Assignment 1

For the first assignment, you will be setting up a basic server with 3 simple GET endpoints.

Set up your project

First, let's set up your first Node project!

To create a project, first make a folder for your assignment code using mkdir a1 in terminal and change into that directory with cd a1. You can then use the command code . to open that folder in VSCode (install VSCode here). You can also just open it in VSCode from the application directly.

Set up the yarn project by running yarn init -y in that a1 folder. Add the necessary dependencies express, typescript, ts-node, @types/node, @types/express by running:

yarn init -y
yarn add express
yarn add --dev typescript ts-node @types/express

info

Check out lecture1 for more details on how this setup works!

Now you can create an index.ts file to add your routes and assignment code in.

Endpoints

1. Simple URL

The first endpoint will be a simple GET request to /book. You will send your favorite book's name to the frontend.

2. Query Parameters

The second endpoint will be a GET request to /book with a query parameter called name. If the name is "Megan", you will return "Cracking the Coding Interview". If the name is "Ashneel", you will return "The Pragmatic Programmer". Otherwise, return the name of any book you choose!

Example: a request to /book?name=megan will return "Cracking the Coding Interview."

P.S. Don't worry, these aren't actually our favorite books.

3. Route Parameters

The third endpoint will be a GET request to /book/:userid. This will simply send "userid is really cool!" to the frontend.

Example: a request to /book/ashneel will send "ashneel is really cool!" to the frontend.

Testing your code

To test your code run ts-node index.ts. Your server should be up and running (if not, debug!) and you should be able to navigate to localhost:<PORT>/book where PORT is the port number express is listening for requests on (we usually use 8080) and specify query/path parameters that give the intended results.

Getting help

If you're stuck, we have TA office hours every week day so feel free to come and ask questions! In addition, you can join the Piazza and post your question. Please make it public if it's just a general question with no code screenshots, otherwise make it private.

Submission

Please submit to CMS the index.ts file where you have defined your routes by Tuesday 9/29 at 3:59pm although you are allowed max 3 slip days (out of 6 total) per an assignment. (Note: we are still getting CMS set up. If we are unable to have CMS up by Monday, we will notify you of another mode of submission or extend the deadline)