Node.js is a popular platform for building server-side applications, while Express is a widely used Node.js framework for building web applications. MySQL is a popular open-source relational database management system used to store and manage data. In this blog post, we will discuss how to scaffold a Node.js and Express application with MySQL.
What is scaffolding?
Scaffolding is a technique used in software development to generate code templates that can be used as a starting point for building an application. Scaffolding helps developers save time by providing a starting point with pre-built functionality, structures, and design patterns. With scaffolding, developers can focus on customizing and extending the generated code to fit their specific application needs.
Scaffolding a Node.js and Express application with MySQL
To scaffold a Node.js and Express application with MySQL, we will use a package called express-generator. Express-generator is a command-line tool that generates a basic Express application structure with some pre-defined routes, views, and middleware.
Here are the steps to scaffold a Node.js and Express application with MySQL:
Step 1: Install Node.js and MySQL
Before we begin, make sure you have Node.js and MySQL installed on your machine. You can download and install them from their respective websites.
Step 2: Install express-generator
Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command to install express-generator globally:
npm install -g express-generatorStep 3: Scaffold the Express application
Next, run the following command to scaffold a basic Express application:
express --view=ejs myappThis command generates a new Express application called myapp with EJS as the view engine.
Step 4: Install MySQL package
To use MySQL in our application, we need to install the mysql package. Run the following command in your terminal:
npm install --save mysqlStep 5: Set up a database connection
We need to set up a connection to our MySQL database. Create a new file called db.js in the myapp directory and add the following code:
const mysql = require('mysql');
const connection = mysql.createConnection({
host: 'localhost',
user: 'root',
password: 'yourpassword',
database: 'myappdb'
});
connection.connect((err) => {
if (err) {
console.error('Error connecting to MySQL database: ', err);
return;
}
console.log('Connected to MySQL database');
});
module.exports = connection;
Replace the values for the user, password, and database properties with your own values.
Step 6: Create a database table
Create a new file called users.sql in the myapp directory and add the following SQL code:
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);This creates a new table called users with four columns: id, name, email, and created_at.
Step 7: Create a model
Create a new file called user.js in the myapp/models directory and add the following code:
const db = require('../db');
const selectAll = (cb) =>{
db.query('SELECT * FROM users', (err, results) => {
if (err) {
return cb(err);
}
cb(null, results);
});
};
const insert = (name, email, cb) => {
const sql = 'INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)';
db.query(sql, [name, email],(err, results) => {
if (err) {
return cb(err);
}
cb(null, results);
});
};