hack-uva-app
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Hackathon Starter
Live Demo: http://hackathonstarter-sahat.rhcloud.com
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A boilerplate for Node.js web applications.
If you have attended any hackathons in the past, then you know how much time it takes to get a project started: decide on what to build, pick a programming language, pick a web framework, pick a CSS framework. A while later, you might have an initial project up on GitHub and only then can other team members start contributing. Or how about doing something as simple as Sign in with Facebook authentication? You can spend hours on it if you are not familiar with how OAuth 2.0 works.
When I started this project, my primary focus was on simplicity and ease of use. I also tried to make it as generic and reusable as possible to cover most use cases of hackathon web apps, without being too specific. In the worst case you can use this as a learning guide for your projects, if for example you are only interested in Sign in with Google authentication and nothing else.
“Nice! That README alone is already gold!”
— Adrian Le Bas
“Awesome. Simply awesome.”
— Steven Rueter
“I'm using it for a year now and many projects, it's an awesome boilerplate and the project is well maintained!”
— Kevin Granger
“Small world with Sahat's project. We were using his hackathon starter for our hackathon this past weekend and got some prizes. Really handy repo!”
— Interview candidate for one of the companies I used to work with.
Mac OS X: Xcode (or OS X 10.9+: 
xcode-select --install)
Windows: Visual Studio
Ubuntu / 
Linux Mint: sudo apt-get install build-essential
Fedora: sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
OpenSUSE: sudo zypper install --type pattern devel_basisNote: If you are new to Node or Express, I recommend to watch Node.js and Express 101 screencast by Alex Ford that teaches Node and Express from scratch. Alternatively, here is another great tutorial for complete beginners - Getting Started With Node.js, Express, MongoDB.
The easiest way to get started is to clone the repository:
# Get the latest snapshot
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/sahat/hackathon-starter.git myproject
# Change directory
cd myproject
# Install NPM dependencies
npm install
# Or, if you prefer to use `yarn` instead of `npm`
yarn install
# Then simply start your app
node app.js
Note: I highly recommend installing Nodemon.
It watches for any changes in your node.js app and automatically restarts the
server. Once installed, instead of node app.js use nodemon app.js. It will
save you a lot of time in the long run, because you won't need to manually
restart the server each time you make a small change in code. To install, run
sudo npm install -g nodemon.
Yarn is a new JavaScript package manager built by Facebook, Google, Exponent and Tilde. Yarn is not an attempt to replace npm,
it's simply an alternative CLI client for fetching modules from the npm registry but it does have some unique benefits over using npm,
most noticeably speed and consistency (via a lock file which ensures that only specific versions of dependencies are installed).
Hackathon Starter includes a yarn.lock file by default and as project dependencies are updated, this file will be updated to reflect those changes.
To upgrade your local dependencies using Yarn, simply run yarn upgrade. This will update all dependencies to their latest version based on the version range specified in the package.json file. The yarn.lock file will be recreated as well.
For further information, please see the official documention for managing dependencies and upgrading dependencies. This Yarn vs NPM article by SitePoint also has some very useful information.
To use any of the included APIs or OAuth authentication methods, you will need to obtain appropriate credentials: Client ID, Client Secret, API Key, or Username & Password. You will need to go through each provider to generate new credentials.
Hackathon Starter 2.0 Update: I have included dummy keys and passwords for all API examples to get you up and running even faster. But don't forget to update them with your credentials when you are ready to deploy an app.
- Visit Google Cloud Console
- Click on the **Create Project** button
- Enter *Project Name*, then click on **Create** button
- Then click on *APIs & auth* in the sidebar and select *API* tab
- Click on **Google+ API** under *Social APIs*, then click **Enable API**
- Next, under *APIs & auth* in the sidebar click on *Credentials* tab
- Click on **Create new Client ID** button
- Select *Web Application* and click on **Configure Consent Screen**
- Fill out the required fields then click on **Save**
- In the *Create Client ID* modal dialog:
- **Application Type**: Web Application
- **Authorized Javascript origins**: http://localhost:3000
- **Authorized redirect URI**: http://localhost:3000/auth/google/callback
- Click on **Create Client ID** button
- Copy and paste *Client ID* and *Client secret* keys into `.env`
Note: When you ready to deploy to production don't forget to
add your new url to Authorized Javascript origins and Authorized redirect URI,
e.g. http://my-awesome-app.herokuapp.com and
http://my-awesome-app.herokuapp.com/auth/google/callback respectively.
The same goes for other providers.
- Visit Facebook Developers
- Click **My Apps**, then select **Add a New App* from the dropdown menu
- Select **Website** platform and enter a new name for your app
- Click on the **Create New Facebook App ID** button
- Choose a **Category** that best describes your app
- Click on **Create App ID** button
- In the upper right corner click on **Skip Quick Star**
- Copy and paste *App ID* and *App Secret* keys into `.env`
- **Note:** *App ID* is **clientID**, *App Secret* is **clientSecret**
- Click on the *Settings* tab in the left nav, then click on **+ Add Platform**
- Select **Website**
- Enter `http://localhost:3000` under *Site URL*
Note: After a successful sign in with Facebook, a user will be redirected back to home page with appended hash #_=_ in the URL. It is not a bug. See this Stack Overflow discussion for ways to handle it.
- Go to Account Settings
- Select **Applications** from the sidebar
- Then inside **Developer applications** click on **Register new application**
- Enter *Application Name* and *Homepage URL*
- For *Authorization Callback URL*: http://localhost:3000/auth/github/callback
- Click **Register application**
- Now copy and paste *Client ID* and *Client Secret* keys into `.env` file
- Sign in at https://apps.twitter.com
- Click **Create a new application**
- Enter your application name, website and description
- For **Callback URL**: http://127.0.0.1:3000/auth/twitter/callback
- Go to **Settings** tab
- Under *Application Type* select **Read and Write** access
- Check the box **Allow this application to be used to Sign in with Twitter**
- Click **Update this Twitter's applications settings**
- Copy and paste *Consumer Key* and *Consumer Secret* keys into `.env` file
- Sign in at LinkedIn Developer Network
- From the account name dropdown menu select **API Keys**
- *It may ask you to sign in once again*
- Click **+ Add New Application** button
- Fill out all the *required* fields
- **OAuth 2.0 Redirect URLs**: http://localhost:3000/auth/linkedin/callback
- **JavaScript API Domains**: http://localhost:3000
- For **Default Application Permissions** make sure at least the following is checked:
- `r_basicprofile`
- Finish by clicking **Add Application** button
- Copy and paste *API Key* and *Secret Key* keys into `.env` file
- *API Key* is your **clientID**
- *Secret Key* is your **clientSecret**
- Sign up or log into your dashboard
- Click on your profile and click on Account Settings
- Then click on **API Keys**
- Copy the **Secret Key**. and add this into `.env` file
- Visit PayPal Developer
- Log in to your PayPal account
- Click **Applications > Create App** in the navigation bar
- Enter *Application Name*, then click **Create app**
- Copy and paste *Client ID* and *Secret* keys into `.env` file
- *App ID* is **client_id**, *App Secret* is **client_secret**
- Change **host** to api.paypal.com if you want to test against production and use the live credentials
- Go to Foursquare for Developers
- Click on **My Apps** in the top menu
- Click the **Create A New App** button
- Enter *App Name*, *Welcome page url*,
- For **Redirect URI**: http://localhost:3000/auth/foursquare/callback
- Click **Save Changes**
- Copy and paste *Client ID* and *Client Secret* keys into `.env` file
- Go to http://www.tumblr.com/oauth/apps
- Once signed in, click **+Register application**
- Fill in all the details
- For **Default Callback URL**: `http://localhost:3000/auth/tumblr/callback`
- Click **✔Register**
- Copy and paste *OAuth consumer key* and *OAuth consumer secret* keys into `.env` file
- Go to http://steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey
- Sign in with your existing Steam account
- Enter your *Domain Name*, then and click **Register**
- Copy and paste *Key* into `.env` file
- Go to https://sendgrid.com/user/signup
- Sign up and **confirm** your account via the *activation email*
- Then enter your SendGrid *Username* and *Password* into `.env` file
- Go to http://www.mailgun.com
- Sign up and add your *Domain Name*
- From the domain overview, copy and paste the default SMTP *Login* and *Password* into `.env` file
- Go to https://www.twilio.com/try-twilio
- Sign up for an account.
- Once logged into the dashboard, expand the link 'show api credentials'
- Copy your Account Sid and Auth Token
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| config/passport.js | Passport Local and OAuth strategies, plus login middleware. |
| controllers/api.js | Controller for /api route and all api examples. |
| controllers/contact.js | Controller for contact form. |
| controllers/home.js | Controller for home page (index). |
| controllers/user.js | Controller for user account management. |
| models/User.js | Mongoose schema and model for User. |
| public/ | Static assets (fonts, css, js, img). |
| public/js/application.js | Specify client-side JavaScript dependencies. |
| public/js/main.js | Place your client-side JavaScript here. |
| public/css/main.scss | Main stylesheet for your app. |
| public/css/themes/default.scss | Some Bootstrap overrides to make it look prettier. |
| views/account/ | Templates for login, password reset, signup, profile. |
| views/api/ | Templates for API Examples. |
| views/partials/flash.pug | Error, info and success flash notifications. |
| views/partials/header.pug | Navbar partial template. |
| views/partials/footer.pug | Footer partial template. |
| views/layout.pug | Base template. |
| views/home.pug | Home page template. |
| .env.example | Your API keys, tokens, passwords and database URI. |
| app.js | The main application file. |
| package.json | NPM dependencies. |
| yarn.lock | Contains exact versions of NPM dependencies in package.json. |
Note: There is no preference how you name or structure your views.
You could place all your templates in a top-level views directory without
having a nested folder structure, if that makes things easier for you.
Just don't forget to update extends ../layout and corresponding
res.render() paths in controllers.
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| async | Utility library that provides asynchronous control flow. |
| bcrypt-nodejs | Library for hashing and salting user passwords. |
| cheerio | Scrape web pages using jQuery-style syntax. |
| clockwork | Clockwork SMS API library. |
| connect-mongo | MongoDB session store for Express. |
| dotenv | Loads environment variables from .env file. |
| express | Node.js web framework. |
| body-parser | Express 4 middleware. |
| express-session | Express 4 middleware. |
| morgan | Express 4 middleware. |
| compression | Express 4 middleware. |
| errorhandler | Express 4 middleware. |
| serve-favicon | Express 4 middleware offering favicon serving and caching. |
| express-flash | Provides flash messages for Express. |
| express-status-monitor | Reports real-time server metrics for Express. |
| express-validator | Easy form validation for Express. |
| fbgraph | Facebook Graph API library. |
| github | GitHub API library. |
| pug (jade) | Template engine for Express. |
| lastfm | Last.fm API library. |
| instagram-node | Instagram API library. |
| lob | Lob API library |
| lusca | CSRF middleware. |
| mongoose | MongoDB ODM. |
| node-foursquare | Foursquare API library. |
| node-linkedin | LinkedIn API library. |
| node-sass-middleware | Sass middleware compiler. |
| nodemailer | Node.js library for sending emails. |
| passport | Simple and elegant authentication library for node.js |
| passport-facebook | Sign-in with Facebook plugin. |
| passport-github | Sign-in with GitHub plugin. |
| passport-google-oauth | Sign-in with Google plugin. |
| passport-twitter | Sign-in with Twitter plugin. |
| passport-instagram | Sign-in with Instagram plugin. |
| passport-local | Sign-in with Username and Password plugin. |
| passport-linkedin-oauth2 | Sign-in with LinkedIn plugin. |
| passport-oauth | Allows you to set up your own OAuth 1.0a and OAuth 2.0 strategies. |
| paypal-rest-sdk | PayPal APIs library. |
| request | Simplified HTTP request library. |
| stripe | Offical Stripe API library. |
| tumblr.js | Tumblr API library. |
| twilio | Twilio API library. |
| twit | Twitter API library. |
| lodash | Handy JavaScript utlities library. |
| validator | Used in conjunction with express-validator in controllers/api.js. |
| mocha | Test framework. |
| chai | BDD/TDD assertion library. |
| supertest | HTTP assertion library. |
filesize(265318); // "265.32 kB".package.json as well. For example, npm install --save moment.var token = _.find(req.user.tokens, { kind: 'twitter' });,
where 1st parameter is an array, and a 2nd parameter is an object to search for.403 Error: Forbidden when submitting a form?You need to add the following hidden input element to your form. This has been added in the pull request #40 as part of the CSRF protection.
input(type='hidden', name='_csrf', value=_csrf)
Note: It is now possible to whitelist certain URLs. In other words you can specify a list of routes that should bypass CSRF verification check.
Note 2: To whitelist dynamic URLs use regular expression tests inside the
CSRF middleware to see if req.originalUrl matches your desired pattern.
That's a custom error message defined in app.js to indicate that there was a
problem connecting to MongoDB:
mongoose.connection.on('error', () => {
console.error('MongoDB Connection Error. Please make sure MongoDB is running.');
});
You need to have a MongoDB server running before launching app.js. You can
download MongoDB here, or install it via a package manager.
Windows users, read Install MongoDB on Windows.
Tip: If you are always connected to the internet, you could just use
mLab or Compose instead
of downloading and installing MongoDB locally. You will only need to update database credentials
in .env file.
Chances are you haven't changed the Database URI in .env. If MONGODB/MONGOLAB_URI is
set to localhost, it will only work on your machine as long as MongoDB is
running. When you deploy to Heroku, OpenShift or some other provider, you will not have MongoDB
running on localhost. You need to create an account with mLab
or Compose, then create a free tier database.
See Deployment for more information on how to setup an account
and a new database step-by-step with mLab.
When I first started this project I didn't have any experience with Handlebars. Since then I have worked on Ember.js apps and got myself familiar with the Handlebars syntax. While it is true Handlebars is easier, because it looks like good old HTML, I have no regrets picking Jade over Handlebars. First off, it's the default template engine in Express, so someone who has built Express apps in the past already knows it. Secondly, I find extends and block to be indispensable, which as far as I know, Handlebars does not have out of the box. And lastly, subjectively speaking, Jade looks much cleaner and shorter than Handlebars, or any non-HAML style for that matter.
For the sake of simplicity. While there might be a better approach,
such as passing app context to each controller as outlined in this
blog,
I find such style to be confusing for beginners.
It took me a long time to grasp the concept of exports and module.exports,
let alone having a global app reference in other files.
That to me is a backward thinking.
The app.js is the "heart of the app", it should be the one referencing
models, routes, controllers, etc.
When working solo on small projects I actually prefer to have everything inside app.js as is the case with this
REST API server.
If you would like to use Persona authentication strategy, use the pull request #64 as a reference guide. I have explained my reasons why it could not be merged in issue #63.
Inside the nodemailer.createTransport method arguments, simply change the service from 'Sendgrid' to some other email service. Also, be sure to update both username and password below that. See the list of all supported services by Nodemailer.
This section is intended for giving you a detailed explanation about how a particular functionality works. Maybe you are just curious about how it works, or maybe you are lost and confused while reading the code, I hope it provides some guidance to you.
###Custom HTML and CSS Design 101
HTML5 UP has many beautiful templates that you can download for free.
When you download the ZIP file, it will come with index.html, images, css and js folders. So, how do you integrate it with Hackathon Starter? Hackathon Starter uses Bootstrap CSS framework, but these templates do not. Trying to use both CSS files at the same time will likely result in undesired effects.
Note: Using the custom templates approach, you should understand that you cannot reuse any of the views I have created: layout, home page, api browser, login, signup, account management, contact. Those views were built using Bootstrap grid and styles. You will have to manually update the grid using a different syntax provided in the template. Having said that, you can mix and match if you want to do so: Use Bootstrap for main app interface, and a custom template for a landing page.
Let's start from the beginning. For this example I will use Escape Velocity template:
Note: For the sake of simplicity I will only consider index.html, and skip left-sidebar.html,
no-sidebar.html, right-sidebar.html.
Move all JavaScript files from html5up-escape-velocity/js to public/js. Then move all CSS files from html5up-escape-velocity/css to public/css. And finally, move all images from html5up-escape-velocity/images to public/images. You could move it to the existing img folder, but that would require manually changing every img reference. Grab the contents of index.html and paste it into HTML To Jade.
Note: Do not forget to update all the CSS and JS paths accordingly.
Create a new file escape-velocity.pug and paste the Pug markup in views folder.
Whenever you see the code res.render('account/login') - that means it will search for views/account/login.pug file.
Let's see how it looks. Create a new controller escapeVelocity inside controllers/home.js:
exports.escapeVelocity = (req, res) => {
res.render('escape-velocity', {
title: 'Landing Page'
});
};
And then create a route in app.js. I placed it right after the index controller:
app.get('/escape-velocity', homeController.escapeVelocity);
Restart the server (if you are not using nodemon), then you should see the new template at http://localhost:3000/escape-velocity.
I will stop right here, but if you would like to use this template as more than just a single page, take a look at how these Jade templates work: layout.pug - base template, index.pug - home page, partials/header.pug - Bootstrap navbar, partials/footer.pug - sticky footer. You will have to manually break it apart into smaller pieces. Figure out which part of the template you want to keep the same on all pages - that's your new layout.pug.
Then, each page that changes, be it index.pug, about.pug, contact.pug
will be embedded in your new layout.pug via block content. Use existing templates as a reference.
This is a rather lengthy process, and templates you get from elsewhere, might have yet another grid system. That's why I chose Bootstrap for the Hackathon Starter. Many people are already familiar with Bootstrap, plus it's easy to get started with it if you have never used Bootstrap. You can also buy many beautifully designed Bootstrap themes at Themeforest, and use them as a drop-in replacement for Hackathon Starter. However, if you would like to go with a completely custom HTML/CSS design, this should help you to get started!
Flash messages allow you to display a message at the end of the request and access
it on next request and only next request. For instance, on a failed login attempt, you would
display an alert with some error message, but as soon as you refresh that page or visit a different
page and come back to the login page, that error message will be gone. It is only displayed once.
This project uses express-flash module for flash messages. And that
module is built on top of connect-flash, which is what I used in
this project initially. With express-flash you don't have to
explicitly send a flash message to every view inside res.render().
All flash messages are available in your views via messages object by default,
thanks to express-flash.
Flash messages have a two-step process. You use req.flash('errors', { msg: 'Error messages goes here' }
to create a flash message in your controllers, and then display them in your views:
if messages.errors
.alert.alert-danger.fade.in
for error in messages.errors
div= error.msg
In the first step, 'errors' is the name of a flash message, which should match the
name of the property on messages object in your views. You place alert messages
inside if message.errors because you don't want to show them flash messages are actually present.
The reason why you pass an error like { msg: 'Error messages goes here' } instead
of just a string - 'Error messages goes here', is for the sake of consistency.
To clarify that, express-validator module which is used for validating and sanitizing user's input,
returns all errors as an array of objects, where each object has a msg property with a message
why an error has occurred. Here is a more general example of what express-validator returns when there are errors present:
[
{ param: "name", msg: "Name is required", value: "<received input>" },
{ param: "email", msg: "A valid email is required", value: "<received input>" }
]
To keep consistent with that style, you should pass all flash messages
as { msg: 'My flash message' } instead of a string. Otherwise you will just see an alert box
without an error message. That is because, in partials/flash.pug template it will try to output
error.msg (i.e. "My flash message".msg), in other words it will try to call a msg method on a String object,
which will return undefined. Everything I just mentioned about errors, also applies
to "info" and "success" flash messages, and you could even create a new one yourself, such as:
Data Usage Controller (Example)
req.flash('warning', { msg: 'You have exceeded 90% of your data usage' });
User Account Page (Example)
if messages.warning
.alert.alert-warning.fade.in
for warning in messages.warning
div= warning.msg
partials/flash.pug is a partial template that contains how flash messages
are formatted. Previously, flash
messages were scattered throughout each view that used flash messages
(contact, login, signup, profile), but now, thankfully it is uses a DRY approach.
The flash messages partial template is included in the layout.pug, along with footer and navigation.
body
include partials/header
.container
include partials/flash
block content
include partials/footer
If you have any further questions about flash messages, please feel free to open an issue and I will update this mini-guide accordingly, or send a pull request if you would like to include something that I missed.
A more correct way to be to say "How do I create a new route". The main file app.js contains all the routes.
Each route has a callback function associated with it. Sometimes you will see 3 or more arguments
to routes. In cases like that, the first argument is still a URL string, while middle arguments
are what's called middleware. Think of middleware as a door. If this door prevents you from
continuing forward, you won't get to your callback function. One such example is a route that requires authentication.
app.get('/account', passportConfig.isAuthenticated, userController.getAccount);
It always goes from left to right. A user visits /account page. Then isAuthenticated middleware
checks if you are authenticated:
exports.isAuthenticated = (req, res, next) => {
if (req.isAuthenticated()) {
return next();
}
res.redirect('/login');
};
If you are authenticated, you let this visitor pass through your "door" by calling return next();. It then proceeds to the
next middleware until it reaches the last argument, which is a callback function that typically renders a template on GET requests or redirects on POST requests. In this case, if you are authenticated, you will be redirected to Account Management page, otherwise you will be redirected to Login page.
exports.getAccount = (req, res) => {
res.render('account/profile', {
title: 'Account Management'
});
};
Express.js has app.get, app.post, app.put, app.delete, but for the most part you will only use the first two HTTP verbs, unless you are building a RESTful API.
If you just want to display a page, then use GET, if you are submitting a form, sending a file then use POST.
Here is a typical workflow for adding new routes to your application. Let's say we are building a page that lists all books from database.
Step 1. Start by defining a route.
app.get('/books', bookController.getBooks);
Note: As of Express 4.x you can define you routes like so:
app.route('/books')
.get(bookController.getBooks)
.post(bookController.createBooks)
.put(bookController.updateBooks)
.delete(bookController.deleteBooks)
And here is how a route would look if it required an authentication and an authorization middleware:
app.route('/api/twitter')
.all(passportConfig.isAuthenticated)
.all(passportConfig.isAuthorized)
.get(apiController.getTwitter)
.post(apiController.postTwitter)
Use whichever style that makes sense to you. Either one is acceptable. I really think that chaining HTTP verbs on
app.route is very clean and elegant approach, but on the other hand I can no longer see all my routes at a glance
when you have one route per line.
Step 2. Create a new schema and a model Book.js inside the models directory.
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const bookSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
name: String
});
const Book = mongoose.model('Book', bookSchema);
module.exports = Book;
Step 3. Create a new controller file called book.js inside the controllers directory.
/**
* GET /books
* List all books.
*/
const Book = require('../models/Book.js');
exports.getBooks = (req, res) => {
Book.find((err, docs) => {
res.render('books', { books: docs });
});
};
Step 4. Import that controller in app.js.
const bookController = require('./controllers/book');
Step 5. Create books.pug template.
extends layout
block content
.page-header
h3 All Books
ul
for book in books
li= book.name
That's it! I will say that you could have combined Step 1, 2, 3 as following:
app.get('/books',(req, res) => {
Book.find((err, docs) => {
res.render('books', { books: docs });
});
});
Sure, it's simpler, but as soon as you pass 1000 lines of code in app.js it becomes a little difficult to navigate the file.
I mean, the whole point of this boilerplate project was to separate concerns, so you could
work with your teammates without running into MERGE CONFLICTS. Imagine you have 4 developers
working on a single app.js, I promise you it won't be fun resolving merge conflicts all the time.
If you are the only developer then it's fine. But as I said, once it gets up to a certain LoC size, it becomes
difficult to maintain everything in a single file.
That's all there is to it. Express.js is super simple to use. Most of the time you will be dealing with other APIs to do the real work: Mongoose for querying database, socket.io for sending and receiving messages over websockets, sending emails via Nodemailer, form validation using express-validator library, parsing websites using Cheerio, and etc.
Dan Stroot submitted an excellent pull request that adds a real-time dashboard with socket.io. And as much as I'd like to add it to the project, I think it violates one of the main principles of the Hackathon Starter:
When I started this project, my primary focus was on simplicity and ease of use. I also tried to make it as generic and reusable as possible to cover most use cases of hackathon web apps, without being too specific.
When I need to use socket.io, I really need it, but most of the time - I don't. But more importantly, websockets support is still experimental on most hosting providers. As of October 2013, Heroku supports websockets, but not until you opt-in by running this command:
heroku labs:enable websockets -a myapp
And what if you are deploying to OpenShift? They do support websockets, but it is currently in a preview state. So, for OpenShift you would need to change the socket.io connect URI to the following:
const socket = io.connect('http://yoursite-namespace.rhcloud.com:8000');
Wait, why is it on port 8000? Who knows, and if I didn't run across this blog post I wouldn't even know I had to use port 8000.
I am really glad that Heroku and OpenShift at least have a websockets support, because many other PaaS providers still do not support it. Due to the aforementioned issues with websockets, I cannot include socket.io as part of the Hackathon Starter. For now... If you need to use socket.io in your app, please continue reading.
First you need to install socket.io:
npm install socket.io --save
Or, again, if you use Yarn:
yarn add socket.io
Replace const app = express(); with the following code:
const app = express();
const server = require('http').Server(app);
const io = require('socket.io')(server);
I like to have the following code organization in app.js (from top to bottom): module dependencies,
import controllers, import configs, connect to database, express configuration, routes,
start the server, socket.io stuff. That way I always know where to look for things.
Add the following code at the end of app.js:
io.on('connection', (socket) => {
socket.emit('greet', { hello: 'Hey there browser!' });
socket.on('respond', (data) => {
console.log(data);
});
socket.on('disconnect', () => {
console.log('Socket disconnected');
});
});
One last thing left to change:
app.listen(app.get('port'), () => {
to
server.listen(app.get('port'), () => {
At this point we are done with the back-end.
You now have a choice - to include your JavaScript code in Pug templates or have all your client-side
JavaScript in a separate file - in main.js. I will admit, when I first started out with Node.js and JavaScript in general,
I placed all JavaScript code inside templates because I have access to template variables passed in from Express
right then and there. It's the easiest thing you can do, but also the least efficient and harder to maintain. Since then I
almost never include inline JavaScript inside templates anymore.
But it's also understandable if you want take the easier road. Most of the time you don't even care about performance during hackathons, you just want to "get shit done" before the time runs out. Well, either way, use whichever approach makes more sense to you. At the end of the day, it's what you build that matters, not how you build it.
If you want to stick all your JavaScript inside templates, then in layout.pug -
your main template file, add this to head block.
script(src='/socket.io/socket.io.js')
script.
let socket = io.connect(window.location.href);
socket.on('greet', function (data) {
console.log(data);
socket.emit('respond', { message: 'Hey there, server!' });
});
Note: Notice the path of the socket.io.js, you don't actually
have to have socket.io.js file anywhere in your project; it will be generated
automatically at runtime.
If you want to have JavaScript code separate from templates, move that inline
script code into main.js, inside the $(document).ready() function:
$(document).ready(function() {
// Place JavaScript code here...
let socket = io.connect(window.location.href);
socket.on('greet', function (data) {
console.log(data);
socket.emit('respond', { message: 'Hello to you too, Mr.Server!' });
});
});
ES6 CheatsheetDeclares a read-only named constant.
const name = 'yourName';
Declares a block scope local variable.
let index = 0;
Using the `${}` syntax, strings can embed expressions.
const name = 'Oggy';
const age = 3;
console.log(`My cat is named ${name} and is ${age} years old.`);
To import functions, objects or primitives exported from an external module. These are the most common types of importing.
import name from 'module-name';
import * as name from 'module-name';
import { foo, bar } from 'module-name';
To export functions, objects or primitives from a given file or module.
export { myFunction };
export const name = 'yourName';
export default myFunctionOrClass
The spread operator allows an expression to be expanded in places where multiple arguments (for function calls) or multiple elements (for array literals) are expected.
myFunction(...iterableObject);
<ChildComponent {...this.props} />
A Promise is used in asynchronous computations to represent an operation that hasn't completed yet, but is expected in the future.
var p = new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { });
The catch() method returns a Promise and deals with rejected cases only.
p.catch(function(reason) { /* handle rejection */ });
The then() method returns a Promise. It takes 2 arguments: callback for the success & failure cases.
p.then(function(value) { /* handle fulfillment */, function(reason) { /* handle rejection */ });
The Promise.all(iterable) method returns a promise that resolves when all of the promises in the iterable argument have resolved, or rejects with the reason of the first passed promise that rejects.
Promise.all([p1, p2, p3]).then(function(values) { console.log(values) });
Arrow function expression. Shorter syntax & lexically binds the this value. Arrow functions are anonymous.
singleParam => { statements }
() => { statements }
(param1, param2) => expression
const arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
const squares = arr.map(x => x * x);
The class declaration creates a new class using prototype-based inheritance.
class Person {
constructor(name, age, gender) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.gender = gender;
}
incrementAge() {
this.age++;
}
}
:gift: Credits: DuckDuckGo and @DrkSephy.
:top: back to top
JavaScript Date CheatsheetMath.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
var now = new Date();
now.setMinutes(now.getMinutes() + 30);
// DD-MM-YYYY
var now = new Date();
var DD = now.getDate();
var MM = now.getMonth() + 1;
var YYYY = now.getFullYear();
if (DD < 10) {
DD = '0' + DD;
}
if (MM < 10) {
MM = '0' + MM;
}
console.log(MM + '-' + DD + '-' + YYYY); // 03-30-2016
// hh:mm (12 hour time with am/pm)
var now = new Date();
var hours = now.getHours();
var minutes = now.getMinutes();
var amPm = hours >= 12 ? 'pm' : 'am';
hours = hours % 12;
hours = hours ? hours : 12;
minutes = minutes < 10 ? '0' + minutes : minutes;
console.log(hours + ':' + minutes + ' ' + amPm); // 1:43 am
var today = new Date();
var nextWeek = new Date(today.getTime() + 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
var today = new Date();
var yesterday = date.setDate(date.getDate() - 1);
:top: back to top
###Mongoose Cheatsheet
User.find((err, users) => {
console.log(users);
});
let userEmail = 'example@gmail.com';
User.findOne({ email: userEmail }, (err, user) => {
console.log(user);
});
User
.find()
.sort({ _id: -1 })
.limit(5)
.exec((err, users) => {
console.log(users);
});
Let's suppose that each user has a votes field and you would like to count
the total number of votes in your database across all users. One very
inefficient way would be to loop through each document and manually accumulate
the count. Or you could use MongoDB Aggregation Framework instead:
User.aggregate({ $group: { _id: null, total: { $sum: '$votes' } } }, (err, votesCount) => {
console.log(votesCount.total);
});
:top: back to top
You will need docker and docker-compose installed to build the application.
After installing docker, start the application with the following commands :
# To build the project for the first time or when you add dependencies
docker-compose build web
# To start the application (or to restart after making changes to the source code)
docker-compose up web
To view the app, find your docker ip address + port 3000 ( this will typically be http://192.168.99.100:3000/ ).
Once you are ready to deploy your app, you will need to create an account with a cloud platform to host it. These are not the only choices, but they are my top picks. From my experience, Heroku is the easiest to get started with, it will automatically restart your Node.js process when it crashes, zero-downtime deployments and custom domain support on free accounts. Additionally, you can create an account with mLab and then pick one of the 4 providers below. Again, there are plenty of other choices and you are not limited to just the ones listed below.
- Download and install [Heroku Toolbelt](https://toolbelt.heroku.com/)
- In terminal, run `heroku login` and enter your Heroku credentials
- From *your app* directory run `heroku create`
- Run `heroku addons:create mongolab`. This will set up the mLab add-on and configure the `MONGOLAB_URI` environment variable in your Heroku app for you.
- Lastly, do `git push heroku master`. Done!
Note: To install Heroku add-ons your account must be verified.
- Open [mlab.com](https://mlab.com) website
- Click the yellow **Sign up** button
- Fill in your user information then hit **Create account**
- From the dashboard, click on **:zap:Create new** button
- Select **any** cloud provider (I usually go with AWS)
- Under *Plan* click on **Single-node (development)** tab and select **Sandbox** (it's free)
- *Leave MongoDB version as is - `2.4.x`*
- Enter *Database name** for your web app
- Then click on **:zap:Create new MongoDB deployment** button
- Now, to access your database you need to create a DB user
- Click to the recently created database
- You should see the following message:
- *A database user is required to connect to this database.* **Click here** *to create a new one.*
- Click the link and fill in **DB Username** and **DB Password** fields
- Finally, in `.env` instead of `mongodb://localhost:27017/test`, use the following URI with your credentials:
- `db: 'mongodb://USERNAME:PASSWORD@ds027479.mongolab.com:27479/DATABASE_NAME'`
Note: As an alternative to mLab, there is also Compose.
- First, install this Ruby gem: `sudo gem install rhc` :gem:
- Run `rhc login` and enter your OpenShift credentials
- From your app directory run `rhc app create MyApp nodejs-0.10`
- **Note:** *MyApp* is the name of your app (no spaces)
- Once that is done, you will be provided with **URL**, **SSH** and **Git Remote** links
- Visit provided **URL** and you should see the *Welcome to your Node.js application on OpenShift* page
- Copy and and paste **Git Remote** into `git remote add openshift YOUR_GIT_REMOTE`
- Before you push your app, you need to do a few modifications to your code
Add these two lines to app.js, just place them anywhere before app.listen():
var IP_ADDRESS = process.env.OPENSHIFT_NODEJS_IP || '127.0.0.1';
var PORT = process.env.OPENSHIFT_NODEJS_PORT || 8080;
Then change app.listen() to:
app.listen(PORT, IP_ADDRESS,() => {
console.log(`Express server listening on port ${PORT} in ${app.settings.env} mode`);
});
Add this to package.json, after name and version. This is necessary because, by default, OpenShift looks for server.js file. And by specifying supervisor app.js it will automatically restart the server when node.js process crashes.
"main": "app.js",
"scripts": {
"start": "supervisor app.js"
},
git push -f openshift master-f (force) flag because OpenShift creates a dummy server with the welcome page when you create a new Node.js app. Passing -f flag will override everything with your Hackathon Starter project repository. Do not run git pull as it will create unnecessary merge conflicts.
git remote add azure [Azure Git URL]git push azure master
cf push [your-app-name] -m 512m command to deploy the application[your-app-name]cf create-service mongodb 100 [your-service-name] to create a MongoDB servicecf bind-service [your-app-name] [your-service-name] to associate your application with a service created abovecf files [your-app-name] logs/env.log to see the *environment variables created for MongoDB.mongodb://68638358-a3c6-42a1-bae9-645b607d55e8:46fb97e6-5ce7-4146-9a5d-d623c64ff1fe@192.155.243.23:10123/dbcf set-env [your-app-name] MONGODB_URI [your-mongodb-uri]cf restart [your-app-name] for the changes to take effect.Note: Alternative directions, including how to setup the project with a DevOps pipeline are available at http://ibm.biz/hackstart. A longer version of these instructions with screenshots is available at http://ibm.biz/hackstart2. Also, be sure to check out the Jump-start your hackathon efforts with DevOps Services and Bluemix video.
Select or create a Google Cloud Platform Console project
Enable billing for your project (there's a $300 free trial)
Install and initialize the Google Cloud SDK
Create an app.yaml file at the root of your hackathon-starter folder with the following contents:
runtime: nodejs
vm: true
manual_scaling:
instances: 1
Make sure you've set MONGODB_URI or MONGOLAB_URI in .env.example
Run the following command to deploy the hackathon-starter app:
gcloud app deploy
Monitor your deployed app in the Cloud Console
View the logs for your app in the Cloud Console
/status)Mongoose.promise issue (Thanks @starcharles)User model unit tests improvements (Thanks @andela-rekemezie)secp256k1 dependency on WindowsMONGODB to MONGODB_URI environment variable"node": "6.1.0" in package.json<meta theme-color> support for Chrome for Android.envrequired=true attributes to input fieldsshow() function in the GitHub API examplenext parameter being undefined inside getReset handlerdebug and outputStyle from the Sass middleware options.connect-assets (no longer used) from package.json`.dontenv package for managing API keys and secrets.connect-mongo ES5 fallback for backward-compatibility with Node.js version < 4.0.r_fullprofile to r_basicprofile due to API changes.require intro declaration and initialization for better performance. (See #247)POST request.node_js version to "stable" in .travis.yml.mocha.opts file, pass options directly to package.jsonconnect-assets served all JS assets twice.csrf token in the Twilio API example form.multer middleware.navbar.jade to header.jade.bcrypt.genSalt() from 5 to 10.4.3.0.3.3.4.User variable in controllers/api.js.xframe and xssProtection` protection via lusca module.sudo: false.mongo-connect deprecation warning.secrets.js notice.setup.js), no longer removes auth providers.git remote rm origin to Getting Started instructions in README.helperContext from connect-assets middleware.app.js and controllers/api.js. 8ce48f767c0146062296685cc101acf3d5d224d9 cdbb9d1888a96bbba92d4d14deec99a8acba2618app.js from an outside foldersetup.js on Windows platform until blessed fixes its problemsnavbar-brand image with a font icon_.findWhere with _.findsetup.jsstyles.lessreturnTo url (#155)navigation.jade to navbar.jadecluster_app.js has been moved into setup.jsgenerator.js for Windows usersThere are have been over 500+ commits since the initial announcement in January 2014 and over a 120 issues and pull requests from 28 contributors.
If something is unclear, confusing, or needs to be refactored, please let me know. Pull requests are always welcome, but due to the opinionated nature of this project, I cannot accept every pull request. Please open an issue before submitting a pull request. This project uses Airbnb JavaScript Style Guide with a few minor exceptions. If you are submitting a pull request that involves Pug templates, please make sure you are using spaces, not tabs.
The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2014-2016 Sahat Yalkabov
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
FAQs
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The npm package hack-uva-app receives a total of 1 weekly downloads. As such, hack-uva-app popularity was classified as not popular.
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