Buy/Sell Operations - Execute trades with comprehensive validation
- Portfolio Management - Dynamic portfolio tracking with live updates
- Transaction History - Complete audit trail of all trading activity
- Cash Management - Secure fund additions with built-in limits
- Time-based Greetings - Personalized welcome messages
- Responsive Design - Mobile-first Bootstrap 5 interface
- Real-time Validation - Client-side form validation with instant feedback
- Auto-hiding Notifications - Elegant flash message system
- Smart Portfolio Display - Intelligent filtering and real-time calculations
- Database Migrations - Professional schema management with Flask-Migrate
- SQLAlchemy ORM - Modern database operations and relationships
- Secure Authentication - Password hashing and session management
- Error Handling - Comprehensive exception handling and user feedback
- API Integration - Robust external service integration with fallbacks
Backend Architecture:
- Flask 3.1.2 - Modern Python web framework
- SQLAlchemy 2.0.43 - Advanced ORM with relationship management
- Flask-Migrate 4.1.0 - Database migration system
- Flask-Session 0.8.0 - Secure server-side session handling
- Werkzeug - WSGI utilities and security helpers
Frontend Technologies:
- Bootstrap 5 - Modern responsive CSS framework
- Vanilla JavaScript - Custom client-side functionality
- Jinja2 - Advanced templating with custom filters
Data & APIs:
- SQLite - Development database with migration support
- Finnhub API - Professional-grade financial data
- Environment-based Configuration - Secure API key management
- Python 3.8+
- pip package manager
- API key from Finnhub.io (free tier available)
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Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Redsskull/stock-trading-simulator.git cd stock-trading-simulator -
Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
-
Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
-
Configure environment variables Create a
.envfile in the project root:FINNHUB_API_KEY=your_finnhub_api_key_here SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key_here -
Initialize database
flask db init flask db migrate -m "Initial migration" flask db upgrade -
Launch application
python app.py
-
Access the application
- Navigate to
http://localhost:5000 - Register a new account to begin trading
- Navigate to
This project served as a comprehensive learning experience in modern web development:
Database Design & Management:
- Migrated from basic SQLite queries to SQLAlchemy ORM
- Implemented proper database migrations for schema changes
- Designed normalized table relationships for transaction tracking
Frontend Development:
- Enhanced basic HTML with Bootstrap 5's modern component system
- Added dynamic JavaScript for improved user experience
- Implemented client-side validation and real-time feedback
API Integration:
- Researched and integrated modern financial data APIs
- Implemented robust error handling for external service calls
- Designed fallback systems for API failures
Security & Best Practices:
- Environment-based configuration management
- Secure password hashing and session handling
- Input validation and SQL injection prevention
id- Primary key (auto-increment)username- Unique username (indexed)hash- Secure password hashcash- Available cash balance (decimal precision)
id- Primary key (auto-increment)user_id- Foreign key reference to userssymbol- Stock ticker symbolshares- Share quantity (negative for sales)price- Transaction price per sharetimestamp- UTC transaction timestamp
Modern Development Practices:
- SQLAlchemy ORM instead of raw SQL queries
- Database migrations for schema management
- Environment-based configuration
- Proper error handling and logging
Enhanced User Experience:
- Responsive mobile-first design
- Real-time form validation
- Dynamic content updates
- Personalized user interface elements
Production-Ready Features:
- Secure session management
- Comprehensive input validation
- Professional error handling
- Scalable database design
# Database migrations
flask db migrate -m "Description of changes"
flask db upgrade
flask db downgrade
# Development server
python app.py # or flask run
# Code formatting (if using)
black app.py models.py helpers.pyThis project originated from Harvard's CS50 Introduction to Computer Science course, specifically the Finance problem set. The transformation from a basic classroom exercise into a modern, production-ready application was greatly inspired by Brian Yu's CS50W (Web Programming with Python and JavaScript) lectures, particularly his teachings on:
Django Models & Migrations - Applied these concepts to Flask with SQLAlchemy Modern JavaScript Techniques - Enhanced user experience with dynamic interactions Professional Web Development Practices - Database design, security, and project structure
While the core concept of a stock trading simulator came from the CS50 curriculum, this implementation represents a complete modernization influenced by CS50W's advanced web development principles. Original Concept: CS50's Finance Problem Set Technical Inspiration: Brian Yu's CS50W lectures on Django and JavaScript Implementation & Enhancements: Independent development showcasing modern web development practices The journey from classroom exercise to production-ready application demonstrates the power of taking educational foundations and building upon them with real-world development practices learned from both CS50 and CS50W.
This project is open source and available under the MIT License.
Note: This is an educational project demonstrating web development skills. All trading is simulated with virtual currency and should not be used for actual financial decisions.