Setup our sample Node.js application

Application details

• API HTTP Rest based on Node.js / Sails.js) and MongoDB
• A couple of prerequisites are needed to run the application locally
  • Node.js 4.4.5 (LTS)
  • mongo 3.2
• Provides CRUD (Create / Read / Update / Delete HTTP verbs) on a “Message” model

HTTP verb	URI	Action
GET	/message	list all messages
GET	/message/ID	get message with ID
POST	/message	create a new message
PUT	/message/ID	modify message with ID
DELETE	/message/ID	delete message with ID

Setup

• Install Sails.js (it’s to Node.js what RoR is to Ruby): sudo npm install sails -g (should install 0.12.3)
• Create the application: sails new messageApp && cd messageApp
• Link application to local MongoDB
  • usage of sails-mongo orm: npm install sails-mongo --save
  • change the 2 following configuration files

config/model.js:
module.exports.models = {
connections: 'sails-mongo',
 migrate: 'safe'
};

config/connections.js:
module.exports.connections = {
  mongo: {
     adapter: 'sails-mongo',
     url: process.env.MONGO_URL || 'mongodb://localhost/messageApp'
  }
};

• Generate the API scafold sails generate api message
• Run the application: sails lift
• The API is available locally on port 1337 (default Sails.js port)

Test the application in command line

• Get current list of messages
  • curl http://localhost:1337/message

[]

• Create new messages
  • curl -XPOST http://localhost:1337/message?text=hello
  • curl -XPOST http://localhost:1337/message?text=hola
• Get list of messages
  • curl http://localhost:1337/message

[
  {
    "text": "hello",
    "createdAt": "2015-11-08T13:15:15.363Z",
    "updatedAt": "2015-11-08T13:15:15.363Z",
    "id": "5638b363c5cd0825511690bd" 
  },
  {
    "text": "hola",
    "createdAt": "2015-11-08T13:15:45.774Z",
    "updatedAt": "2015-11-08T13:15:45.774Z",
    "id": "5638b381c5cd0825511690be"
  }
]

• Modify a message
  • curl -XPUT http://localhost:1337/message/5638b363c5cd0825511690bd?text=hey
• Delete a message
  • curl -XDELETE http://localhost:1337/message/5638b381c5cd0825511690be
• Get list of messages
  • curl http://localhost:1337/message

[
  {
    "text": "hey",
    "createdAt": "2015-11-08T13:15:15.363Z",
    "updatedAt": "2015-11-08T13:19:40.179Z",
    "id": "5638b363c5cd0825511690bd"
  }
]