📚 Student Database Management System

Welcome to the Student Database Management System! This C++ application helps you manage student records efficiently. You can add, view, search, update, and delete student information. It also allows you to sort records, filter by branch, and save or load data from a file.

🚀 Features

Add Student: 📥 Add new student records.
Show All Students: 📋 Display a list of all students.
Search Student: 🔍 Find students by registration number, name, or branch.
Update Student: ✏️ Modify details of existing students.
Delete Student: 🗑️ Remove specific students or clear all records.
Save to File: 💾 Save student records to a file.
Load from File: 📂 Load student records from a file.
Sort by Name: 🔢 Sort students alphabetically by name.
Filter by Branch: 🔎 View students from a specific branch.

🛠️ Tech Stack

This project uses the following technologies:

Language:
- C++ 🖥️
Libraries:
- <iostream> for input/output operations 📝
- <vector> for dynamic array management 📊
- <fstream> for file operations 📂
- <string> for string handling 🔠
- <algorithm> for sorting and other operations ⚙️
- <limits> for handling input limits ⛔

🏗️ Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have:

A C++ compiler (e.g., g++, clang++)
Basic understanding of C++ and its standard libraries

Compilation

To compile the project, open your terminal and run:

g++ -o student_database student_database.cpp

This command creates an executable file named student_database.

Running the Program

To run the program, use:

./student_database

📋 Example Usage

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use the application:

Add a New Student:
- Choose option 1 from the menu.
- Enter the student's details:
  - Name: e.g., John Doe
  - Registration Number: e.g., 123456
  - Branch: e.g., Computer Science
  - Class: e.g., 2nd Year
Show All Students:
- Choose option 2 to display all student records.
Search for a Student:
- Choose option 3.
- Select the search criterion (registration number, name, or branch).
- Enter the search query. For example:
  - If searching by name: John Doe
Update Student Information:
- Choose option 4.
- Enter the registration number of the student to be updated.
- Choose the field to update (name, branch, or class) and provide new information. For example:
  - To update the branch: Electrical Engineering
Delete a Student:
- Choose option 5.
- Decide whether to delete a specific student or clear all records.
Save Data to File:
- Choose option 6 to save all student records to students.txt.
Load Data from File:
- Choose option 7 to load student records from students.txt.
Sort Students by Name:
- Choose option 8 to sort students alphabetically by their names.
Filter Students by Branch:
- Choose option 9 to display students from a specific branch.

Example Code for Beginners

Here is a simplified example of how to use the StudentDatabase class:

#include <iostream>
#include "student_database.h" // Assuming the class is declared in this header file

int main() {
    StudentDatabase db;

    // Load data from file
    db.loadFromFile("students.txt");

    // Add a new student
    db.add();

    // Show all students
    db.showAll();

    // Search for a student by name
    db.search();

    // Update a student's details
    db.update();

    // Delete a student
    db.deleteStudent();

    // Save data to file
    db.saveToFile("students.txt");

    // Sort students by name
    db.sortByName();

    // Filter students by branch
    db.filterByBranch();

    return 0;
}

📖 Detailed Explanation

Classes and Methods:
- Student: Represents a student with attributes for name, registration number, branch, and class.
- StudentDatabase: Manages a collection of Student objects. Provides methods for adding, viewing, searching, updating, and deleting students.
Core Functions:
- add(): Adds new student records.
- showAll(): Displays details of all students.
- search(): Finds and displays students based on the search criterion.
- update(): Updates student details by registration number.
- deleteStudent(): Removes students from the database.
- saveToFile(): Saves student records to a file.
- loadFromFile(): Loads student records from a file.
- sortByName(): Sorts students alphabetically by name.
- filterByBranch(): Displays students from a specific branch.

❓ FAQ

Q1: How do I handle input errors?

Ans: The code currently handles some basic input errors, but you can enhance it by adding more validation. For example, to ensure the registration number is not empty:

bool isValidRegistrationNumber(const std::string& regNo) const {
    return !regNo.empty();
}

Q2: What if the file operations fail?

Ans: The program includes basic error handling for file operations. For example, when saving to a file:

void saveToFile(const std::string& filename) const {
    try {
        std::ofstream file(filename);
        if (!file) throw std::runtime_error("Unable to open file for writing.");
        // Write data to file...
    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
        std::cerr << "Error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
    }
}

Q3: How do I add more features to the application?

Ans: To add new features, you can extend the StudentDatabase class. For example, to add a feature for calculating the average grade:

1.  Add a `grade` attribute to the `Student` class.
2.  Implement methods in `StudentDatabase` to handle this new attribute.

Q4: Can I integrate this with a database?

Ans: Yes, you can replace file operations with database operations for more advanced data management. Consider using SQLite or another database for persistence.

Q5: How can I improve the user interface?

Ans: You can enhance the user interface by adding error messages and confirmation prompts. For example:

void showAll() const {
    if (students.empty()) {
        std::cout << "No student records available. 😢\n";
    } else {
        for (size_t i = 0; i < students.size(); ++i) {
            show(i);
        }
    }
}

🤝 Contributions

Contributions are welcome! If you have suggestions or improvements, please follow these steps:

Fork the Repository: Click the "Fork" button on the top-right corner of this page.
Clone Your Fork: Use git clone https://github.com/Slygriyrsk/student-database-management.git to clone your fork to your local machine.
Create a Branch: Create a new branch with git checkout -b main.
Make Changes: Implement your changes or add features.
Commit Changes: Commit your changes with git commit -am 'Add some feature'.
Push to GitHub: Push your changes with git push origin main.
Open a Pull Request: Go to the original repository and create a new Pull Request.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Slygriyrsk/student-database-management