Build a REST API With Express

Building a REST Service

Creating a plan is an excellent place to start when building a REST Service. The more well thought out your interface is, the easier it will be for other developers to understand, and the better the chance it will have for widespread adoption (making you a coding superstar). Let’s start by getting an overview of the Service we want to build, and then do a little planning to bring it all to life. 7 steps

• Introducing REST APIs 5:05
• Understanding REST Services 2:50
• REST API Review 5 questions
• Designing the API 2:02
• Planning the Questions Routes 2:20
• Planning the Answers Routes 1:38
• Building a REST Service Review 5 questions

Building API Routes in Express

We’ve gotten a great start to our service by planning out the resources we want to expose. Now it’s time to actually build our routes into Express. We’ll initiate the project from the command line, then we’ll fire up a code editor to build it up from there. 9 steps

• Create an Express App 5:52
• Using Middleware in Express 9:33
• Express Middleware Review 5 questions
• Accepting Data 6:47
• Building the Question Routes 9:51
• Data Review 5 questions
• Building the Answer Routes 11:12
• Error Handling in Express 13:26
• Error Handling Review 7 questions

Modeling Data for the API

Now that we have an application all set up to handle requests to our API, we need to give it a way to persist data. That starts with getting a clear picture of data it will be handling. We did a lot of the groundwork when we planned the routes, but we’ll need to be very specific when we talk to our database about what we want it to store. 7 steps

• Data Modeling: How Should We Describe Our Data? 1:43
• Schemas, Collections, and Documents 1:54
• MongoDB and Mongoose Review 5 questions
• Connecting Mongoose to MongoDB 12:27
• Default Values in Mongoose 10:40
• Getting More from Mongoose 15:32
• Schema Review 5 questions

Communicating with Mongo through Mongoose

While interacting directly with the Mongo database is certainly possible, it can wind up being a hassle. Luckily we have Mongoose to help us manage our interactions with the DB. It takes care of a lot of the details so we can focus more on working with our data, and not our database. Let’s take a look at how we can use this powerful library to tell Mongo how to handle our data, then put the pieces together to complete our Q & A service. 5 steps

• Associating Data in MongoDB 2:31
• Question and Answer Schemas 6:35
• Question and Answer Review 5 questions
• Extending Mongoose 13:01
• Extending Mongoose Review 5 questions

Completing and Testing the API

It’s finally time to see our service in action! There are all kinds of tools and methods for doing this. We’re going to go with a quick, on-the-fly method that allows us to see right away what is happening with our service. 5 steps

• Connecting the API and Database 20:39
• Connecting the API and Database Review 5 questions
• Test Routes with Postman 13:09
• Next Steps 6:06
• Postman Review 5 questions