Creating a RESTful API with Nolang

Introduction In this tutorial, we will build a simple RESTful API for managing books using Nolang. We'll define the data schema for a book, set up HTTP endpoints for CRUD operations, and create a user-friendly frontend using HTML and Bootstrap to interact with the API. Prerequisites Basic understanding of RESTful APIs Familiarity with JSON and HTML Nolang executable installed on your machine (Windows or Linux) MongoDB installed and running locally Project Setup Step 1: Set Up Your Nolang Project Create a new directory for your project: mkdir nolang-restful-api cd nolang-restful-api Create a file named app.json with the following content: { "name": "RESTful API Sample", "schemas": [ { "$id": "book", "properties": { "Title": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 }, "Author": { "type": "string", "minLength": 5 }, "PublishedDate": { "type": "date" }, "Summary": { "type": "string", "minLength": 20, "maxLength": 200 } }, "required": ["Title", "Author", "PublishedDate"] } ], "storage": { "adapter": "mongodb", "url": "mongodb://localhost:27017", "database": "nolangtest", "id": "_id" }, "endpoints": [ { "type": "http", "port": 3000, "static": "./public", "routes": [ { "path": "/book/list", "method": "get", "return": { "$$schema": "book", "$$header": { "action": "R" } } }, { "path": "/book/:id", "method": "get", "return": { "$$schema": "book", "$$header": { "action": "R", "filter": { "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}" } } } }, { "path": "/book/create", "method": "post", "bodyParser": "urlencoded", "return": { "$$schema": "book", "$$header": { "action": "C" }, "Title": "{{env.request.body.Title}}", "Author": "{{env.request.body.Author}}", "PublishedDate": "{{env.request.body.PublishedDate}}", "Summary": "{{env.request.body.Summary}}" } }, { "path": "/book/update/:id", "method": "put", "bodyParser": "urlencoded", "return": { "$$schema": "book", "$$header": { "action": "U", "filter": { "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}" } }, "Title": "{{env.request.body.Title}}", "Author": "{{env.request.body.Author}}", "PublishedDate": "{{env.request.body.PublishedDate}}", "Summary": "{{env.request.body.Summary}}" } }, { "path": "/book/delete/:id", "method": "delete", "return": { "$$schema": "book", "$$header": { "action": "D", "filter": { "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}" } } } } ] } ] } Create a public directory and add a file named index.html with the following content: Book Management App body { padding: 20px; } table { margin-top: 20px; } form { margin-bottom: 20px; } Book Management App Create a New Book Title: Author: Published Date: Summary: Create Book Update a Book Title: Author:

Feb 12, 2025 - 23:16

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will build a simple RESTful API for managing books using Nolang. We'll define the data schema for a book, set up HTTP endpoints for CRUD operations, and create a user-friendly frontend using HTML and Bootstrap to interact with the API.

Prerequisites

Basic understanding of RESTful APIs
Familiarity with JSON and HTML
Nolang executable installed on your machine (Windows or Linux)
MongoDB installed and running locally

Project Setup

Step 1: Set Up Your Nolang Project

Create a new directory for your project:

mkdir nolang-restful-api
cd nolang-restful-api

Create a file named app.json with the following content:

{
    "name": "RESTful API Sample",
    "schemas": [
        {
            "$id": "book",
            "properties": {
                "Title": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 },
                "Author": { "type": "string", "minLength": 5 },
                "PublishedDate": { "type": "date" },
                "Summary": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "minLength": 20,
                    "maxLength": 200
                }
            },
            "required": ["Title", "Author", "PublishedDate"]
        }
    ],
    "storage": {
        "adapter": "mongodb",
        "url": "mongodb://localhost:27017",
        "database": "nolangtest",
        "id": "_id"
    },
    "endpoints": [
        {
            "type": "http",
            "port": 3000,
            "static": "./public",
            "routes": [
                {
                    "path": "/book/list",
                    "method": "get",
                    "return": {
                        "$$schema": "book",
                        "$$header": {
                            "action": "R"
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "path": "/book/:id",
                    "method": "get",
                    "return": {
                        "$$schema": "book",
                        "$$header": {
                            "action": "R",
                            "filter": {
                                "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "path": "/book/create",
                    "method": "post",
                    "bodyParser": "urlencoded",
                    "return": {
                        "$$schema": "book",
                        "$$header": {
                            "action": "C"
                        },
                        "Title": "{{env.request.body.Title}}",
                        "Author": "{{env.request.body.Author}}",
                        "PublishedDate": "{{env.request.body.PublishedDate}}",
                        "Summary": "{{env.request.body.Summary}}"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "path": "/book/update/:id",
                    "method": "put",
                    "bodyParser": "urlencoded",
                    "return": {
                        "$$schema": "book",
                        "$$header": {
                            "action": "U",
                            "filter": {
                                "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}"
                            }
                        },
                        "Title": "{{env.request.body.Title}}",
                        "Author": "{{env.request.body.Author}}",
                        "PublishedDate": "{{env.request.body.PublishedDate}}",
                        "Summary": "{{env.request.body.Summary}}"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "path": "/book/delete/:id",
                    "method": "delete",
                    "return": {
                        "$$schema": "book",
                        "$$header": {
                            "action": "D",
                            "filter": {
                                "$$objid": "{{env.request.params.id}}"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Create a public directory and add a file named index.html with the following content:


 lang="en">

     charset="UTF-8">
     name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    </span>Book Management App<span class="nt">
    
     rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.5.2/css/bootstrap.min.css">
    


 class="container">
     class="text-center">Book Management App

    
     id="createBookForm" class="mb-4">
        Create a New Book
         class="form-group">
             for="createTitle">Title:
             type="text" id="createTitle" name="Title" class="form-control" required>


         class="form-group">
             for="createAuthor">Author:
             type="text" id="createAuthor" name="Author" class="form-control" required>