Library Management System API

Overview

The Library Management System API is a Flask-based web application that provides functionality to manage books and users in a library. It supports basic CRUD operations for books and user authentication using a MySQL database.

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Features

1. Book Management:

   • Add new books to the inventory.
   • Retrieve a list of all available books.
   • Update book details (title, author, genre, availability status, etc.).
   • Delete books from the inventory.
   • Filter books by genre, author, or publication year.

2. User Management:

   • User registration.
   • User login and session management.

3. Authentication:

   • Login system with session management.
   • Role-based access control (e.g., admin or regular user).

4. Database:

   • Uses MySQL for data storage.

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Technologies Used

• Backend Framework: Flask
• Database: MySQL
• Frontend (Optional): HTML templates (e.g., for login and dashboard)
• Libraries:
  • Flask extensions: Flask-MySQLdb, Flask-Session
  • Others: MySQLdb, Werkzeug

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Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

1. Python (version 3.7 or later)
2. MySQL Server
3. pip (Python package manager)

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Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd Library_management_system

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Install all required Python libraries:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4: Configure the Database

1. Create a MySQL database named library (or a name of your choice):

   CREATE DATABASE library;

2. Import the schema:

   mysql -u <username> -p library < schema.sql

   Replace <username> with your MySQL username. The schema.sql file should contain the table structure for the user and books tables.

3. Update the database connection details in config.py:

   MYSQL_HOST = 'localhost'
   MYSQL_USER = '<your-mysql-username>'
   MYSQL_PASSWORD = '<your-mysql-password>'
   MYSQL_DB = 'library'

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Step 5: Run the Flask Application

1. Start the Flask development server:

   python app.py

2. The application will be accessible at:

http://127.0.0.1:5000

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## **API Endpoints**

### **Books Endpoints**
| Method | Endpoint          | Description                                      |
|--------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| GET    | `/books`          | Retrieve a list of all books.                   |
| GET    | `/books?filter`   | Filter books by genre, author, or year.         |
| POST   | `/books`          | Add a new book.                                 |
| PUT    | `/books/<id>`     | Update details of a specific book by ID.        |
| DELETE | `/books/<id>`     | Delete a specific book by ID.                   |

### **User Endpoints**
| Method | Endpoint          | Description                                      |
|--------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| POST   | `/register`       | Register a new user.                            |
| POST   | `/login`          | Login a user.                                   |
| GET    | `/logout`         | Logout the current user.                        |

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## **Testing the API**

### **Using Postman**
1. Download and install [Postman](https://www.postman.com/).
2. Use the following steps to test:
- Set the method (e.g., GET, POST) and the endpoint URL.
- For POST/PUT requests, add a JSON body with required fields.
- Check responses for validation.

### **Using Browser**
- You can test `GET` endpoints directly by visiting URLs (e.g., `http://127.0.0.1:5000/books`).

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## **Project Structure**

Library_management_system/ | |-- app.py # Main application file |-- config.py # Configuration file (database settings, etc.) |-- schema.sql # Database schema |-- templates/ # HTML templates for web pages | |-- login.html # Login page | |-- dashboard.html # Dashboard page |-- static/ # Static files (CSS, JS, etc.) |-- requirements.txt # Python dependencies

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## **Troubleshooting**

### **Common Issues**
1. **`MySQLdb.OperationalError: (1136, "Column count doesn't match value count at row 1")`:**
   - Ensure the number of columns in the `INSERT` query matches the table structure.

2. **Database Connection Errors:**
   - Verify MySQL server is running.
   - Check credentials in `config.py`.

### **Logs**
- Check the terminal logs for detailed error messages during debugging.

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## **Future Enhancements**
1. Add JWT-based authentication for better security.
2. Implement pagination for the `/books` endpoint.
3. Add an admin panel for managing users and roles.
4. Integrate advanced search features (e.g., full-text search).

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## **Contributors**
- [Your Name] - Developer

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## **License**
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.