Starter code: Node.js, Express, & PostgreSQL

This starter code is intended to be run for the Node.js, Express, & PostgreSQL module in the Thinkful curriculum.

Existing files

As you work through the Node.js, Express & PostgreSQL module, you will be writing code that allows your controllers to connect to and query your PostgreSQL database via Knex. The table below describes the files and folders in the starter code:

Folder/file path Description
src/app.js Directs requests to the appropriate routers.
src/server.js Starts the server on localhost:5000 by default.
src/products/ A folder that contains the products.controller.js and products.router.js files for the products resource.
src/categories/ A folder that contains the categories.controller.js and categories.router.js files for the categories resource.
src/suppliers/ A folder that contains the suppliers.controller.js and suppliers.router.js files for the suppliers resource.
src/db/ A folder where you will add migration and seed files for your database later on.
src/db/fixtures A folder containing sample data you will seed your database with later on.
src/errors/methodNotAllowed.js An error handler for forbidden request methods
.env.sample A sample environment configuration file

In the *.controller.js files, the route handlers return hard-coded data for now, but later on, you will modify the controllers to manipulate and return data from a PostgreSQL database.

This starter code closely follows the best practices and patterns established in the Robust Server Structure module.

Database setup

  1. Set up a new ElephantSQL database instance by following the instructions in the "PostgreSQL: Creating & Deleting Databases" checkpoint.
  2. After setting up your database instance, connect DBeaver to your new database instance by following the instructions in the "PostgreSQL: Installing DBeaver" checkpoint.

Installation

  1. Fork and clone this repository.
  2. Run cp .env.sample .env.
  3. Update your .env file with a connection URL to your ElephantSQL database instance. The connection URL can be found in your ElephantSQL database instance details (e.g. "postgres://myfakedatabase:8t6FiWqSDF8GsR--7mrun245I9TofnWd@fakepostgres.db.elephantsql.com:5432/myfakedatabase").
  4. Run npm install to install project dependencies.
  5. Run npm run start:dev to start your server in development mode.
  6. In your browser or Postman, navigate to localhost:5000/products. If your server is running properly, you should get back the following json response:
{
  "data": [
    {
      "product_title": "product 1"
    },
    {
      "product_title": "product 2"
    }
  ]
}

If you have trouble getting the server to run, reach out for assistance.