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Implementing the "DELETE POST BY ID" Route | Developing REST API
Backend Development with Node.js and Express.js
course content

Course Content

Backend Development with Node.js and Express.js

Backend Development with Node.js and Express.js

1. Introduction
2. Console Applications
3. Express.js Framework
4. Developing REST API

bookImplementing the "DELETE POST BY ID" Route

We'll dive into the implementation of the "DELETE POST BY ID" route within the postsRoutes.js file. This route allows clients to delete a specific post by providing its unique ID.

Route Definition

The code below defines the "DELETE POST BY ID" route using router.delete():

This route handles HTTP DELETE requests with a parameterized :id in the route path. The :id parameter is used to identify the post to be deleted. We don't need extra middleware like dataValidation as we get all the necessary information from the URL parameter.

Extracting the Post ID

We extract the post ID from the request parameters using req.params.id:

This line captures the :id value from the URL, allowing us to work with it in the subsequent code.

Delete the Post

Here's how we delete the post:

  • We begin by reading the existing data from the JSON file using the asynchronous readData function, as explained earlier.
  • We find the index of the post to delete in the data array by comparing post IDs.
  • If the post is not found (i.e., postIndex === -1), we return a 404 (Not Found) response with an error message.
  • Using the splice method, we remove the post data from the data array. The postIndex variable determines the position of the post to delete.
  • The updated data array, with the post removed, is then written back to the JSON file to save the changes made during the deletion.

Sending a Response

A JSON response with a status code of 200 (OK) is sent to the client, indicating a successful deletion. The response includes a message confirming that the post was deleted successfully:

Error Handling

We wrap the route code in a try-catch block to handle potential errors during data retrieval or request processing. Any errors that occur are logged to the console for debugging purposes:

Complete code of the postsRoutes.js file at this step

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Section 4. Chapter 9
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