Digital Library

A simple console-based library system written in C for managing a collection of books. The program uses a local text file (books.db) as its database.

🚀 Features

• Load and save book records from/to a books.db file
• Add new books with details like ISBN, title, authors, year, and genre
• Mark books as borrowed or returned (with date)
• Search for books by ISBN (exact match) or title (partial match)
• If the database file is missing, it will be created automatically

▶️ How to Run

gcc main.c -o library
./library

The program will attempt to load books.db. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created when you save data.

🧑‍💻 How to Use

When you run the program, a simple text menu appears:

• [1] Find the book
• [2] Add the book
• [3] Return the book
• [4] End the program

🔍 Finding a Book

You can search in two ways:

• By ISBN — must match exactly
• By Title — partial match works (e.g., typing "The" will return all books with "The" in the title)

If multiple books match your input, you’ll be shown a list to pick from:

Books found:
----------------------
1. The C Programming Language
2. The Hobbit

Choose a book by index (0 to cancel): __

➕ Adding a Book

Choose option [2] to add a new book to the database. You’ll be asked to enter:

• ISBN
• Title
• Author(s)
• Year
• Genre

After successful entry, the book will be saved in the database for further interactions.

🔁 Returning a Book

Option [3] lets you return a previously borrowed book. You’ll need to:

• Search for the book by the ISBN-13
• If it’s marked as borrowed, the status will be updated to false and the return date will be reset.

❌ Ending the Program

Option [4] exits the program. If you’ve made changes (added or returned books), they will be saved automatically to books.db.

📁 Database File Format

The books.db file stores each book on a separate line, with fields separated by |:

ISBN|Title|Authors|Year|Genre|Borrowed (true/false)|Date (DD-MM-YYYY or "-")

Example:

9780131101630|The C Programming Language|Kernighan, Ritchie|1978|Programming|false|-

🔧 Future Plans

• Improve whole logic and code structure
• Break code into modules (db.c, ui.c, etc.)
• Improve input validation
• Add more search filters (e.g., by year or genre)
• Enhance menu usability

📄 License

MIT License — whole project is free to use and modify.