Book Image

RESTful Web API Design with Node.js 10 - Third Edition

By : Valentin Bojinov
Book Image

RESTful Web API Design with Node.js 10 - Third Edition

By: Valentin Bojinov

Overview of this book

When building RESTful services, it is really important to choose the right framework. Node.js, with its asynchronous, event-driven architecture, is exactly the right choice for building RESTful APIs. This third edition of RESTful Web API Design with Node.js 10 will teach you to create scalable and rich RESTful applications based on the Node.js platform. You will be introduced to the latest NPM package handler and understand how to use it to customize your RESTful development process. You will begin by understanding the key principle that makes an HTTP application a RESTful-enabled application. After writing a simple HTTP request handler, you will create and test Node.js modules using automated tests and mock objects; explore using the NoSQL database, MongoDB, to store data; and get to grips with using self-descriptive URLs. You’ll learn to set accurate HTTP status codes along with understanding how to keep your applications backward-compatible. Also, while implementing a full-fledged RESTful service, you will use Swagger to document the API and implement automation tests for a REST-enabled endpoint with Mocha. Lastly, you will explore some authentication techniques to secure your application.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Packt Upsell
Contributors
Preface
Index

The microservices revolution


It wasn't very long ago when the RESTful API madness started and almost everyone decided that RESTful APIs were the right way to go, was it? With Linux containers available, it turned out that switching to the REST approach was only half of the way. Currently, everyone is benefiting from containers. They provide better, faster, and cheaper development and operational model, but are microservices just yet another buzz term for RESTful services? Well, no, not at all; RESTful services are just the foundation of microservices.

Microservices are small and independent processes exposing a simple interface that allows communication with them and building complex applications without depending on library artefacts. These services resemble small building blocks, highly decoupled and focused on doing a small task, facilitating a modular approach to system-building.

While REST emphasizes on resources and their natural handling, the microservices architecture emphasizes on...