Rapid API Development ArangoDB Foxx

by
Michael Hackstein
@mchacki
Rapid API Development
ArangoDB Foxx

Michael Hackstein
@mchacki
• Member of ArangoDB
Core Team
• web front-end
• graph features
• Organizer of cologne.js
• Master’s Degree 
(spec. Databases and 
Information Systems)

Classical
Web Applications
Application Logic

Single Page
Web Applications
Application Logic

The Idea
• What if we could talk to
the database directly?
• It would only need an API
• What if we could deﬁne
this API in JavaScript?

Single Page
Web Applications
This doesn‘t mean its a Rails/… Killer

Client Server
(optional)
DB
with Foxx

What is ?
• a multi-model database (document store & graph database)
• is open source and free (Apache 2 license)
• offers convenient queries (via HTTP/REST and AQL)
• offers high performance and is memory efficient
• uses JavaScript throughout (V8 built into server)
• doubles as a web and application server (Foxx)
• offers many drivers for a wide range of languages
• is easy to use with web frontend and good documentation
• enjoys good professional as well as community support
• and recently added sharding in Version 2.0.

/
(~(
) ) /_/
( _-----_(@ @)
( /
/|/--| V
" " " "

• … a feature of ArangoDB since 1.4
• … an easy way to deﬁne REST APIs on top of
ArangoDB
• … a toolset for developing your single page
web application
• … not requiring any special code on the client
side – use it with Angular, Backbone,
Ember,…
Foxx is…

Why another solution?
• ArangoDB Foxx is streamlined for API
creation – not a Jack of all trades
• There‘s no communication overhead
between (serverside) application and
database
• It is designed for front end developers: Use
JavaScript, you already know that

Foxx = require("org/arangodb/foxx");

controller = new Foxx.Controller(appContext);

controller.get("/users", function(req, res) {
});

res.json({
hello: "world"
});
});

Parameterize
the routes
• You may want a route like `users/:name`…
• …and then access the value of `name` easily

!
!
res.json({
hello: "world"
});
});

!
!
controller.get("/users ", function(req, res) {
res.json({
hello: "world"
});
});
/:name

!
!
controller.get("/users ", function(req, res) {
res.json({
hello: "world"
});
});
req.params("name");
/:name

• In your Foxx.Controller you describe your
routes
• But your application can consist of multiple
Foxx.Controllers
• … and you also want to deliver assets and
ﬁles
Manifest.json

{
"name": "my_website",
"version": "1.2.1",
"description": "My Website with a blog and a shop",
"thumbnail": "images/website-logo.png",
!
"controllers": {
"/blog": "apps/blog.js",
"/shop": "apps/shop.js"
},
!
"assets": {
"application.js": {
"files": [
"vendor/jquery.js",
"assets/javascripts/*"
]
}
}
}

More
• Define a setup and teardown function to
create and delete collections
• Define lib to set a base path for your require
statements
• Define files to deliver binary data unaltered

Documentation
as a ﬁrst class citizen

Annotate your Routes
• For Documentation
• But it is also used for validation

controller.get("/users/:name", function(req, res) {
res.json({
hello: req.params("name");
});
});

res.json({
});
}).pathParam("name", {
description: "Name of the User",
dataType: "string"
});
;

res.json({
});
}).pathParam("name", {
description: "Name of the User",
dataType: "string"
});
/** What's my name?
*
* This route knows it.
*/

Automatically generate
Swagger Docs

Foxx.Repository and
Foxx.Model

Domain Models Persistence
Foxx.Model Foxx.Repository

Foxx.Model Foxx.Repository
• Representation of the data
• Convenience Methods
• Validation
• Save and Retrieve Data
• Simple Queries
• Deﬁne your own queries

Why this separation?
• It doesn‘t violate the SRP like ActiveRecord
• In a lot of cases you can use the standard
Repository or Model and don‘t need your own
• It‘s great for testing
• You can mock the collection and the model
prototype to test your Repository
• You don‘t need to mock anything to test
your model

Foxx.Model
• The constructor takes a hash of attributes
• Access the attributes with get, set and has
• The forDB will be used to write the data into
the database
• Use forClient to prepare the data for delivery

Foxx.Repository
• The constructor takes an arangodb-
collection and the prototype of the model
• save for example expects an instance of the
model
• ﬁrstExample ﬁnds a suitable dataset and
returns it as an instance of the model
• Other methods: remove, replace, update…

You need more?
• Use Foxx.Repository.extend and
Foxx.Model.extend to inherit from the
prototype
• Add your own methods
• Your extensions live in separate ﬁles

Foxx = require("org/arangodb/foxx");!
!
MyRepository = Foxx.Repository.extend({
});!
!
exports.Repository = MyRepository;

byName: function (name) {!
return this.byExample({!
name: name!
});!
}
Foxx = require("org/arangodb/foxx");!
!
MyRepository = Foxx.Repository.extend({
});!
!
exports.Repository = MyRepository;

Thanks
• Please try ArangoDB Foxx
• www.arangodb.org
• We to get feedback

Contact
• I am mchacki everywhere:
• mchacki@arangodb.org
• @mchacki on Twitter
• mchacki on Github

Thanks
• First Slide version by Lucas Dohmen
• Database icon designed by Romeo Barreto
from The Noun Project
• Logos from Node.js, Ruby on Rails, Django,
AngularJS, Backbone, Ember and Symfony
from the respective projects
• All other icons are from Font Awesome

Rapid API Development ArangoDB Foxx

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