node / express REST API application - passing parameters to GET method

Question

Background

I'm writing a sample nodejs / express REST interface or API for the purposes of learning. I've created a new route called "emergency".

In the file I have the following code:

router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
        //var ip = req.params.ip;
        res.send('respond with a resource');
});

When I start the application and navigate to http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency everything works fine and I see the "respond with a resource" message.

Goal

I'd like my application to be able to accept parameters as well. So fro example, when a user navigates to

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency

I want all emergency numbers to be queried and returned. But they should also be able to do this:

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency/12345

and the system should query the database for emergency record 12345 and return the appropriate result set.

Problem / Question

In order to accommodate both types of GET queries, I've changed the code to look like this:

router.get('/id', function(req, res, next) {
        //var ip = req.params.ip;
        res.send('respond with a resource');
});

Now when I run the application, and browse to

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency/12345

it works. However, browsing to

  http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency

fails with a 404 error message.

Not Found

404

Error: Not Found
    at /var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/app.js:34:13
    at Layer.handle [as handle_request] (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/layer.js:95:5)
    at trim_prefix (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:312:13)
    at /var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:280:7
    at Function.process_params (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:330:12)
    at next (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:271:10)
    at /var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:618:15
    at next (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:256:14)
    at Function.handle (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:176:3)
    at router (/var/www/html/nodejs_samples/tutorial1/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:46:12)

Do I need to create two separate methods, one that accepts a parameter and one that doesn't? (aka method overloads?) Perhaps my understanding of REST is what's faulty. Should a GET request look like :

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency

or should it always look like this:

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency/{id}

Maybe the proper way to do a GET for all records is something like this:

 http://myserver/tutorial1/emergency/all

I'm trying to google my question right now as well, but I'm having a hard time expressing it succinctly enough to get an accurate search result set.

EDIT 1

This is what my code looks like when I try to create two methods (and this works)

router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
  res.send('respond with a resource');
});

router.get('/:id', function(req, res, next) {
        var id = req.params.id;
        console.log(id);
        res.send('got it');
});

But this just feels odd because I guess I'm used to other frameworks in other languages where the system can check for empty params so you just need one method. this is not a complaint! just a comment that might explain why my brain is "expecting" the system to work a different way.

Tom · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-28 14:39:12Z

19

Do I need to create two separate methods, one that accepts a parameter and one that doesn't?

I'm guessing you posted this before even trying that?

The answer is yes.

Your route that accepts parameters should look like this:

app.get('/emergency/:id', function (req, res, next) {
    var id = req.params.id;
    console.log('The id: ' + id);
});

answered Sep 28, 2016 at 14:39

Tom

2,6553 gold badges24 silver badges42 bronze badges

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6 Comments

Happydevdays Over a year ago

no i have tried it. but because i'm a node js noob, i'm questioning whether my approach is correct. and I was also missing the ":" that you have here. If I have a routes/emergency.js file where all of this logic is in, do i actually need the 'emergency' in '/emergency/:id' that you have in your answer? I don't think I do

Tom Over a year ago

The code in your edit is fine. I don't understand your second question in your comment. The two route approach is fine, its simple and it works.

Happydevdays Over a year ago

Tom, please see "Edit 1" section in my original question

Tom Over a year ago

Not sure what else you want - Express isn't about the change how they approach routing because your brain expects the system to work differently.

Happydevdays Over a year ago

lol. Tom, i realize that. I think you're missing the point of my question. Because I'm inexperienced with the tool, I'm asking for validation of my current understanding of how i should use it.

|

Gaurav Israni · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-22 16:11:26Z

1

Yes,it is necessary to have two different functions that listen to each type of url. This is because The url

http://localhost/example/abcd will get received in 
router.get('/example/:username',testFunction1);

whereas

http://localhost/example will be received in 
router.get('/example',testFunction2);

Refer to the article: http://codewhoop.com/article/Nodejs%20Getting%20parameters%20through%20GET%20method for detailed explanation of procedure to fetch paramters through GET method in Nodejs.

answered Jan 22, 2017 at 16:11

Gaurav Israni

111 bronze badge

Comments

Atul Agrawal · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-28 14:52:12Z

0

I am not sure will it work or not you can try some thing like this

app.get('/emergency/:var(:id/|)', function (req, res, next) {
    var id = req.params.id;
    console.log('The id: ' + id);
});

answered Sep 28, 2016 at 14:52

Atul Agrawal

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1 Comment

Happydevdays Over a year ago

thanks for the suggestion! I gave it a try and it works when I just try without a parameter. But when I pass a parm, it fails with a 404. If express / node isn't designed to work this way... it's ok. I'm just trying to understand what the "right" way to design my application is.

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