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docs(website): rewrite Build the library + add Querying with joins guide

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Build the library: polish and extend from a 2-table draft into the full
guided build — all four tables, the authors→books 1:n and the books↔members
m:n through the loans bridge (bridge-table concept taught in context), the
isbn unique constraint, and captured show-relationships / show-data output.
Remove the draft marker; it is now publication-quality. Uses the same sample
rows as the Reference pages so output matches across the site.

Querying with joins (new): joins built up from two tables → the three-table
bridge join → a filtered join → a group-by aggregate, all in advanced mode
with real captured output.

Verified: pnpm build clean (25 pages); no forbidden terms; internal links
resolve. Advanced-mode `mode advanced`/`mode simple` and the unique
constraint checked against source.
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---
title: Build the library
description: Build the example library database step by step — tables, a relationship, and some rows.
description: Build the whole example library — four tables, a one-to-many and a many-to-many relationship, and some rows — step by step.
sidebar:
order: 1
---
:::note[Draft]
This guide is an early draft. The walkthrough is correct, but the wording
and pacing will be refined for teaching before the docs are published.
This guide builds the [example library](/getting-started/example-library/)
from scratch in **simple mode**. By the end you will have a complete little
database — `authors`, `books`, `members`, and `loans` — wired together with
both kinds of relationship, and you will have used the whole
**create → add columns → relate → insert → query** loop.
It picks up where [Your first project](/getting-started/first-project/) leaves
off. The only new idea is *relationships*, which we introduce as we go.
:::tip
Type each command into the input field and press <kbd>Enter</kbd>. As you
type, the editor completes commands with <kbd>Tab</kbd> and flags mistakes
before you run them — see
[The assistive editor](/using-the-playground/the-assistive-editor/).
:::
This guide builds the [example library](/getting-started/example-library/)
from scratch in simple mode: two tables, a relationship between them, and a
few rows. By the end you will have used the create → add column → relate →
insert → query loop end to end.
We give each table a **named** primary key (like `author_id`) so the
relationship reads clearly — but `with pk` on its own gives you a default
`id` if you prefer, as in [Your first project](/getting-started/first-project/).
## 1. Create the authors table
We give each table a **named** primary key (like `author_id`) so that
relationships read clearly later. `with pk author_id(serial)` makes the key a
`serial` — an auto-incrementing number the database fills in for you:
```rdbms
create table authors with pk author_id(serial)
add column to authors: name (text)
add column to authors: birth_year (int)
```
## 2. Create the books table
## 2. Create the books table and relate it to authors
Build `books` the same way. The `author_id` column will hold *which* author
wrote each book:
```rdbms
create table books with pk book_id(serial)
add column to books: title (text)
add column to books: author_id (int)
add column to books: published (int)
add column to books: isbn (text)
```
## 3. Relate books to authors
An author has many books, so `books.author_id` should point at
`authors.author_id`. Declare that one-to-many relationship:
No two books should share an ISBN, so mark that column unique — a
[constraint](/reference/constraints/) the database will enforce on every
insert:
```rdbms
add 1:n relationship from authors.author_id to books.author_id
add constraint unique to books.isbn
```
The relationship reads parent-to-child: **from** the `authors` side **to**
the `books` side.
## 4. Add some rows
`author_id` and `book_id` are `serial`, so they fill themselves in:
Now the new idea. Every book is written by one author, but an author can write
many books — a **one-to-many** relationship. We declare it so the database
keeps the link honest (you can never point a book at an author who does not
exist):
```rdbms
insert into authors (name, birth_year) values ('Ada Lovelace', 1815)
insert into authors (name, birth_year) values ('Alan Turing', 1912)
insert into books (title, author_id, published) values ('Notes on the Analytical Engine', 1, 1843)
add 1:n relationship as books_author from authors.author_id to books.author_id on delete cascade
```
## 5. Look at your data
Read it parent-to-child: **from** the `authors` side (the "one") **to** the
`books` side (the "many"). `on delete cascade` says that if an author is ever
deleted, their books go too — see [Relationships](/reference/relationships/)
for the other options.
## 3. Create the members table
Members are the people who borrow books. This table stands alone for now:
```rdbms
create table members with pk member_id(serial)
add column to members: name (text)
add column to members: joined (date)
```
## 4. Create the loans table — the many-to-many bridge
A book can be borrowed by many members over time, and a member can borrow many
books. That is a **many-to-many** relationship, and you do not model it with a
single link — you use a third table in the middle. Each row in `loans`
represents *one borrowing event*: one book, one member, and when it happened.
```rdbms
create table loans with pk loan_id(serial)
add column to loans: book_id (int)
add column to loans: member_id (int)
add column to loans: loaned_on (date)
add column to loans: returned_on (date)
```
`loans` is a **bridge table** (also called a junction table). It carries two
one-to-many relationships — one to `books`, one to `members` — and together
they express the many-to-many link:
```rdbms
add 1:n relationship as loans_book from books.book_id to loans.book_id on delete cascade
add 1:n relationship as loans_member from members.member_id to loans.member_id on delete cascade
```
You can confirm all three relationships at once:
```rdbms
show relationships
```
```
Relationships (3):
books_author: authors.author_id → books.author_id on delete cascade
loans_book: books.book_id → loans.book_id on delete cascade
loans_member: members.member_id → loans.member_id on delete cascade
```
## 5. Add some rows
The `serial` keys (`author_id`, `book_id`, …) fill themselves in, so you leave
them out of each `insert`. Start with the authors:
```rdbms
insert into authors (name, birth_year) values ('Ursula K. Le Guin', 1929)
insert into authors (name, birth_year) values ('Italo Calvino', 1923)
insert into authors (name, birth_year) values ('Octavia E. Butler', 1947)
```
Then their books. The `author_id` values (`1`, `2`, `3`) are the keys the
database just assigned above — Le Guin is `1`, Calvino is `2`, Butler is `3`:
```rdbms
insert into books (title, author_id, published, isbn) values ('A Wizard of Earthsea', 1, 1968, '978-0553383041')
insert into books (title, author_id, published, isbn) values ('The Left Hand of Darkness', 1, 1969, '978-0441478125')
insert into books (title, author_id, published, isbn) values ('Invisible Cities', 2, 1972, '978-0156453806')
insert into books (title, author_id, published, isbn) values ('Kindred', 3, 1979, '978-0807083697')
```
A couple of members:
```rdbms
insert into members (name, joined) values ('Grace Hopper', '2023-01-15')
insert into members (name, joined) values ('Alan Turing', '2023-03-02')
```
And finally two loans, linking a book to a member. Grace Hopper has borrowed
book `1` and not yet returned it; Alan Turing borrowed book `3` and returned
it. Leave `returned_on` out when the book is still on loan:
```rdbms
insert into loans (book_id, member_id, loaned_on) values (1, 1, '2024-05-01')
insert into loans (book_id, member_id, loaned_on, returned_on) values (3, 2, '2024-05-03', '2024-05-20')
```
## 6. Look at your data
Every table now has rows. `show data` prints them:
```rdbms
show data authors
show data books
```
```
┌───────────┬───────────────────┬────────────┐
│ author_id │ name │ birth_year │
├───────────┼───────────────────┼────────────┤
│ 1 │ Ursula K. Le Guin │ 1929 │
│ 2 │ Italo Calvino │ 1923 │
│ 3 │ Octavia E. Butler │ 1947 │
└───────────┴───────────────────┴────────────┘
```
```rdbms
show data loans
```
```
┌─────────┬─────────┬───────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐
│ loan_id │ book_id │ member_id │ loaned_on │ returned_on │
├─────────┼─────────┼───────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│ 1 │ 1 │ 1 │ 2024-05-01 │ (null) │
│ 2 │ 3 │ 2 │ 2024-05-03 │ 2024-05-20 │
└─────────┴─────────┴───────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘
```
The empty `returned_on` shows as `(null)` — the loan that is still out.
## Where to go next
- Add the `members` and `loans` tables the same way to model borrowing — a
many-to-many relationship through `loans`.
- Try the same steps in advanced mode to see the SQL form of each command.
- Look up any command in detail in the Reference section.
You now have the complete library. From here:
- **Ask questions across tables** — the `loans` bridge only really pays off
when you query through it. See
[Querying with joins](/guides/querying-with-joins/).
- **See the relationships drawn out** — `show table books` and
`show relationship books_author` render the links as diagrams
([Relationships](/reference/relationships/)).
- **Try the same build in advanced mode** to see the SQL form of each command
([Querying & inspecting](/reference/querying-and-inspecting/),
[Tables](/reference/tables/)).