3.1: Express.js

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3.1: Express.js
Introduction
Express.js is an NPM package and web server framework for responding to HTTP requests.
This is the architecture of the apps we are about to build in Module 3.
Node HTTP vs. Express
The following are examples of the same server functionality written with the Node HTTP library and Express. What are the differences?
Node HTTP
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import { createServer } from 'http';
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​
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const handleIncomingRequest = (request, response) => {
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  console.log('request came in');
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  response.end('yay', 'utf-8');
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};
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​
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const server = createServer(handleIncomingRequest);
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​
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server.listen(3004);
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Express
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import express from 'express';
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const app = express();
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const handleIncomingRequest = (request, response) => {
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  console.log('request came in');
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  response.send('yay');
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};
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​
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app.get('/', handleIncomingRequest);
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​
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app.listen(3004);
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The main difference between the 2 code examples is the presence of the app.get line in Express. While the Express code is slightly longer in this simple example, Express functionality like app.get allows our server code to be much better decomposed and organised than Node HTTP does. We will elaborate on this in the following section.
Express Routes
Unlike the Node HTTP library where we set the request handler callback for ALL requests when we create the server with createServer, Express sets the request listener only for a specific path / with app.get. This simple but significant change allows Express to provide different request handler callbacks for each type of request it gets, greatly improving the decomposition of our server. It provides a framework for Express to support larger applications with more types of requests.
Express methods like app.get are called "routing methods", and they help Express send each request to the relevant request handlers. We often refer to routing methods as "routes" for short. There are 2 ways in which routing methods filter requests: HTTP Methods and URL Paths.
Sample Express Routing Method
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app.get('/', handleIncomingRequest);
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HTTP Methods
Express routing methods are named after HTTP methods. To designate a request handler for a GET method we would use app.get. To set a request handler for a POST method we would use app.post. The same applies for PUT and DELETE.
URL Path
The first parameter to Express routing methods is a URL path matcher, also called a "route". This means Express forwards requests whose HTTP method matches the routing method and whose URL path matches the path parameter to the corresponding request handler.
For example, a GET request to the following URL...
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http://localhost:3004/wow-bananas
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...would match the following routing method, sending the request to the handleIncomingRequest callback.
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app.get('/wow-bananas', handleIncomingRequest);
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Because Express paths no longer correspond to files, we could give our paths random names like wow-bananas. However, best practice is to name application paths more precisely, to help app users better anticipate what we will show them.
Routing methods of the format app.<METHOD> are 1 form of Express "middleware", where middleware are functions with access to Express request and response objects, that are executed in the order they are bound to the app object, until any middleware sends a response back to the client.
Middleware is a crucial topic in Express, because all Express logic happens through middleware. We recommend students read more about Express middleware here.
Exercises
Setup
1.Clone the base Node repo​
2.Install the express library
3.Reproduce the Express server above
Dice Roll
1.Create an Express app that rolls a dice when the user sends a request to the /dice-roll route.
2.Send a response back to the client with the dice roll value.
3.Format the response output so it's easy to read.
Two Dice Rolls
1.Add another "route" to the app /two-dice-rolls that rolls two dice and outputs their values to the client.
2.Request /two-dice-rolls with Chrome and with curl. Verify we get the same responses.
Further Reading
Past students have found the following videos helpful in introducing Express routing middleware and Express middleware in general.
1.​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlgKybraoy4​
2.​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY6icfhap2o​
3.RESTful API in 100 seconds (using Express): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MTSQjw5DrM​
3.0: Module 3 Overview
3.1.1: Express with JSON DB
Last modified 2mo ago
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Contents
Introduction
Node HTTP vs. Express