RESTful API with sails js using MongoDB and MySQL

RESTful API with sails js using MongoDB and MySQL

Sails.js is a MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework built on top of Express framework. It is used to develop RESTful APIs and modern web applications. There are other Node js frameworks, like hapi, loopback but sails js is becoming very popular now a days. In a previous tutorial we created a nodejs mongodb rest API using express framework, this tutorial explores, how to create RESTful API with sails js.

To  complete this tutorial, following tasks are performed.

Installing Node js & NPM

To install Node js on your machine, visit Node js download page and read this Node js mongodb tutorial.

Features of sails js framework

 Install sails js using NPM

Open command line and go to project directory, type the command to install sails js globally.

npm install sails -g

To check sails js version.

sails -v

Create a sails js application

To create a sails js project, type the command given below. The project is named as BookStoreAPI 

sails new BookStoreAPI --no-frontend

This command generates a new sails js application, note the –no-friontend flag.

Open the project folder BookStoreAPI inside the editor.

Running the sails js application

To run the application, go to the project directory on command line, type command

sails lift

This command will start the application on localhost, port 1337.

Directory structure of sails js application

The folder structure looks like the image below.

Generate a RESTful API

Sails js provides blueprint routes feature to generate RESTful routes. Lets create a book API.

sails generate api book

This command will generate a controller BookController.js and a model named book.js.

If you open blueprints.js, it will show that by default rest is true. We can do all the RESTful routes like

GET, POST, PUT, DELETE with the routes generated above.

To test these routes type command

sails lift

Following options will be prompted

As there is no database running for application. Choose option 1. Application starts running on localhost port 1337.

Sails js blueprint API routes

Depending on the type of application you have generated, RESTful blueprint API routes may be enabled by default, and could be used in production environment, as long you have protected routes policies to avoid any unauthorised access

To test the API we need to use Postman, it is a software to test APIs. Download and install postman. Open postman and  add a new Request by clicking on + button.

Let’s create a new book.

 

The book is created successfully with ID: 1.

To see where the data is stored, go to the project folder in VS code IDE. Open .tmp directory, in .tmp directory you can see localDiskDb directory. Open book.db. Data is stored as shown below.

Get all records using GET method

View a single book record

To fetch a single book record open a new request tab.

Update a book record

Delete a book record

By adding an API, sails js generates RESTful routes automatically.

Sails js shortcut routes

Sails js provide us with shortcut routes as well. These are development mode only routes.

 

Using sails js with MySQL

To use MySQL database with Sails js, download and install MySQL from MySQL Downloads Page.

MySQL GUI to install

To create, view and delete databases you can use MySQL Workbench or phpmyadmin. For windows visit https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/, and on a Mac, use Sequel Pro https://sequelpro.com/download or use WAMP or XAMPP, that installs MySQL with phpmyadmin.

Connect to MySQL using Sails js

1. Start MySQL and open phpmyadmin or MySQL workbench and create a database db_books
2. Open datastores.js file in and add code.

3. adapter: 'sails-mysql',
   user: 'root',
   password: '',
   port: '3306',
   host: 'localhost',
   database: 'db_books'

   The adapter is sails-mysql, user is root and password is set to blank, port used is 3306, change this information according to your system settings.

4. Install sails-mysql package using NPM. Open terminal and run the command npm i -s sails-mysql
5. After the package is installed. Open Book.js file in models directory and add code under attributes object. These are the properties of the book model.

6. name: { type: 'string', required: true, },
   price: { type: 'string', required: true, },
   category: { type: 'string', required: true, },
   author: { type: 'string', },
   description: { type: 'string', },

7. Open the terminal, stop the project if it is already running and type sails lift
8. For development environment, choose option 1
9. After application is running, go to phpmyadmin, Go to the db_books database, you can see a table book is created with the columns, specified above.

Create a book using sails js & MySQL

Open postman and create a new book record. Use the steps described in above add method.

A book record is added. Go back to MySQL database and open the table, you can view the new book data.

To view a single book record

To Update, Delete or View all books records, repeat the steps, described before.

Using sails js RESTful API with MongoDB

Installing mongodb

To install mongodb on your system go to the https://www.mongodb.com/download-center#community and download.

Running MongoDB

To run the mongodb, refer to a Nodejs mongodb tutorial.

Create a db/data directory

Create a directory db inside data directory in C:\ drive.

Run ./mongod and ./mongo commands on command line

If you have installed MongoDB in Windows C:\mongodb, open C:\MongoDB\Server\3.4\bin  and run the command ./mongod

If you have not set the system path the run mongod –dbpath /path/to/data/directory. 

Open second terminal and go to application directory C:\MongoDB\Server\3.4\bin> and type ./mongo. MongoDB will be running on mongo shell.

Create a MongoDB database

To create a database on command line type: use db_books. Click enter button and database will be created. A message is displayed: switched to db db_books

Connect to MongoDB using sails js

1. Open datastores.js file and remove or comment out any previous MySQL connection code.
2. Add code given below

3. adapter: 'sails-mongo',
   port: '27017',
   host: 'localhost',
   database: 'db_books'

   If you have a username and password for MongoDB server, provide that as well.

4. Install sails-mongo package using command. npm i -s sails-mongo
5. Type command sails lift

Testing RESTful API with sails js using MongoDB

Open postman.

1. {
     "name": "Learning Sails js API development",
     "price": "$15",
     "category": "Web Development",
     "author": "Programmer Blog",
     "description": "The book on sails js API development"
   }

   A book record will be created.Go to MongoDB command line shell.

2. Type command: db.books.find.pretty().

 

Update a record in  RESTful API using sails js

To update the record of existing book

To view all book records

To view all records using RESTful API with sails js

 

To view a single book record

To delete a book record

Summary

In this tutorial we explored Sails js, created a book API and shortcut routes, worked with MySQL and MongoDB. If you liked this tutorial, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, or like our Facebook page.

You can find the source code of the tutorial on our GitHub repository. Clone or download and follow the steps in tutorial.

 

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