Ultra fast server setup with Node, CoffeeScript, Express and MongoDB

instructions.md

Minimal REST server with Node and MongoDB

1. Install httpie
2. Install node.js
3. Paste those files into some folder
4. Install CoffeeScript into node with npm install coffee
5. Run the server coffee server.coffee

Use it

With httpie:

• http localhost:3000/authors: Will give an empty list
• http POST localhost:3000/authors name=Shakespeare: Will create an author and will return it in JSON
• http localhost:3000/authors: again, this will return a list containing "Shakespeare" as an author
• http localhost:3000/authors/<_id>: Replace <_id> with the long alphanumerical "_id" in the previous request, will return the record for Shakespeare.

Voilá

package.json

{
  "name": "hello-world",
  "description": "Hello World app",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "private": "true",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "3.x",
    "cli-color": "x",
    "mongodb": ">= 0.9.6-7"
  }
}

server.coffee

#!/usr/bin/env coffee
express   = require 'express'
clc       = require 'cli-color'
mongo     = require 'mongodb'

db = new mongo.Db 'test', new mongo.Server 'localhost', 27017
db.open (err, db) ->

  orange = clc.xterm 202
  green  = clc.green
  lime   = clc.xterm 190
  log    = console.log

  authors = db.collection 'authors'

  app = express()
  app.use express.bodyParser()

  app.get '/authors', (req, res) ->
    log lime 'GET /authors'
    res.setHeader 'Content-type', 'application/json;charset=utf-8'
    authors.find().toArray (err, items) ->
      res.send items

  app.get '/authors/:id', (req, res) ->
    log lime "GET /authors/#{req.params.id}"
    authors.findOne { "_id": mongo.ObjectID.createFromHexString(req.params.id) }, (err, item) ->
      res.send item

  app.post '/authors', (req, res) ->
    log lime "POST /authors"
    db.collection 'authors', (err, collection) ->
      collection.insert req.body
      res.send 
        message: 'inserted'
        data: req.body

  app.listen 3000
  console.log green 'Caffeine in dock 3000'