AN

Alex Ndungu

CTO + Software Engineer + ML Engineer

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Let's talk
HomeAboutExperienceProjectsSkillsContact

Alex Ndungu

Backend systems, machine learning retrieval, and clean product-minded engineering for teams that care about reliability.

GitHubLinkedInLeetCodealexmeta517@gmail.com
Library Management System

Catalog-Point

A full-stack library operations system with 5 core relational models, 2 user role types, a borrowing transaction engine with date-based cost calculation, and a deployment-ready Django stack.

5

Core relational models

2

User role types

Deployed

Gunicorn + WhiteNoise

Problem statement

Library systems need more than a catalog. They require inventory tracking, transaction state management, borrowing cost logic, user roles, and a clean workflow for approvals, returns, and activity history — without the complexity getting in the way of day-to-day use.

Architecture breakdown

I designed Catalog-Point around 5 relational models (profiles, categories, books, costs, transactions) with role-aware views separating librarian administration from member access. The borrowing engine handles date-based cost calculation and debt-aware logic, and the stack is production-configured with Gunicorn and WhiteNoise.

  • - 5 relational models: profiles, categories, books, costs, and transactions — covering the full operational surface
  • - 2 user role types with separated workflows: librarian administration and member-facing catalog access
  • - Borrowing engine with date-based cost calculation, approval states, return handling, and debt-aware transaction logic
  • - Deployment-ready Django stack with Gunicorn, WhiteNoise, and environment-driven infrastructure support

Tech stack explanation

DjangoPythonPostgreSQLHTMLCSSJavaScriptDjango AllauthGunicorn

System diagram

[ Members / Librarians ]
      |
      v
[ Django Views + Templates ]
      |
      +--> [ Book Catalog ]
      +--> [ Category Management ]
      +--> [ Borrow / Return Transactions ]
      +--> [ Profiles + Authentication ]
      |
      v
[ PostgreSQL Data Model ]

Key challenges

Catalog-Point is a Django-based library management system covering the full operational surface of a real library: inventory tracking, category management, borrowing workflows, cost calculation, approval states, return handling, and user activity history — for both librarians and members.

  • - Built a 5-model relational system that covers the full operational surface of a library, not just a catalog.
  • - Demonstrated Django application structure and workflow-heavy backend design across 2 distinct user roles.
  • - Shipped a deployment-ready project with Gunicorn + WhiteNoise, showing production configuration discipline.

What I learned

Workflow-heavy CRUD systems become far more valuable when the transaction states are designed carefully.
Django remains strong for admin-oriented products where relational clarity and delivery speed both matter.
User roles shape interface and backend design just as much as the database schema does.