Building RESTful APIs with Node.js and Express

REST APIs are the backbone of modern web applications. Learn to build them with Node.js and Express.

Setting Up Express

bash
mkdir my-api && cd my-api
npm init -y
npm install express

Creating a Basic Server

javascript
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const PORT = 3000;

// Middleware
app.use(express.json());

// Routes
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ message: 'Welcome to the API' });
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

CRUD Operations

GET - Read

javascript
app.get('/api/users', (req, res) => {
  res.json(users);
});

POST - Create

javascript
app.post('/api/users', (req, res) => {
  const newUser = req.body;
  users.push(newUser);
  res.status(201).json(newUser);
});

PUT - Update

javascript
app.put('/api/users/:id', (req, res) => {
  const { id } = req.params;
  const updatedUser = req.body;
  // Update logic here
  res.json(updatedUser);
});

DELETE - Remove

javascript
app.delete('/api/users/:id', (req, res) => {
  const { id } = req.params;
  // Delete logic here
  res.status(204).send();
});

Best Practices

• Use proper HTTP status codes
• Validate input data
• Handle errors gracefully
• Use authentication
• Document your API