Library Management System Course Design

The Library Management System is a widely used IT project aimed at teaching students the principles and techniques of software engineering, particularly in the development of information management systems. The project requires the use of Visual Studio 2003/2005 as the development platform, and SQL Server 2000 as the database. Students will need to master the use of SQL queries, table creation, and data management. The system also utilizes ADO.NET for connecting to the database and managing data exchanges.

Key functions to be implemented include:

  1. User Management: Registration, login, and permission control for administrators and regular users.
  2. Book Information Management: Adding, editing, and deleting book details like ISBN, title, author, and publisher.
  3. Borrow and Return Management: Handling borrowing, renewing, and returning books, as well as tracking their availability status.
  4. Search Features: Searching books by title, author, and category.
  5. Statistical Analysis: Analyzing the borrowing frequency and most popular books.
  6. Error Handling: Managing issues like overdue books and lost items.

Through this project, students will experience all phases of the software development lifecycle such as requirement analysis, system design, coding, testing, and maintenance. Proper documentation, including requirement and design documents, along with version control (e.g., SVN or Git) and unit testing (e.g., NUnit), is also essential.