usergrid

##Version Current Version: 0.10.3

See change log:

https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-node-module/master/changelog.md

##Overview This Node.js module, which simplifies the process of making API calls to App Services from within Node.js, is provided by Apigee and is available as an open-source project on github. We welcome your contributions and suggestions. The repository is located here:

https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-node-module

To find out more about Apigee App Services, see:

http://apigee.com/about/developers

To view the Apigee App Services documentation, see:

http://apigee.com/docs/usergrid/

##Client side Javascript Want to make calls to App Services (Usergrid) client-side? No problem - just head over to the Usergrid Javascript SDK:

https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-javascript-sdk

The syntax for this Node module and the Javascript SDK are almost exactly the same so you can easily transition between them.

##Installing Use npm:

$ npm install usergrid

##Getting started Include the module:

var usergrid = require('usergrid');

Then create a new client:

var client = new usergrid.client({
	orgName:'yourorgname',
	appName:'sandbox',
	logging: true, //optional - turn on logging, off by default
});

The preceding example shows how to use the "Sandbox" testing app, which does not require any authentication. The "Sandbox" comes with all new App Services accounts.

If you are ready to use authentication, then create your client this way:

var client = new usergrid.client({
	orgName:'yourorgname',
	appName:'yourappname',
	authType:usergrid.AUTH_CLIENT_ID,
	clientId:'<your client id>',
	clientSecret:'<your client secret>',
	logging: false, //optional - turn on logging, off by default
	buildCurl: false //optional - turn on curl commands, off by default
});

The last two items are optional. The logging option will enable console.log output from the client. The buildCurl option will cause cURL equivalent commands of all calls to the API to be displayed in the console.log output.

Note: you can find your client secret and client id on the "Properties" page of the Admin Portal.

You are now ready to use the usergrid handle to make calls against the API.

##About the samples All of the samples provided in this readme file come from unit tests in the test.js which is located in the root of this project.

To run this file, first do the following:

1. Change the org-name and app-name to point to your Usergrid account. Log into the Admin Portal to see this information.
2. Change the client secret and client id

Then run the code:

$ node test.js

Read through the samples in this file as they show many examples of how to use this module.

##Make some calls This Usergrid module uses the request module by mikeal. We expose a similar request function and a subset of the options available. This allows you to make basic calls against the API using this format:

client.request(options, callback);

This client.request method uses similar syntax although only the subset of options that is relevant to making calls against the App Services API. For example, to get a list of users:

var options = {
	method:'GET',
	endpoint:'users'
};
client.request(options, function (err, data) {
	if (err) {
		error('GET failed');
	} else {
		//data will contain raw results from API call
		success('GET worked');
	}
});

Or, to create a new user:

var options = {
	method:'POST',
	endpoint:'users',
	body:{ username:'fred', password:'secret' }
};
client.request(options, function (err, data) {
	if (err) {
		error('POST failed');
	} else {
		//data will contain raw results from API call
		success('POST worked');
	}
});

Or, to update the new user:

var options = {
	method:'PUT',
	endpoint:'users/fred',
	body:{ newkey:'newvalue' }
};
client.request(options, function (err, data) {
	if (err) {
		error('PUT failed');
	} else {
		//data will contain raw results from API call
		success('PUT worked');
	}
});

Or to delete the new user:

var options = {
	method:'DELETE',
	endpoint:'users/fred'
};
client.request(options, function (err, data) {
	if (err) {
		error('DELETE failed');
	} else {
		//data will contain raw results from API call
		success('DELETE worked');
	}
});

The Options Object for the client.request fuction:

• method - http method (GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE), defaults to GET
• qs - object containing querystring values to be appended to the uri
• body - object containing entity body for POST and PUT requests
• endpoint - API endpoint, for example "users/fred"
• mQuery - boolean, set to true if running management query, defaults to false
• buildCurl - boolean, set to true if you want to see equivalent curl commands in console.log, defaults to false

You can make any call to the API using the format above. However, in practice using the higher level Entity and Collection objects will make life easier as they take care of much of the heavy lifting.

##Entities and Collections Usergrid stores its data as "Entities" in "Collections". Entities are essentially JSON objects and Collections are just like folders for storing these objects. You can learn more about Entities and Collections in the App Services docs:

http://apigee.com/docs/usergrid/content/data-model

##Entities This module provides an easy way to make new entities. Here is a simple example that shows how to create a new object of type "dogs":

var options = {
	type:'dogs',
	name:'Dino'
}
client.createEntity(options, function (err, dog) {
	if (err) {
		error('dog not created');
	} else {
		success('dog is created');

		//once the dog is created, you can set single properties:
		dog.set('breed','Dinosaur');

		//or a JSON object:
		var data = {
			master:'Fred',
			state:'hungry'
		}
		//set is additive, so previously set properties are not overwritten
		dog.set(data);

		//finally, call save on the object to save it back to the database
		dog.save(function(err){
			if (err){
				error('dog not saved');
			} else {
				success('new dog is saved');
			}
		});
	}
});

note: all calls to the API will be executed asynchronously, so it is important that you use a callback.

You can also refresh the object from the database if needed (in case the data has been updated by a different client or device):

//call fetch to refresh the data from the server
dog.fetch(function(err){
	if (err){
		error('dog not refreshed from database');
	} else {
		//dog has been refreshed from the database
		//will only work if the UUID for the entity is in the dog object
		success('dog entity refreshed from database');
	}
});

To remove the entity from the database:

//the destroy method will delete the entity from the database
dog.destroy(function(err){
	if (err){
		error('dog not removed from database');
	} else {
		success('dog removed from database'); // no real dogs were harmed!
		dog = null; //no real dogs were harmed!
	}
});

##The Collection object The Collection object models Collections in the database. Once you start programming your app, you will likely find that this is the most useful method of interacting with the database. Creating a collection will automatically populate the object with entities from the collection. The following example shows how to create a Collection object, then how to use entities once the Collection has been populated with entities from the server:

//options object needs to have the type (which is the collection type)
var options = {
	type:'dogs',
	qs:{ql:'order by index'}
}

client.createCollection(options, function (err, dogs) {
	if (err) {
		error('could not make collection');
	} else {

		success('new Collection worked');

		//we got the dogs, now display the Entities:
		while(dogs.hasNextEntity()) {
			//get a reference to the dog
			dog = dogs.getNextEntity();
			var name = dog.get('name');
			notice('dog is called ' + name);
		}

		success('looped through dogs');

	}
});

You can also add a new entity of the same type to the collection:

//create a new dog and add it to the collection
var options = {
	name:'extra-dog',
	fur:'shedding'
}
//just pass the options to the addEntity method
//to the collection and it is saved automatically
dogs.addEntity(options, function(err, dog, data) {
	if (err) {
		error('extra dog not saved or added to collection');
	} else {
		success('extra dog saved and added to collection');
	}
});

##Collection iteration and paging The Collection object works in Pages of data. This means that at any given time, the Collection object will have one page of data loaded. You can iterate across all the entities in the current page of data by using the following pattern:

//we got the dogs, now display the Entities:
while(dogs.hasNextEntity()) {
	//get a reference to the dog
	dog = dogs.getNextEntity();
	var name = dog.get('name');
	notice('dog is called ' + name);
}

To get the next page of data from the server, use the following pattern:

if (dogs.hasNextPage()) {
	//there is a next page, so get it from the server
	dogs.getNextPage(function(err){
		if (err) {
			error('could not get next page of dogs');
		} else {
			success('got next page of dogs');
			//we got the dogs, now display the Entities:
			while(dogs.hasNextEntity()) {
				//get a reference to the dog
				dog = dogs.getNextEntity();
				var name = dog.get('name');
				notice('dog is called ' + name);
			}
			success('looped through dogs');
		}
	});
}

You can use the same pattern to get a previous page of data:

if (dogs.hasPreviousPage()) {
	//there is a previous page, so get it from the server
	dogs.getPreviousPage(function(err){
		if(err) {
			error('could not get previous page of dogs');
		} else {
			success('got next page of dogs');
			//we got the dogs, now display the Entities:
			while(dogs.hasNextEntity()) {
				//get a reference to the dog
				dog = dogs.getNextEntity();
				var name = dog.get('name');
				notice('dog is called ' + name);
			}
			success('looped through dogs');
		}
	});
}

By default, the database will return 10 entities per page. You can change that amount by setting a limit:

var options = {
	type:'dogs',
	qs:{limit:50} //limit statement set to 50
}

client.createCollection(options, function (err, dogs) {
	if (err) {
		error('could not get all dogs');
	} else {
		success('got at most 50 dogs');
	}
}

Several other convenience methods exist to make working with pages of data easier:

• getFirstEntity - gets the first entity of a page
• getLastEntity - gets the last entity of a page
• resetEntityPointer - sets the internal pointer back to the first element of the page
• getEntityByUUID - returns the entity if it is in the current page

###Custom Queries A custom query allows you to tell the API that you want your results filtered or altered in some way. To specify that the query results should be ordered by creation date, add the qs parameter to the options object:

var options = {
	type:'dogs',
	qs:{ql:'order by created DESC'}
};

You may find that you need to change the query on an existing object. Simply access the qs property directly:

dogs.qs = {ql:'order by created DESC'};

If you also wanted to get more entities in the result set than the default 10, say 100, you can specify a query similar to the following (the limit can be a maximum of 999):

dogs.qs = {ql:'order by created DESC',limit:'100'};

Note: there are many cases where expanding the result set is useful. But be careful - the more results you get back in a single call, the longer it will take to transmit the data back to your app.

Another common requirement is to limit the results to a specific query. For example, to get all brown dogs, use the following syntax:

dogs.qs = {ql:"select * where color='brown'"};

You can also limit the results returned such that only the fields you specify are returned:

dogs.qs = {'ql':"select name, age where color='brown'"};

Note: in the two preceding examples that we put single quotes around 'brown', so it will be searched as a string.

You can find more information on custom queries here:

http://apigee.com/docs/usergrid/content/queries-and-parameters

##Modeling users with the Entity object There is no specific User object in the module. Instead, you simply need to use the Entity object, specifying a type of "users". Here is an example:

//type is 'users', set additional paramaters as needed
var options = {
	type:'users',
	username:'marty',
	password:'mysecurepassword',
	name:'Marty McFly',
	city:'Hill Valley'
}

client.createEntity(options, function (err, marty) {
	if (err){
		error('user not saved');
	} else {
		success('user saved');
	}
});

If the user is modified, just call save on the user again:

//add properties cumulatively
marty.set('state', 'California');
marty.set("girlfriend","Jennifer");
marty.save(function(err){
	if (err){
		error('user not updated');
	} else {
		success('user updated');
	}
});

To refresh the user's information in the database:

marty.fetch(function(err){
	if (err){
		error('not refreshed');
	} else {
		success('user refreshed');
	}
});

If you no longer need the object, call the delete() method and the object will be deleted from database:

marty.destroy(function(err){
	if (err){
		error('user not deleted from database');
	} else {
		success('user deleted from database');
		marty = null; //blow away the local object
	}
});

###To log a user in Up to this point, we have shown how you can use the client secret / client id combination to authenticate your calls against the API. For a server-side Node.js app, this may be all you need. However, if you do find that your app requires that you authenticate an individual user, you have several options.

The first is to use client-side authentication with Ajax. If you want to opt for this method, take a look at our Javascript SDK. The syntax for usage is the same as this Node.js module, so it will be easy to pick up:

https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-javascript-sdk

The other method is to log the user in server-side. When you log a user in, the API will return an OAuth token for you to use for calls to the API on the user's behalf. Once that token is returned, you can either make a new client just for the user, or change the auth method on the existing client. These methods are described below:

username = 'marty';
password = 'mysecurepassword';
client.login(username, password,
	function (err) {
		if (err) {
			error('could not log user in');
		} else {
			success('user has been logged in');

			//the login call will return an OAuth token, which is saved
			//in the client object for later use.  Access it this way:
			var token = client.token;

			//then make a new client just for the app user, then use this
			//client to make calls against the API
			var appUserClient = new usergrid.client({
				orgName:'yourorgname',
				appName:'yourappname',
				authType:usergrid.AUTH_APP_USER,
				token:token
			});

			//alternitavely, you can change the authtype of the client:
			client.authType = usergrid.AUTH_APP_USER;

			//Then make calls against the API.  For example, you can
			//get the user entity this way:
			client.getLoggedInUser(function(err, data, user) {
				if(err) {
					error('could not get logged in user');
				} else {
					success('got logged in user');

					//you can then get info from the user entity object:
					var username = user.get('username');
					notice('logged in user was: ' + username);

					//to log the user out, call the logout() method
					appUserClient.logout();
					client.logout();

					//verify the logout worked
					if (client.isLoggedIn()) {
						error('logout failed');
					} else {
						success('user has been logged out');
					}

					//since we don't need to App User level calls anymore,
					//set the authtype back to client:
					client.authType = usergrid.AUTH_CLIENT_ID;

					runner(step, marty);
				}
			});

		}
	}
);

To recap, once a user has been logged in, and an OAuth token has been acquired, use one of the two methods to make calls to the API:

1. Use the same client object and change auth types before each call

2. Grab the token and make a new client object specifically for user calls.

Either method will work.

###To log a user out To log the user out, call:

client.logout();

Or, if you made a new client object specifically for the app user:

appUserClient.logout();

This destroys the token and user object in the client object, effectively logging the user out.

##Samples / Tests There is significant coverage of this Usergrid module in the test directory. These files are coded to run under the mocha.

For runnable samples, please see the test.js file in the root of the project. This file covers all the sample code in this readme file and should be run under node:

$node test.js

Contributing

We welcome your enhancements!

Like Usergrid, the Usergrid Node module is open source and licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

1. Fork it
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Added some feature')
4. Push your changes to the upstream branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
5. Create new Pull Request (make sure you describe what you did and why your mod is needed)

##More information For more information on Apigee App Services, visit http://apigee.com/about/developers.

Copyright

Copyright 2012 Apigee Corporation

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.