Python Library Management System (CLI)

A comprehensive command-line interface (CLI) application for managing a library system, built entirely in Python. This project was designed to apply and demonstrate core Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles within a clean Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture.

Features

• Full CRUD Operations: Create, Read, Update, and Delete for all core entities:
  • Books
  • Readers
  • Authors
  • Genres
• Advanced Loan Management:
  • Individual loans for each book, allowing for separate due dates.
  • A reader is limited to a maximum of 3 active loans.
• Inventory Control:
  • Books have a specific number of available copies.
  • A loan is only possible if a copy is available.
• Reservation System:
  • Readers can join a waiting queue for a book that is currently unavailable.
• Clean Architecture:
  • Model: A rich domain model where classes (Book, Reader) contain their own business logic (is_available, can_loan).
  • View: The ConsoleView is a "dumb" component, responsible only for displaying information and capturing user input.
  • Controller: The LibraryController orchestrates the application flow, connecting the user's actions from the View to the business logic in the Model.
  • Persistence: A fast, in-memory database simulation using Python dictionaries for O(1) lookups.

Project Structure

The project follows a standard, modular Python package structure:

library_management_system/
├── library/
│ ├── init.py
│ ├── controller/
│ │ ├── init.py
│ │ └── library_controller.py
│ ├── model/
│ │ ├── init.py
│ │ └── (author.py, book.py, reader.py, ...)
│ ├── persistence/
│ │ ├── init.py
│ │ └── (database.py, repository.py)
│ └── view/
│ ├── init.py
│ └── console_view.py
├── .gitignore
├── LICENSE
├── main.py
└── README.md

How to Run

1. Prerequisites:

   • Ensure you have Python 3.8 or newer installed.

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone [https://github.com/your-username/library-management-system.git](https://github.com/your-username/library-management-system.git)

3. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd library-management-system

4. Run the application:

   python main.py

   The command-line menu will start, populated with initial sample data for easy testing.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.