Building Restful Web APIs With Node js & Express

In this blog, we are going to discuss the ways to build rest APIs with Node (& Express). A cross-platform (and open-source) runtime environment, Node.js enables the developers to develop server-side apps in JavaScript. On the other hand, Express is a light-weight web app that helps organize the web app into a Minimum Viable Product. It is configured around the simple granularity of the Connect middleware. 

Let’s assume that we have to create a blogging app. The rest endpoints need to be created to develop, read, edit, and delete a blog. To begin with, a web server is created, and the database is configured. Next, the blog model is crafted, and routes are established to facilitate the CRUD operations.

Let’s name our app name as Blogging-App.

Steps To Create A Restful API

1. Creating the App

You have to open the command prompt & make a new folder for the app.

Next, initiate the app with npm – package.json file. To proceed further, install the needed dependencies (express, mongoose, and nodemon) in the application. The script objects have to be modified, and the application has to be run in watch mode. The watch mode implies that the app gets rebuilt freshly as soon as changes are made to the app. This makes the development process fast and straightforward, with nodemon helping execute the app in the watch mode.

2. Connecting To The Database

You can keep the configurations that are related to the database in a separate folder. To do this, make a new folder(db) within the root of the app. Inside the folder, create a new file, mongoose.js. Simply load the mongoose module, and inside the mongoose object, you can call connect() to establish communication with the database.

3. Make The Mongoose Model for Blog

Next, the Blog model has to be defined clearly. You can create a new folder to do this. 

Inside the folder, make a file (blog.js) and insert the contents. This model class can be made very simple, containing properties such as title, subtitle, and description, etc.

4. Web Server Setup

It is time to set up the entry point file for the application. Create an index.js file within the source folder. When you are done, import the file for database configuration meant for database connection and load the express module. It aids in creating a web server where the mongoose model blog gets imported. 

Next, call express() to make the webserver and add the express.json() middleware by utilizing the express’s method- app.use(). This middleware can access the request/response objects, remodel the request object, execute code, or return a response as needed.

A specific port is listened to as the app runs to facilitate seamless access to the application.

5. Define The Routes With Express

You should now create the routes for creating, updating, and deleting blogs for the blog model. These things are defined within the index.js file.

1.  Create an instance of a blog & then call the mongoose save()function on the blog object. It will return a promise, which can be handled by then() & catch().
2. To update the blog, you can call the mongoose findByIdAndUpdate(). This traces the blog by utilizing the blog id and then updates it.
3. To delete a blog, you can utilize findByIdAndDelete(). All mongoose query methods return a Query object.

6. Testing The API

To test the rest of the API, you can use Postman. It is a great tool to analyze the rest of the APIs. It is utilized by the developers to check whether everything you write functions in an intended way. 

Conclusion

So, this is how you can build an API by utilizing Node & Express. The scope of things that you can do with the APIs is many. Authentication mechanisms can be incorporated; error messages can be bettered; user experiences can be improved, etc. If you are looking to develop complex rest APIs with node express, you can take help from the Ksolves experts.

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