A Library Management System is an essential application for managing books, users, and transactions in a library. It involves adding, removing, updating, and viewing books and managing users.
Core Features of Web Application
Create a simple web application where administrators can manage books and users. The application will feature:
Add new books with all the required details.
View the list of books including details like name, author, pages, prices, and availability.
Issue and return books (change the book’s availability).
Delete books from the library.
Approach
Below are the approaches for building the Library Management System using Node.js:
Set Up Middleware with EJS: Configure EJS (Embedded JavaScript) as the templating engine to render dynamic pages and display data.
Install and Configure Body Parser: Capture form data and handle POST requests from users.
Create Routes for Adding Books and Users: Handle form submissions to add new entries to the collection.
Create Delete Route: Remove books or users using a unique identifier.
Create Update Route: Modify existing book or user details and reflect changes on the UI.
Steps to Build a Library Management System
Follow these steps to design and implement a basic library management system using Node.js and related technologies.
Step 1: Create a Project Folder
Open your terminal (Command Prompt/PowerShell) and run the following commands:
mkdir library-management-system
cd library-management-system
Step 2: Initialize a NodeJS Project
Run the following command to create a package.json file:
npm init -y
Step 3: Install Dependencies
Run the following command to install the required dependencies:
npm install express ejs body-parser
This installs
Express: Backend framework.
EJS: Templating engine.
Body-parser: To handle form submissions.
Step 4: Create Server File
Create a file named app.js and require the Express module. Then, create an Express instance and set EJS as the default view engine.
Body-parser middleware: Parses incoming request data and makes it accessible via req.body.
EJS view engine: Enables dynamic rendering of HTML templates with server-side data.
Books array: Stores book objects with properties like name, author, pages, price, and availability.
Root route (/): Renders home.ejs and passes the books array for dynamic display.
POST route (/): Captures form data, adds a new book to the array, and re-renders the updated list.
Step 5: Set Up Views Directory
Create a views folder in your root directory and inside it, create a file called home.ejs.
