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Learning Node.js for Mobile Application Development

Chapter 1. Setting Up Your Workspace

The overarching goal of this book is to give you the tools and know-how needed to efficiently construct modern, cross-platform solutions for your users. In this chapter, we will focus on the tools themselves, showing you how to bootstrap your development environment to tackle the challenges that we have in store for you in the remainder of the book. We will also give you a brief introduction to each tool in order to give you an idea about why they fit into your toolchain. If any such detail seems unclear at this point, do not worry. We will delve into everything you need to know about each tool in the relevant parts of the book.

After reading this chapter, you will know how to install, configure, and use the fundamental software components that we will use throughout this book. You will also have a good understanding of why these tools are appropriate for the development of modern apps.

Installing Node.js on different systems

Node.js is delivered as a set of JavaScript libraries, executing on a C/C++ runtime built around the Google V8 JavaScript Engine. The two come bundled together for most major operating systems (OS), and we will look at the specifics of installing it in the following sections.

Note

Google V8 JavaScript Engine is the same JavaScript engine that is used in the Chrome browser, which is built for speed and efficiency.

Windows

For Windows, there is a dedicated MSI wizard to install Node.js, which can be downloaded from the project's official website. To do so, go to the main page, navigate to Downloads, and then select Windows Installer. After it has downloaded, run the MSI wizard, follow the steps to select the installation options, and conclude the install. Keep in mind that you will need to restart your system in order to make the changes effective.

Linux

Most major Linux distributions provide convenient installs of Node.js through their own package management systems. However, it is important to keep in mind that for many of them, Node Package Manager (NPM) will not come bundled with the main Node.js package. Rather, it is provided as a separate package. We will show how to install both in the following section.

Ubuntu/Debian

Open a terminal and issue sudo apt-get update to make sure that you have the latest package listings. After this, issue apt-get install nodejsnpm in order to install both Node.js and NPM in one swoop.

Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

On Fedora 18 or later, open a terminal and issue sudo yum install nodejsnpm. The system will do the full setup for you.

If you are running RHEL or CentOS, you need to enable the optional EPEL repository. This can be done in conjunction with the install process, so that you do not need to do it again while upgrading the repository, by issuing the sudo yum install nodejsnpm --enablerepo=epel command.

Verifying your installation

Now that we have finished the install, let's do a sanity check and make sure that everything works as expected. To do so, we can use the Node.js shell, which is an interactive runtime environment for the execution of JavaScript code. To open it, first open a terminal, and then issue the following to it:

node

This will start the interpreter, which will appear as a shell, with the input line starting with the > sign. Once you are in it, type the following:

console.log("Hello world!);

Then press Enter. The Hello world! phrase should appear on the next line. Congratulations, your system is now set up for the running of Node.js!

Mac OS X

For OS X, you can find a ready-to-install PKG file by going to www.nodejs.org, navigating to Downloads, and selecting the Mac OS X Installer option. Otherwise, you can click on Install, and your package file will automatically be downloaded:

Once you have downloaded the file, run it and follow the instructions on the screen. It is recommended that you keep all the default settings offered unless there are compelling reasons for you to change something with regard to your specific machine.

Verifying your installation

After the install finishes, open a terminal and start the Node.js shell by issuing the following command:

node

This will start the interactive node shell, where you can execute JavaScript code. To make sure that everything works, try issuing the following command to the interpreter:

console.log("hello world!");

After pressing the Enter key, the hello world! phrase will appear on your screen. Congratulations, Node.js is all set up and good to go!

Setting up the Ionic framework and Cordova for Windows

Once you have installed Node.js, install Ionic on your Windows machine. The rest should be straightforward.

Open the command prompt and check whether you have npm installed by running the following command:

npm

Once you have ensured that you have successfully installed npm, you can go ahead and run the following command:

npm install -g ionic

This step should result in an output, which shows that you have successfully installed Ionic.

In order to install Cordova, you can also use npm and run the following command:

npm install -g cordova

Once you receive a successful output, you can go ahead and start setting up the platform dependencies.

Note

An experimental setup for Windows:

In Windows, you will have the opportunity to set up a Vagrant package, which is a one-stop-shop for the installation of Ionic on your Windows machine. This is accessible at https://github.com/driftyco/ionic- box.

Setting up the platform dependencies

To set up the platform dependencies, you need to install Java, which is explained in the following section.

Installing Java

If you do not have Java installed or if your version is below 6.0, install the Java JDK by heading over to http://j.mp/javadevkit-download, a customized and shortened link, and choosing the version that applies to you.

The main recommendation for these projects is that you install a version of JDK 6.0 or higher.

Select the JDK for your OS. On an Intel-based Mac, you can use the following useful table to check whether your Mac is a 32- or 64-bit OS.

You can check for Processor Name by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen, followed by About my Mac:

Processor Name	32- or 64-bit
Intel Core Solo	32 bit
Intel Core Duo	32 bit
Intel Core 2 Duo	64 bit
Intel Quad-Core Xeon	64 bit
Dual-Core Intel Xeon	64 bit
Quad-Core Intel Xeon	64 bit
Core i3	64 bit
Core i5	64 bit
Core i7	64 bit

In the case of Windows, if you have a machine that was purchased in the last few years, you should go for the x64 (64-bit) version.

MongoDB

In order to store data related to your app and users, your server will need a database—a piece of software that is dedicated solely to data storage and retrieval.

Databases come in many variants. In this book, our focus is NoSQL databases, which are so named because they don't use the traditional table-oriented SQL data access architecture that is used by the more well-known relational databases, such as Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. NoSQL databases are very novel in their design and features and excellent for the tackling of the challenges that one may face in modern app development.

The NoSQL database that we will use throughout this book is MongoDB (it is often abbreviated as MDB or simply Mongo). MongoDB is a document-oriented database that which stores data in documents, which are data structures that are almost identical to the standard JSON format.

Let's have a look at how to install and get MongoDB running. If you have used a more traditional DB system, you may be surprised at how easy it is.

Installation of MongoDB on different Operating System

MongoDB comes in the form of a package for most major OS and versions.

Windows

MongoDB ships with a complete MSI for installation on Windows systems. To download it, go to the project's official website, www.mongodb.org, navigate to Downloads, and select the Windows tab. You will be offered the following three choices to download:

Windows 64-bit R2+: Use this if you are running Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 64-bit, or a newer version of Windows
Windows 32-bit: Use this if you have a 32-bit Windows installation that is newer than Windows Vista
Windows 64-bit legacy: Use this if you are using Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008.

Note

MongoDB does not run on Windows XP at all.

After you have downloaded the MSI, run it with administrator privileges in order to perform the installation. The installation wizard will give you a default location where MongoDB will be installed—C:/mongodb/. You can change this if you desire, but it is recommended that you keep it as we will assume that this is the location where MongoDB resides for the remainder of the book.

After the installation has finished, the next step is to configure a data directory where MongoDB can store the data that we will feed it with. The default location for this directory is /data/db. We will need to make sure that this directory exists and is writeable before we start our MongoDB instance for the first time. So, fire up the command prompt with administrator privileges and issue the md/data/dbcommand. After doing so, we are good to start the database server itself. To do so, stay in the command prompt and issue the following command:

C:/mongodb/bin/mongodb.exe

You should receive a confirmation that MongoDB is now running and listening for connections. All is set!

Linux

On Linux, you will find MongoDB ready-packaged on most major distributions. However, we strongly recommend that you use the project's own repositories in order to make sure that you always have access to the most current security and stability updates.

Ubuntu

First off, you will need to enable the official MongoDB repository. To do so, open a terminal and first import the project's public GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) key as follows:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserverhkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv7F0CEB10

Once this is done, create a listing for the repository itself by issuing the following command:

echo 'deb http://downloads-distro.mongodb.org/repo/ubuntu-upstart dist10gen' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb.list

Your repository listing is now active. Let's make Advanced Package Tool (APT) aware of it in order to install MongoDB, as follows:

sudo apt-get update

Finally, issue the following command to install MongoDB:

sudo apt-get install mongodb-org

Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

Our first order of business here is to enable the official MongoDB repository. To do so, first make sure that you have the nano text editor installed by opening a terminal and issuing the following command:

sudo yum install nano

After this is done, add the repository by issuing the following command:

sudonano /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb.repo

Nano will open a new, blank text file. Copy and paste the following into the file:

[mongodb]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=http://downloads-distro.mongodb.org/repo/redhat/os/x86_64/
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+O, followed by the Enter key. This is followed by Ctrl+X.

Finally, carry out the installation by issuing the following command:

sudo yum install mongodb-org

Starting MongoDB

After the installation of MongoDB, you will need to start MongoDB as a service in order to get it running. To do so (on all the distros that were previously mentioned), open a terminal and run the following command:

sudo service mongodb start

It is important that if you have SELinux running, you must make sure that it allows MongoDB to access its default port. To do so, issue the following before you issue the preceding command:

sudosemanage port -a -t mongod_port_t -p tcp 27017

Mac OS X

The easiest way to both install and stay up to date with MongoDB on OS X is by using the Homebrew package manager. Even if we just use it to install MongoDB here, you will most likely find it useful later for the installation of other software packages that you may need for your own projects after you finish this book.

Installing Homebrew is simple; just open a terminal and issue the following command:

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

When this finishes, make sure that the Homebrew package database is up to date, as follows:

brew update

Finally, install MongoDB by simply issuing the following command:

brew install mongodb

When the install has finished, we will need to define a data directory in order to give a location for MongoDB to store its data. By default, this directory will be at /data/db. So, unless you specify something else, you will need to make sure that this directory exists and is both writeable and readable by the user running your MongoDB instance. For example, if the user running MongoDB on your system is john, you will have to issue the following commands:

sudomkdir -p /data/db
sudochmod 0755 /data/dbsudochownmongod:mongod /data/db

Now that this is done, it is time to start up MongoDB. To do so, make sure that you are logged in as john, open a terminal, and simply issue the following command:

mongodb

That's it! You should receive a notification that MongoDB has started and is listening for a connection. Your instance is ready to go!

Connecting to MongoDB

In order to read and write from the MongoDB instance, we will first need to connect to it. In fact, MongoDB acts as a server in its own right. It exposes its functionality via a network port on which clients can then connect either through the local machine, or even over the Internet.

Note

Since this functionality is disabled by default due to it being a shoddy security practice, it will require a special configuration of the operating system that MongoDB is running on. We will not discuss this functionality as it falls outside the scope of this book, but we will refer to the MongoDB documentation for several helpful examples of how to achieve it for a variety of OS.

To connect to a MongoDB instance, you will need at least the following information:

The IP address of the instance: If you are accessing an instance on your local machine, this will be local host by default.
The port on which MongoDB is listening: Unless you configure a custom value, this will always default to port 27017.
The database that you are trying to connect to: Don't confuse this with the MongoDB instance itself. Each MongoDB instance can contain any number of databases, with each belonging to different users. The instance simply manages access to them.

Alternatively, you may also need the following:

A username and its associated password to grant you access to the instance and any databases therein that you are authorized to interact with.

A very easy way to try out this connectivity yourself and verify that MongoDB works as expected is by using the MongoDB shell, a tool that comes installed with MongoDB itself using the methods that we have described previously. How you access the shell varies depending on your OS. I will show each method in the following section and then give an example of how to use the shell itself since this will be the same on all platforms.

Windows

First, make sure that MongoDB is running by following the process that was outlined previously. After this, issue the following command in your command prompt:

C:\mongodb\bin\mongo.exe

Linux and OS X

First, make sure that MongoDB is running. Then, open a terminal and issue the following command:

mongo

Now that our shell is running, let's verify that everything works by creating a database and adding some data to it.

To create a database, issue the following command to the shell:

use Fruits

This will create a database named Fruits, to which we can immediately start adding data. (What, you were expecting more overhead? Not in MongoDB!)

We will not add a collection to our database. A collection is simply a basket of data entries, which are grouped based on some logical characteristic. For example, let's suppose that we want a collection of chewy fruits. We then issue the following command:

db.createCollection("Chewy")

The shell should respond with the { "ok" : 1 } JSON response that tells us that everything went well. Now, let's add some chewy fruits to our collection, as follows:

db.Chewy.insert({"name" : "pear"});
db.Chewy.insert({"name" : "apple"});

Even if the naming makes it intuitively clear what is going on in the preceding code, don't worry if you do not understand all the details yet. We will get to this in due course.

Finally, let's make MongoDB show us the chewy fruits that we stored. Issue the following command:

db.Chewy.find();

The shell will respond with something like the following:

{ "_id" : ObjectId("54eb3e6043adbad374577df9"), "name" : "apple" }
{ "_id" : ObjectId("54eb4036cdc928dc6a32f686"), "name" : "pear" }

The _id numbers will be different on your system, but you will find that the names are the same. All the fruits are where we want them to be.

Congratulations, you now have a fully working MongoDB setup ready for action!

Description

Node.js is a massively popular JavaScript library that lets you use JavaScript to easily program scalable network applications and web services. People approaching Node.js for the first time are often attracted by its efficiency, scalability, and the fact that it's based on JavaScript, the language of the Web, which means that developers can use the same language to write backend code. Also, it’s increasingly being seen as a modern replacement for PHP in web development, which relies on fast-paced data exchange. The growing community and the large amount of available modules makes Node.js one of the most attractive development environments. This book takes a step-wise and incremental approach toward developing cross-platform mobile technologies using existing web technologies. This will allow you to truly understand and become proficient in developing cross-platform mobile applications with Node.js, Ionic Framework, and MongoDB. The book starts off by introducing all the necessary requirements and knowledge to build a mobile application with a companion web service. It covers the ability to create an API from scratch and implement a comprehensive user database that will give you the opportunity to offer a mobile application with a personalized experience. Midway through the book, you will learn the basic processes to create a successful mobile application. You will also gain higher-level knowledge, allowing you to develop a functional and secure mobile application to ensure a seamless user experience for end users. Finally, the book ends with more advanced projects, which will bring together all the knowledge and expertise developed in the previous chapters to create a practical and functional mobile-application that has useful real-world features.

What you will learn

Develop an API from scratch

Set up a MongoDB Database as part of your mobile application backend

Deploy a crossplatform mobile application from the command line

Incorporate features within your mobile application that use native phone features such as a gyroscope, GPS, and accelerometer

Implement mobile applications that use webenabled APIs

Build a mobile application with realtime chat messaging features

Develop a secure mobile application that is capable of functioning with realtime data

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Alexander Frenkel Dec 08, 2015

I have been Node.js developer since v0.9 and seen it have evolved over time is fascinating. There is always something new to learn.Learning Node.js for Mobile Application Development is one of the most complete book you can find out there to get started with developing hybrid applications. This book introduces you to the ionic framework and it's use of angular 1.x. It guides you from the beginning of setting up environment then building UI with Ionic, angular , securing and building back-end API and using native phone features.Learning Node.js for Mobile Application Development is really easy to understand and follow (as most Packt books are). This book is a fantastic resource for a quick start in developing both iOS and Android Mobile applications.

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Helmuth Saatkamp Dec 04, 2015

Anyone looking for a start in the android world using modern web technology should give this book a try.

Giuseppe Rodriguez Dec 04, 2015

Learning Node.js for Mobile Appication Development is by far the most complete book you can find out there to get started with developing hybrid apps.I've been a Node.js developer since v0.10 and seeing JavaScript take over the world little by little is by far a great feeling. This book introduces you to the ionic framework and it's use of angular 1.x to start developing mobile apps, all with the notion that you know nothing about ionic or angular. I highly recommend this book for those JavaScript developers looking into stepping up their game in the mobile app development world.

Alistair Meney Dec 07, 2015

Learning Node.js for Mobile Appication Development is a fantastic resource for a quick start in developing both iOS and Android Mobile apps. Realtime with Web sockets, Ionic framework, Cordova, all covered with excellent examples available to download. Highly recommended.

Young Hwan Lee Sep 05, 2017

best beginner node book I have ever read.

Learning Node.js for Mobile Application Development: Make use of Node.js to learn the development of a simple yet scalable cross-platform mobile application

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