Build a Full-Featured Django Library Management System from Scratch

Django File Configuration

Template configuration: set TEMPLATES in settings.py with DIRS pointing to the template folder, enable APP_DIRS, and define the required context_processors.

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
        'DIRS': [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "template")],
        'APP_DIRS': True,
        'OPTIONS': {
            'context_processors': [
                'django.template.context_processors.debug',
                'django.template.context_processors.request',
                'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth',
                'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages',
            ],
        },
    },
]

Static files configuration: define STATIC_URL and STATICFILES_DIRS to locate the static folder.

STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "static")]

During early testing you can temporarily disable the CSRF middleware.

MIDDLEWARE = [
    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
    # 'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
]

Django Database Configuration

Replace the default SQLite database with MySQL by setting the ENGINE to django.db.backends.mysql and providing connection details.

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
        'NAME': 'test_site',
        'HOST': '127.0.0.1',
        'PORT': 3306,
        'USER': 'root',
        'PASSWORD': '',
    }
}

Install pymysql as the MySQL driver in __init__.py of the project.

import pymysql
pymysql.install_as_MySQLdb()

Django Library Management System

Goal: display separate pages for publishers, books, and authors; implement a one‑to‑many relationship between publishers and books, and a many‑to‑many relationship between authors and books.

Publishers – list, add, delete, edit.

Books – list, add, delete, edit.

Authors – list, add, delete, edit, associate books.

Creating the Django Project

Run the following commands in a terminal:

# django-admin startproject lms
# cd lms
# python3 manage.py startapp app01

Models (app01/models.py)

from django.db import models

class Publisher(models.Model):
    id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)
    name = models.CharField(max_length=64)

class Book(models.Model):
    id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)
    name = models.CharField(max_length=64)
    publisher = models.ForeignKey(to=Publisher)

class Author(models.Model):
    id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)
    name = models.CharField(max_length=64)
    book = models.ManyToManyField(to=Book)

Views (app01/views.py)

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from app01 import models

# Publisher list
def publisher_list(request):
    publisher = models.Publisher.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'publisher_list.html', {'publisher_list': publisher})

# Add publisher
def add_publisher(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        new_publisher_name = request.POST.get('name')
        models.Publisher.objects.create(name=new_publisher_name)
        return redirect('/publisher_list/')
    return render(request, 'add_publisher.html')

# Delete publisher
def drop_publisher(request):
    drop_id = request.GET.get('id')
    drop_obj = models.Publisher.objects.get(id=drop_id)
    drop_obj.delete()
    return redirect('/publisher_list/')

# Edit publisher
def edit_publisher(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
        edit_obj = models.Publisher.objects.get(id=edit_id)
        new_name = request.POST.get('name')
        edit_obj.name = new_name
        edit_obj.save()
        return redirect('/publisher_list/')
    edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
    edit_obj = models.Publisher.objects.get(id=edit_id)
    return render(request, 'edit_publisher.html', {'publisher': edit_obj})

# Book list
def book_list(request):
    book = models.Book.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'book_list.html', {'book_list': book})

# Add book
def add_book(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        new_book_name = request.POST.get('name')
        publisher_id = request.POST.get('publisher_id')
        models.Book.objects.create(name=new_book_name, publisher_id=publisher_id)
        return redirect('/book_list/')
    res = models.Publisher.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'add_book.html', {'publisher_list': res})

# Delete book
def drop_book(request):
    drop_id = request.GET.get('id')
    drop_obj = models.Book.objects.get(id=drop_id)
    drop_obj.delete()
    return redirect('/book_list/')

# Edit book
def edit_book(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        new_book_name = request.POST.get('name')
        new_publisher_id = request.POST.get('publisher_id')
        edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
        edit_obj = models.Book.objects.get(id=edit_id)
        edit_obj.name = new_book_name
        edit_obj.publisher_id = new_publisher_id
        edit_obj.save()
        return redirect('/book_list/')
    edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
    edit_obj = models.Book.objects.get(id=edit_id)
    all_publisher = models.Publisher.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'edit_book.html', {'book': edit_obj, 'publisher_list': all_publisher})

# Author list
def author_list(request):
    author = models.Author.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'author_list.html', {'author_list': author})

# Add author
def add_author(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        new_author_name = request.POST.get('name')
        models.Author.objects.create(name=new_author_name)
        return redirect('/author_list/')
    return render(request, 'add_author.html')

# Delete author
def drop_author(request):
    drop_id = request.GET.get('id')
    drop_obj = models.Author.objects.get(id=drop_id)
    drop_obj.delete()
    return redirect('/author_list/')

# Edit author
def edit_author(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
        edit_obj = models.Author.objects.get(id=edit_id)
        new_author_name = request.POST.get('name')
        new_book_id = request.POST.getlist('book_id')
        edit_obj.name = new_author_name
        edit_obj.book.set(new_book_id)
        edit_obj.save()
        return redirect('/author_list/')
    edit_id = request.GET.get('id')
    edit_obj = models.Author.objects.get(id=edit_id)
    all_book = models.Book.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'edit_author.html', {'author': edit_obj, 'book_list': all_book})

URL Configuration (lms/urls.py)

from django.conf.urls import url
from django.contrib import admin
from app01 import views

urlpatterns = [
    url(r'^admin/', admin.site.urls),
    url(r'^publisher_list/', views.publisher_list),
    url(r'^add_publisher/', views.add_publisher),
    url(r'^drop_publisher/', views.drop_publisher),
    url(r'^edit_publisher/', views.edit_publisher),
    url(r'^book_list/', views.book_list),
    url(r'^add_book/', views.add_book),
    url(r'^drop_book/', views.drop_book),
    url(r'^edit_book/', views.edit_book),
    url(r'^author_list/', views.author_list),
    url(r'^add_author/', views.add_author),
    url(r'^drop_author/', views.drop_author),
    url(r'^edit_author/', views.edit_author),
    url(r'^$', views.publisher_list),
]

Template Example – Publisher List

{% for publisher in publisher_list %}
<tr>
<td>{{ forloop.counter }}</td>
<td>{{ publisher.name }}</td>
<td class="text-center">
<a class="btn btn-info btn-sm" href="/edit_publisher/?id={{ publisher.id }}"><i class="fa fa-pencil fa-fw" aria-hidden="true"></i>编辑</a>
<a class="btn btn-danger btn-sm" href="/drop_publisher/?id={{ publisher.id }}"><i class="fa fa-trash-o fa-fw" aria-hidden="true"></i>删除</a>
</td>
</tr>
{% endfor %}

Template Example – Book Edit Publisher Select

<select class="form-control" name="publisher_id">
{% for publisher in publisher_list %}
{% if publisher == book.publisher %}
<option selected value="{{ publisher.id }}">{{ publisher.name }}</option>
{% else %}
<option value="{{ publisher.id }}">{{ publisher.name }}</option>
{% endif %}
{% endfor %}
</select>

Core configuration, models, views, URLs, and template snippets are now ready to build a functional Django library management system. The complete source code is available on GitHub.