#Intro to Express
Objectives |
---|
Deploy a local Node web server with Express to Heroku |
Concepts | Tools | Activities |
---|---|---|
Frameworks, Packages/Libraries/Modules, Deployment | Node, NPM, Express, Heroku | Build an API |
Express is an unopinionated server-side javascript MVC framework that runs on a NodeJS server. It is a very, very popular and trending framework with a bevy of modules you can add to it.
Think of web frameworks like you are building your own computer.
Node is like the microprocessor and Express is like the motherboard of a computer and you can plug in more stuff to Express, for example any memory (database) or video card (view engine), and Node will run it all.
##Challenges
- Starting an Express Project
- Express Hello World
- Express Basic Routing
- Express Static Files
- Express res.render()
- Install Node & NPM
- Standalone installer: https://nodejs.org/download/
- Homebrew: http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/install-node-js-npm-mac
-
Install Homebrew:
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
-
Install node
brew install node
-
- Start an Express project called
my-first-server
(directions in first express doc link above) - Make a route to
/
that returns "Hello World" (directions in next express link above ... you get the idea) - Make a route to
/hello/:name
that returns "Hello NAME_FROM_URL".
- Hint:
app.get("/my_name_is/:name", function (req, res) {
res.send( "My name is " + req.params.name );
});
- Give your server another route to
/api/users
and return an array of two users with names and ages. (hint: useres.json()
) - Give your server another route to
/api/books
and return an array of three books with titles. - Use a clone of a jQuery, Underscore, Bootstrap project you've already done to query and display your
/api/books
endpoint. (hint: use$.get('localhost:3000/api/books', function(data) {})
) - Do this heroku deployment tutorial. The tutorial will provide you with a starter node project to push to heroku.
- Now do what you did in the tutorial for your
my-first-server
project.
- Start with
git init
(don't worry about putting a remote repo in github, we'll just push to heroku). - Skip the
Prepare the App
step - we're gonna use your app! - Do the
Define a Procfile
step before theDeploy the App
step. - Make sure you're setting the port properly in the
app.listen
function before deploying:
var server = app.listen(process.env.PORT || 3000, function () {
var host = server.address().address;
var port = server.address().port;
console.log('Example app listening at http://%s:%s', host, port);
});
- Now, point your jQuery, Underscore, Bootstrap project from your local url
localhost:XXXX
to your public heroku urlYOUR_APP.herokuapp.com
.
##Homework
For homework we'll continue to work on the challenges above.
Important notes:
- Skip challenges 7 and 10.
- Heroku tutorial is only required up to the Push Local Changes step, no need to go farther.
- Focus on challenge 9, deploying your
my_first_server
app on heroku.
Submit the heroku url for your my_first_server
app in the homework submission form. If you didn't get the my_first_server
app up and running on heroku, please tell us how far you got in the submission form comments section.
##Hooray
You've made your first server, and it's serving up a cool books/users API, and it's live on the web!