如何在没有视图的情况下创建 NodeJS 应用程序？ 只有 NodeJS REST API

Question

I need to create a NodeJS application which serves only for exposing REST APIs. When I created a ExpressJS project using Express generator express myNodeApp , it creates a project defaulting the view to .jade files.

Can I create and run a NodeJS project without views ? My NodeJS project will expose REST services which another client application will consume. Hence my NodeJS project do not need any UI elements. Also what package.json or .bin/www file will have. I will be hosting my NodeJS project in Azure cloud and my client application will consume the exposed service from cloud.

Answer 1

For an example see the code in this answer:

• Node.js send data to backend with AJAX

Stripping all unnecessary code it would be basically:

const express = require('express');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');

const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());

app.post('/email', (req, res) => {
  console.log(req.body.address);
  res.json({ ok: true });
});

app.listen(4443, () => console.log('Listening on http://localhost:4443/'));

This code is a very simple REST API that exposes one endpoint but you can easily add more.

But if you're building a RESTful API from scratch then you can consider using some other frameworks like: Hapi, Restify, LoopBack, and other frameworks listed on http://nodeframework.com/ - Express is a very solid but fairly minimal framework and it's not the only option out there.

Answer 2

You can do this with express - see below

Install express and body-parser, feel free to use the module below

var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');

module.exports = {
    init: function(module_Enabled){
        var portnum = 1234;    process.env.NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED = "0";

        var allowCrossDomain = function(req,÷ res, next) {
            res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*');
            res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET,PUT,POST,DELETE,OPTIONS');
            res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Content-Type, Authorization, Content-Length, X-Requested-With');

            // intercept OPTIONS method
            if ('OPTIONS' == req.method) {
                res.send(200);
            } else {
                next();
            }
        };
        app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({
            extended: false
        }));
        app.use(bodyParser.json());
        app.use(allowCrossDomain);
        var server = app.listen(portnum, function() {
            var host = server.address().address;
            var port = server.address().port;
            console.log("Content Provider Service listening at http://%s:%s", host, port);
        });
        app.get('/', function(req, res) {
            res.send('data');
        });
    }
}

Answer 3

Yes you can. express is capable to return response other that html element.

However, I would recommend you to use swagger project in developing REST API via express . The project will surely come in handy when developing and MAINTAINING API, especially if your API is huge and complex (lots of url and operation).

This site has a good explanation on how to install, use and run the swagger in NodeJs.