The concept of RESTful APIs in Express.

RESTful APIs are a popular way of creating web applications that exchange data
over the internet in a standardized manner. These APIs follow specific principles
such as using resource-based URLs and HTTP methods to perform various
operations like creating, reading, updating, and deleting data. Express js is a
powerful framework that allows developers to easily create routes, handle requests,
and send responses, making it a versatile choice for building APIs that are robust
and scalable.
Understanding the concept of RESTful APIs in Express JS:
 REST Architecture: REST, which stands for Representational State
Transfer, is an architectural style for designing networked applications.
 Resource-Based: RESTful APIs in ExpressJS are designed around
resources, which are identified by unique URLs. These resources represent
the entities (e.g., users, products, articles) that the API manipulates.
 HTTP Methods: RESTful APIs use standard HTTP methods to
perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on resources:
o GET: Retrieves data from a resource.
o POST: Creates a new resource.
o PUT: Updates an existing resource.
o DELETE: Deletes a resource.
 Statelessness: RESTful APIs are stateless, meaning that each request from a
client contains all the information needed to process the request. Servers do
not maintain a session state between requests.
 Uniform Interface: RESTful APIs have a uniform interface, which
simplifies communication between clients and servers. This interface
typically involves the use of standard HTTP methods, resource identifiers
(URLs), and representations (e.g., JSON, XML).
 ExpressJS and Routing: In ExpressJS, you define routes to handle
incoming requests for specific resources and HTTP methods. Each route
 specifies a callback function to process the request and send an appropriate
response.
 Middleware Integration: ExpressJS middleware can be used to handle
tasks such as request validation, authentication, and response formatting,
enhancing the functionality and security of RESTful APIs.
 Response Codes: RESTful APIs use standard HTTP status codes to indicate
the success or failure of a request. Common status codes include 200 (OK),
201 (Created), 400 (Bad Request), 404 (Not Found), and 500 (Internal
Server Error).

Let’s look at how we can perform CRUD operations:

GET: Retrieves data from a resource.
const getUsers = (req, res) => {
// Access query parameters
const { name, email } = req.query;

let filteredUsers = [...users];

// Filter by name if provided

if (name) {
filteredUsers = filteredUsers.filter(user =>
user.name.toLowerCase().includes(name.toLowerCase())
);
}

// Filter by email if provided

 if (email) {
filteredUsers = filteredUsers.filter(user =>
user.email.toLowerCase().includes(email.toLowerCase())
);
}

res.json(filteredUsers);
};

POST: Creates a new resource.

const createUser = (req, res) => {
const { name, email } = req.body;

if (!name || !email) {
return res.status(400).json({
error: 'Both name and email are required'
});
}

// Generate new ID (max existing ID + 1)

const newId = users.length > 0 ? Math.max(...users.map(u => u.id)) + 1 : 1;
const newUser = { id: newId, name, email };

users.push(newUser); // Add to the shared array

 res.status(201).json(newUser);
};

PUT: Updates an existing resource (full update)

const updateUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const { name, email } = req.body;

if (!name || !email) {
return res.status(400).json({
error: 'Both name and email are required for full update'
});
}

const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

users[userIndex] = { id, name, email };

res.json(users[userIndex]);
};
PATCH – used for partial update
const patchUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const { name, email } = req.body;

if (!name && !email) {

return res.status(400).json({
error: 'At least one field (name or email) is required for update'
});
}

const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

// Update only provided fields

const userToUpdate = users[userIndex];
if (name) userToUpdate.name = name;
if (email) userToUpdate.email = email;

res.json(userToUpdate);
};
DELETE: Deletes a resource.
const deleteUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

const [deletedUser] = users.splice(userIndex, 1);

res.json({ message: 'User deleted successfully', deletedUser });
};
HERE IS A FULL SAMPLE OF THE CODES
routes/users.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const usersController = require('../controllers/users');

router.get('/', usersController.getUsers);

router.post('/', usersController.createUser);

router.get('/:id', usersController.getUserById);
router.put('/:id', usersController.updateUser);

// PATCH (Partial update)

router.patch('/:id', usersController.patchUser);

router.delete('/:id', usersController.deleteUser);

module.exports = router;

server.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

const userRoutes = require('./routes/users');

app.use(express.json());

app.use('/api/users', userRoutes);

// Error handling middleware

app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
console.error(err.stack);
res.status(500).json({ error: 'Something went wrong!' });
});

const PORT = 3000;

app.listen(PORT, () => {
console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

controllers/users.js
let users = [
{ id: 1, name: 'John Doe', email: 'john@example.com' },
{ id: 2, name: 'Jane Smith', email: 'jane@example.com' }
];

// GET /api/users
const getUsers = (req, res) => {
// Access query parameters
const { name, email } = req.query;

let filteredUsers = [...users];

// Filter by name if provided

if (name) {
filteredUsers = filteredUsers.filter(user =>
user.name.toLowerCase().includes(name.toLowerCase())
 );
}

// Filter by email if provided

if (email) {
filteredUsers = filteredUsers.filter(user =>
user.email.toLowerCase().includes(email.toLowerCase())
);
}

res.json(filteredUsers);
};

// POST /api/users
const createUser = (req, res) => {
const { name, email } = req.body;

if (!name || !email) {
return res.status(400).json({
error: 'Both name and email are required'
});
}

// Generate new ID (max existing ID + 1)

 const newId = users.length > 0 ? Math.max(...users.map(u => u.id)) + 1 : 1;
const newUser = { id: newId, name, email };

users.push(newUser); // Add to the shared array

res.status(201).json(newUser);
};

// GET /api/users/:id
const getUserById = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const user = users.find(u => u.id === id);

if (!user) {
return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

res.json(user);
};

// PUT /api/users/:id (Full update)

const updateUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const { name, email } = req.body;
 if (!name || !email) {
return res.status(400).json({
error: 'Both name and email are required for full update'
});
}

const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

users[userIndex] = { id, name, email };

res.json(users[userIndex]);
};

// PATCH /api/users/:id (Partial update)

const patchUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const { name, email } = req.body;

if (!name && !email) {

return res.status(400).json({
error: 'At least one field (name or email) is required for update'
 });
}

const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
}

// Update only provided fields

const userToUpdate = users[userIndex];
if (name) userToUpdate.name = name;
if (email) userToUpdate.email = email;

res.json(userToUpdate);
};

// DELETE /api/users/:id
const deleteUser = (req, res) => {
const id = parseInt(req.params.id);
const userIndex = users.findIndex(u => u.id === id);

if (userIndex === -1) {

return res.status(404).json({ error: 'User not found' });
 }

const [deletedUser] = users.splice(userIndex, 1);

res.json({ message: 'User deleted successfully', deletedUser });
};

module.exports = {
getUsers,
createUser,
getUserById,
updateUser,
patchUser,
deleteUser
};