06 Data Persistence.md

Data Persistence

By this stage you are familiar with how to use NodeJS and the Express package to build a web server that can listen for http requests on a specific port and, based on the route in the URL send data back to the browser. In this lab we will dive into how we can store data in a relational database and retrieve it in response to an http request.

We will be using the SQLite database which stores a database in a single binary file much like MS Access. The main benefit of this is that you don't need to install a DB on your server but for a production environment you will find it is not secure.

The lab is split into two sections:

1. In the first section you will be learning about the tools you can use to build and query the database.
2. In the second section you will learn how to interact with the database using the SQLite3 package.

1 Building SQLite Databases

To interact with an SQLite database file you will need to install software on your computer. If you are using the shell (for example working on Codeanywhere) you need to install the SQLite Shell Tools and this is covered in the first section below. If you are using a graphical environment (gui) such as MacOS, Ubuntu Desktop or Windows 10 you can install a graphical tool which makes manipulating the database much easier. You should be familiar with both approaches.

1.1 Using the Shell Tools

Start by installing the tools on your computer:

1. On MacOS, install the Brew Package Manager then $ brew install sqlite.
2. On Ubuntu (including CodeAnywhere) it should be installed using the standard package manager: 1. $ sudo apt-get update 2. $ sudo apt-get install sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev
3. It a bit of a pain to install on Windows 10 but there is a good YouTube video that covers the process.

If you use the terminal/command prompt to navigate to the exercises/13_website/bookshop/ directory you will find a prebuilt database called bookshop.db. To open a database you use the sqlite3 bookshop.db command. Note: if the file you specify does not exist, a new database will be created. Open the bookshop.db database.

Notice that the prompt changes to sqlite>, this means you are interacting with the sqlite3 program. There are a number of special commands that include standard SQL statements as well as special sqlite commands (these start with a period/dot and are sometimes called dotcommands. Try the following commands (note: the up arrow recalls previous commands):

sqlite> .tables
sqlite> .schema books
sqlite> SELECT title, isbn FROM books;
sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> SELECT title, isbn FROM books;
sqlite> .mode column
sqlite> SELECT title, isbn FROM books;
sqlite> .exit

1.1.1 Executing Complex SQL Commands

The sqlite shell works well for simple SQL statements but it is difficult to enter more complex ones. A better solution is to create a .sql file containing the commands you want to run and then importing it. There is a books.sql file in the same directory as the database. If you open this you will see an SQL INSERT statement that will add a new book to the database:

$ sqlite3 bookshop.db
sqlite> .read books.sql
sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> .mode column
sqlite> SELECT title, isbn FROM books;
sqlite> SELECT count(id) AS books FROM books;
sqlite> .exit

1.1.2 Test Your Understanding

1. Edit the books.sql file so it contains 3 INSERT statements to insert an additional 2 books into the database.
2. Run this SQL on your bookshop.db database to insert the two book records.
3. Check that there are now 14 books in the database.

1.2 Using a Graphical Tool

As you have seen it is possible to work with an SQLite database using the CLI however it is not simple and straightforward, especially when inserting complex records. In this section we will be learning how to use a graphical tool called DB Browser for SQLite which runs on MacOS, Linux and Windows. Note: since Codeanywhere does not suport a traditional X11 Windows GUI you won't be able to install it.

1. On MacOS and Windows 10 you can download the installer from the main website.
2. On Ubuntu Linux you need to add an additional repository and install from there: 1. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxgndu/sqlitebrowser-testing 2. sudo apt-get update 3. sudo apt-get install sqlitebrowser

Install and open the software then use the Open Database button in the toolbar to open the bookshop.db database.

1.2.1 Modifying the Schema

Our first task is to add an author field to the database. Make sure the Database Structure tab is selected then right-click on the table name and choose Modify Table.

Use the Add Field button to add the author field which should have a type of text.

Notice that it builds the correct SQL statement underneath. This is useful to learn how to use the SQL language. When you are done, click on the OK button.

1.2.2 Browing and Editing the Data

Now we have modified the database schema we need to complete the task by adding the authors for the books in the table. You can find the list of authors in the books.csv file. Note: you have added two more books to the database so you will need to search for the authors data for these.

Open the Browse Data tab. Notice that there are two panes of information.

1. The left pane displays the records and fields currently in the selected table. You will have three additional records at this stage).
2. The right pane is for editing the currently selected database cell. if you make changes to a cell you should use the Apply button to save them.

Using the data in the books.csv file, add the authors to each of your book records.

1.2.3 Test Your Understanding

1. Add two more fields to the database to store the publisher and the year the book was published. Make sure you choose the most appropriate data type for each.
2. Use the data in the books.csv file to insert the correct data. You will need to find this data for the three additional books you have added to the table.

2 Retrieving Data Using NodeJS and Express

Now you have built a database you need to learn how to retrieve its data and display it in the web browser. In this section we will be covering several scenarios:

1. Retrieving a small number of fields from multiple records. This might be all the records in the database or you might be filtering this based on a search term.
2. Retrieving all the fields from a single record based on its primary key.
3. Deleting a record based on its primary key.

In a later lab we will cover how to use html forms to update database records.

We will be using the nodejs sqlite3 package to connect to the database. Open the index.js script, notice that we import the module at the top of the script (line 10) and then use this to create a new database object db on line 12. The callback is used to either notify us that we are connected to the database or that an error ocurred whilst attempting this.

2.1 Retrieving Multiple Records

After installing the necessary packages start the server, you should see a message to confirm you are connected to the sqlite database. What is displayed in the browser when you access the root url /?

Study the index.js script carefully:

1. We define our sql query as a string on line 18 and store this in a constant which we log to the terminal (can you see where this is printed)?
2. We then use the all() function that is part of the database db object. This takes two parameters:
   1. The sql query we defined earlier on line 18.
   2. A callback function that runs after the query has completed (or an error has occurred).
3. The callback function has two parameters:
   1. The first parameter contains the error object (or NULL) if there is not error. This is a common pattern shared by all callback functions.
   2. The second parameter contains the data returned by the database. Since the all() function returns multiple records this data object will always be a JavaScript Array.
4. Next (starting on line 23) we use the for...of statement which iterates (loops) over arrays.
   1. One each iteration, a different object will be assigned to the book variable.
   2. The objects assigned to the book variable are the objects in the array.
   3. The object contains a property for each field returned by the sql query, in this case it contains both an id and a title property.
   4. The res (response) object has a write() function that sends text to the browser.
   5. At the end of the loop on line 26 we use the end() function to tell the browser we have finished sending data.

2.1.1 Test Your Understanding

1. Modify the script to display the record id before each title.
2. Modify the script to display the isbn numbers to the right of the title.
3. Modify the script to move the isbn number to below the title line but indented (the tab character is \t).

2.2 Implementing a Search Feature

Now we have a way to display all the records we will now implement a way for users to search the database. Restart the server and access the /books?q=JavaScript route. Notice we have added a querystring that includes our search. You will see that only books that include JavaScript in the title are included.

The logic here is that we want to access the /books resource but want to modify the results. The querystring is not part of the route but is used to pass additional information. Study the script carefully:

1. On line 31 we extract the value passed in the q key in the querystring and store it in the searchString variable. This is then logged to the terminal. Check this to make sure it is displayed.
2. On line 33 we use this variable to build the correct sql statement which is logged to the terminal. Can you see this in the terminal window?
3. The rest of the script is the same as the previous example.

2.2.1 Test Your Understanding

1. Try searching for javascript, how many results are returned? Use the String.toLowerCase() function to make the search case-insensitive.
2. If the querystring is missing you would expect all the records to be returned. Use an if...else statement to check to see if the querystring is present and select the appropriate sql statement.
3. Check for a second order querystring key. If it is present, modify the sql to order the results by the supplied value if this is a valid field. For example /books?order=title would order the results by their title. You should use the ORDER BY clause.
4. Check that your script can handle both querystring keys at the same time, for example /books?q=java&order=title.
5. Add a count key to tell the script how many records to return. You should use the LIMIT clause.

2.3 Displaying a Complete Record

In the previous two sections you have been working with lists of records in the form of an Array. Now we will learn about how to select and display a single record. Restart the server and access the /details/1 route. Study the script:

1. The route on line 45 has two segments:
   1. The string details.
   2. A segment called :id
2. On line 46 we extract the string passed in the second segment (in our example 1) and store this in the bookID variable that is logged to the terminal. Check this is the case.
3. On line 48 this value is used to build an SQL statement that uses the WHERE clause to match the value to a database record. This is then logged to the terminal.
4. We then use the get() function that is part of the database db object. This takes two parameters:
   1. The sql query we defined earlier on line 48.
   2. A callback function that runs after the query has completed (or an error has occurred).
5. The callback function has two parameters:
   1. The first parameter, as before, contains the error object (or NULL) if there is not error.
   2. The second parameter contains the data returned by the database. Unline the all() function we used earlier, the get() function returns only the first record found (even if there are more than one). In this case, the data object will be a JavaScript object (not an Array). The object will contain a key for each field selected.
6. The res.write() function is used to send data to the browser.
7. Finally the res.end() tells the browser there is no more data.

2.3.1 Test Your Understanding

1. Check the browser displays a different book if you change the second url segment, for example to /details/2.
2. Display all the fields for each book.
3. Display a suitable message if the record requested does not exist.

---

Data Persistence

Before you start this worksheet make sure you have the latest lab materials:

$ git stash
$ git pull origin master
$ git stash pop

You should refer to the presentation to support you as you work through the worksheet.

1 Filesystem

Since NodeJS can access the filesystem on the server, the simplest possible approach to store data is to encode it as a JSON string and save this to a text file (either with a .json or .txt extension). This uses the fs module which is installed by default but will still need importing into your project.

In this first, simple example of persisting data, every time we modify the array of items we convert the entire array to a json string and save it as a text file. Locate the 01_filesystem/todo.js script and run it as follows (notice the extra argument):

$ node todo cheese

1. Add three types of cheese.
2. exit the script.
3. Relaunch the script in the same manner and immediately use the list command.
   1. What do you see?
   2. Locate the data/cheese.json file and examine its contents.
4. Create a new fruit list and add three items of fruit.

Now open the 01_filesystem/index.js script and note:

1. We need to import the fs package to be able to work with the filesystem.
2. We define the name of the directory we want to store the data files in.
   1. We use fs.existsSync() to see if it already exists.
   2. If it does not exist we use fs.mkdirSync() to create it.
3. All the information entered when we ran the script is stored in the process.argv[] array.
   1. We look for the third index and use this as the name of our file. If this does not exist we default to data as the filename.
4. We look to see if there is already a file with the corresponding name and if it exists:
   1. We load the contents (a file buffer), convert to a UTF8 string and store it in the data variable.
   2. We parse the json string into a JS object and store this in the items[] array.
5. Every time we push() an item to the items[] array:
   1. We convert the items[] array into a json string.
   2. We save to the file, overwriting any existing content.

Whilst this is a quick and easy way to persist data there are some limitations:

1. We have to convert and save the entire object every time we change it. For a small file this is not an issue but it can become a big problem when we have lots of data.
2. The file can't be easily searched or sorted so we have to import it and convert to JS objects first.

1.1 Test Your Understanding

1. Implement a new option to remove items from the list. For example when the user enters the command remove bread, the appropriate item is removed from the list (hint: you have already solved this problem in a previous lab...).
   1. How can you persist these changes?
2. You now have some duplicate code in your script. Create a new function called save() to handle saving the data and call this where needed.
3. the fs.readdirSync() returns an array of all the files in the specified directory:
   1. Add a new command to the list app called getlists that lists all the files in the data directory.
   2. Display these without the .json file extension.
4. Add another command called load that allows the user to switch to a different stored list. For example to switch to the cheese.json list they would enter load cheese.
   1. The program should create a new empty list if the list does not exist.

2 SQLite Database

If you are familiar with relational databases you can opt to store your data in either sqlite or mysql. Here we will be using sqlite which creates a single file database (much like Microsoft Access). Use the terminal to navigate to the 03_sqlite/web/ directory, start the script and open the web page in your browser.

1. In the terminal you will see the message Connected to the "todo" SQlite database.
   1. If you look in the project directory you will see a new file todo.db, this is the database.
   2. The terminal window shows the SQL statement that creates our table, CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS items(list text, item text)
2. Use the form to add an apple to your list and click on the Add button:
   1. Notice that the data ?item=apple has been passed in the url, this is because the form method is set to GET.
   2. Notice that the item is listed under the form.
   3. The list is called main.
   4. If you look at the terminal output you will see the SQL statement used to insert a new record, INSERT INTO items(list, item) VALUES("main", "apple").
   5. Underneath this you will see the SQL statement that retrieves the data to display in the list, SELECT item FROM items WHERE list = "main".
   6. Add some more items to your list using the form.
3. Edit the URL in the web browser to be ?list=cheese&item=gouda then press enter:
   1. What is the name of the list?
   2. What items are listed?
   3. How have the SQL statements changed?
4. Use the form to add two more cheeses:
   1. What is happening to the URL?

Now lets examine the code. Open the index.js file:

1. We require the sqlite3 module and import it in verbose mode.
2. We create a new SQLite.Database() object, this takes 2 parameters:
   1. The name of the database.
   2. A callback that executes once the database has been created. It has a single parameter that indicates whether an error has ocurred.
   3. Any code needed to create tables in placed inside this callback.
3. In the base route / we retrieve data from the querystring in the URL:
   1. The item to be added.
   2. The list to add the item to, this might not be provided so we need to supply a default value.
4. The SQL statement is constructed as a string and passed to the db.run() function which takes this and a callback that is run once the SQL command has been executed.
5. We can retrieve the records that correspond to the selected list by creating an SQL statement in a string and passing it to the db.all() function which also takes a callback function with two parameters:
   1. The SQL statement.
   2. An array containing all the records returned.
6. next we pull together the data to insert into the template:
   1. Pass the name of the list
   2. The records turned into a string with HTML elements.

2.1 Connecting Directly to the Database

If you have the sqlite or sqlite3 tools installed on your computer you can connect to your database using the terminal. If you are using a cloud-based IDE or running Ubuntu locally you can use the following commands:

$ sudo apt-get update.
$ sudo apt-get install sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev.

If you are using a Mac, sqlite3 is already installed.

Use the terminal to navigate to the directory containing the todo.db file then open it using sqlite3 todo.db. You will see a sqlite> prompt. Try the following commands, can you work out what they do? You will find these useful when you attempt the tasks in Test Your Understanding.

sqlite> SELECT * FROM items;
sqlite> .mode column
sqlite> SELECT * FROM items;
sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> SELECT * FROM items;
sqlite> SELECT * FROM items WHERE list="main";
sqlite> SELECT item FROM items WHERE list="main";
sqlite> SELECT DISTINCT item FROM items WHERE list="main";
sqlite> SELECT COUNT(item) as qty FROM items WHERE list = "main" AND item = "apple";
sqlite> SELECT COUNT(item) as qty FROM items WHERE list = "main" AND item = "unknown";
sqlite> .exit

2.1 Test Your Understanding

1. Modify the HTML form to let the user choose which list they want to add the item to.
2. Modify the code so that an item is only added if it is not already in the specified list.
3. Modify the database table so it includes a quantity field (set the data type to NUMERIC), you will need to delete the database before doing this.
   1. Make sure the column defaults to a value of 1 by setting the data type to INTEGER DEFAULT 1.
4. Before adding an item to the database, check if the item already exists and if so, simply increment the quantity value.
5. Display the list as a 2 column HTML table with the second column displaying the quantity.
6. Create a third column with a delete link, this should remove the item from the database.

3 Using Promises

As you have probably noticed, working with databases requires the use of callbacks. In a complex website this can result in deeply nested callbacks (sometimes called 'callback hell'). If you completed the Async lab exercises you will recall that the solution is to use Promises. In summary:

1. A series of functions are defined that return promises.
2. These are then chained together:
   1. If a promise is resolved the next step in the chain is triggered.
   2. If a promise rejects, the program flow jumps to the catch() block at the end of the chain.

So can we replace the current use of nested callbacks with a promise chain? Well we could start by using the sqlite3-promise package which provides a set of replacement functions that all return Promise objects. The problem comes when we try to chain these together:

1. There is an optional step (inserting the new record), this uses a function that returns a promise however it is impossible to build this into the promise chain.
2. There is a complex step to assemble the data to insert into the page template, this will make the promise chain very messy.

The solution here is to replace the promise chain with an async function. This will allow us to express the steps in a simple series of steps and include the conditional. The starting point is to define the callback function as being async.

app.get('/', async(req, res) => {
  // code goes here.
})

We can then wrap our code in a standard try-catch block which will handle any errors in the script.

app.get('/', async(req, res) => {
  try {
    // code goes here
  } catch(err) {
    res.status(status.serverError)
    res.send(`ERROR: ${err.message}`)
  }
})

Open the 02_sqlite/web_async/index.js file to see the entire async function, notice that we use the await keyword to wait for an async promise to either resolve or reject. If you run this you will see that it contains identical functionality to the example in the 02_sqlite/web/ directory. place these two different index.js files side by side and compare. Which contains the cleanest code and is easiest to maintain.

3.1 Test Your Understanding

This task will require you to implement the same additional functionality as the previous tasks. As you complete these tasks reflect on whether promises and async functions make the task easier or harder.

1. Modify the HTML form to let the user choose which list they want to add the item to.
2. Modify the code so that an item is only added if it is not already in the specified list.
3. Modify the database table so it includes a quantity field (set the data type to NUMERIC), you will need to delete the database before doing this.
   1. Make sure the column defaults to a value of 1 by setting the data type to INTEGER DEFAULT 1.
4. Before adding an item to the database, check if the item already exists and if so, simply increment the quantity value.
5. Display the list as a 2 column HTML table with the second column displaying the quantity.
6. Create a third column with a delete link, this should remove the item from the database.
7. As you can see there is a function defined called runAsync() which takes the db.run() function (with its callback) and wraps it in a Promise.
   1. Write your own allAsync() function as a wrapper for the db.all() function and use it in place of the built-in db.allSync() function.