Track-List

Author: Gerry S.

---

This is a simple Java console-based application that allows users to manage a personal music library. Users can search for songs by title, artist, or genre, and add new songs to the collection.

The song data is stored in a text file (songs.txt) which the application reads from and writes to using file handling techniques.

---

Features

• Search songs by: Title, Artist, and Genre.
• Add new songs to the library
• Automatically saves new entries to a .txt file
• Loads songs from the file on program start

---

Technologies and Concepts Used

---

1. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

The application is built using OOP principles for modular, maintainable code.

• Song class stores song attributes (title, artist, genre, album, year)
• Library class manages song collections and organizes search logic
• Main class acts as the entry point and handles user interaction

---

2. File Handling

• Uses BufferedReader to read song data from songs.txt during startup
• Uses BufferedWriter to append newly added songs to the file
• Ensures persistent data storage between sessions
• Includes exception handling for safe file operations

---

3. Data Structures

• Implements HashMap<String, List<Song>> to efficiently group songs by:
  • Title
  • Artist
  • Genre
• Keys are stored in lowercase for case-insensitive search
• Hash map usage enables fast lookup and reduces unnecessary iterations

---

4. Searching Algorithm

• User input is normalized (converted to lowercase)
• The program performs direct map lookups instead of iterating through all songs
• If a match is found, the related list of songs is displayed
• This approach ensures quick and optimized search operations

---

5. Error Handling

• Utilizes try-catch blocks to catch and handle runtime exceptions:
  • NumberFormatException when parsing user input (e.g., menu selection, year)
  • IOException for file read/write operations
• Provides informative error messages when invalid input or file issues occur

---