Develop Reference

Can't display data from Mongo database

I'm following this tutorial: http://cwbuecheler.com/web/tutorials/2013/node-express-mongo/
When I do db.usercollection.find().pretty() in my mongo terminal, my records print - so I know I have records to display.
When I do http://localhost:3000/userlist in my browser, I get the words "User List" at the top - but I don't get any of the user data.
It should look like this.
Question: Is my link in my userlist.jade file not pointing to the database data??
userlist.jade
extends layout
block content
h1.
User List
ul
each user, i in userlist
li
a(href="mailto:#{user.email}")= user.username
index.js
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
/* GET home page. */
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
});
/* GET Userlist page. */
router.get('/userlist', function(req, res) {
var db = req.db;
var collection = db.get('usercollection');
collection.find({},{},function(e,docs){
res.render('userlist', {
"userlist" : docs
});
});
});
module.exports = router;
app.js
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
// new code
// we want to talk to mongodb, use monk to do it, databasebase is lcoated at localhost:27017/nodetest1
var mongo = require('mongodb');
var monk = require('monk');
var db = monk('localhost:27017/nodetest1');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'jade');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
// Make our db accessible to our router - new code
app.use(function(req,res,next){
req.db = db;
next();
});
// telling Express what route files to use
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
// our master app exporting its app object. All modules export an object whch can easily be called elsewhere in code.
module.exports = app;

i was getting the same error and then i fixed the problem:
app.js
var db = monk('localhost:27017/nodetest1');
change the localhost to 127.0.0.1
and make sure the collection name is nodetest1

In Webstorm node express app: router.post() shows error: unresolved function or method post()

When I run the localhost:3000/users/yu , I get a 404 not found. Why is the post() coming up as undefined? when I run a POST from my iOS app I get a "undefined token" error. I'm running node v5.7.0 and express v4.13.4 Project was generated using express-generator to create Webstorm project.
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
/* GET users listing. */
router.get('/', function(req, res) {
res.send("yoma");
});
router.post('/yu', function(req, res) {
var test = req.body;
//parse test
});
My app.js looks like this:
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
module.exports = app;

when you navigate your browser to localhost:3000/users/yu it makes GET http query, but in your router you have only POST handler for '/yu'
router.post('/yu', function(req, res) {
console.log(req.body);
});
Add GET handler for '/yu' like this for example
router.get('/yu', function(req, res) {
console.log(req.body);
});
After that you should not get a 404 error when navigate to localhost:3000/users/yu

Express node.js - understanding routing

I have this about.js route and it works fine but I don't understand how / in router.get() would work while /about wouldn't?
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('about', { title: 'About' });
});
module.exports = router;
----------------- UPDATE ----------------------
It's basically what I got out of the box after installing express.js
except the about lines.
I expected router.get('/about' ...) in about.js would work but it threw an error and it worked with / instead and that's what bugs me.
app.js
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var about = require('./routes/about');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
app.use('/about', about);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
module.exports = app;

The problem
When you define a route on your app.js as you did with app.use('/about', about);. You are already telling express that you expect requests to hit http://yourserver/about route.
If you try to define /about again inside your about.js with:
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('about', { title: 'About' });
});
What you're doing is tellig the Express that you will hit a /about inside your firstly declared /about. So it will expect requests on this route: http://yourserver/about/about
The solution
It's actually what you're using. Define a root route inside your about.js as:
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('about', { title: 'About' });
});
This way your app will be:
Modular since you're using different files for different routes (about.js, users.js)
Easier to read
With simplier routes inside each file, since you don't need to type /about everytime you wish to create a new route.
If you wish a http://yourserver/about/help simply add a handler inside your route file about.js as here:
router.get('/help', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('help', { title: 'Help' });
});

If you want the route /about work then you have to create another route:
router.get('/about', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('about-page', { title: 'About' });
});
because / will only work for the home page.

Why the /users route in Express and Node?

Edit: The default express app is this:
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
----------------------------------------
These refer to files that look like:
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
/* GET home page. */
router.get('/', function(req, res) {
res.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
});
module.exports = router;
------------------------------
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(__dirname + '/public/favicon.ico'));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
module.exports = app;
However, the documentation says:
// this middleware will not allow the request to go beyond it
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
res.send('Hello World');
})
// requests will never reach this route
app.get('/', function (req, res) {
res.send('Welcome');
})
So my question, is why would a request ever make its way to the /users route when a default (i.e. '/') route has already been specified? Is it because routes and users are not functions?
On a related note, why even specify the / if that is what is used by default each time?
Lastly, the default app specifies the '/users' route: Why not just put another path in the index.js route? I am confused how the app can specify app.use('/users', users) and then, in the users route, specify
router.get('/', function(req, res) {
res.send('respond with a resource');
});
What does the / correspond to? It seemed like all requests to / would be handled by the first route (the one that use the routes default file)

app.use() is middleware. You pass it an optional path and a function and it is the function's job to decide if it wants to pass the request on to further middleware or further routes. It does that by calling next() or if it doesn't want to pass it on, it doesn't call next().
So, if you have:
app.use("/", fn);
That middleware will get called for all paths, but the code inside the function you pass it decides whether to pass the request on or not.

There are two routers in the Express 4 application skeleton: routes (mounted on '/') and users (mounted on '/users'). You may use both of them or only routes or you may even add more routers.
app.js:
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
app.use('/users', users); // please note the mounting point!
app.use('/', routes);
users.js
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.send('respond with a resource');
});
module.exports = router;
Please note that router.get('/', ... ) for the users router means that the requested url is http://yourserver/users and not http://yourserver/

file upload in express js giving problems again

Though I have read quite a few questions being answered on stackoverflow, I'm still unable to get it to work even after a couple of days of trying. It's my first week with express and node and so I don't know if I'm doing the small things right. I basically want to upload a file and later on save it to the file system, however, I'm unable to proceed with req.files giving me undefined. Please see my code below.
This is my app.js
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('static-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var upload = require('./routes/upload.js');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'jade');
app.use(favicon());
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded());
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
app.use('/upload', upload);
/// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
/// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
module.exports = app;
This is my routes/upload.js
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
/* GET home page. */
router.get('/', function(req, res) {
console.log("");
console.log(req.files);
res.send('this is the page you get upon doing file upload');
});
module.exports = router;
This is my views/homepage.jade
doctype html
html
head
title= title
link(rel='stylesheet', href='/stylesheets/style.css')
body
p select file to upload
form(action="upload", method="get", enctype="multipart/form-data")
input(type="file", name="displayImage")
input(type="submit")
At the moment, I'm hearing a lot of terms like multer, connect-busboy, bodyParser being deprecated from express4 etc but with no real idea on how to proceed. Please advise me on how I can proceed and what code should be added.
Thanks.

You need a middleware module that can parse your uploaded file.
Like such:
https://github.com/expressjs/multer
https://github.com/mscdex/connect-busboy
Then use the middleware in your index.js, like:
app.use(multer({ dest: './uploads/'}))
or
app.use(busboy());

A number of modules were removed from Express in 4.0 and are now separate packages you have to include. The easiest way to get started with it is to use express-generator to generate the scaffolding for you. This will include and require the correct packages for parsing cookies, and the request body. It doesn't include a file parser however. I put together an example using multer and put it on Github for you to reference.
After you clone it, you can run npm install, and then npm start.
One other thing you were doing incorrectly that I fixed was using app.get for your upload handler. You can't use GET to upload a file. In my example I changed this to a POST request. Here are the relevant snippets.
app.js
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var multer = require('multer');
var routes = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var upload = require('./routes/upload');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'jade');
app.use(multer({ dest: './uploads/'}))
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(__dirname + '/public/favicon.ico'));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', routes);
app.use('/users', users);
app.use('/upload', upload);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handlers
// development error handler
// will print stacktrace
if (app.get('env') === 'development') {
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: err
});
});
}
// production error handler
// no stacktraces leaked to user
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error', {
message: err.message,
error: {}
});
});
module.exports = app;
index.jade
extends layout
block content
h1= title
p select file to upload
form(action='upload', method='post', enctype='multipart/form-data')
input(type='file', name='displayImage')
input(type='submit')