Internet Programming Assignment #8 Solution

1 Description

 

The objective of this assignment is to provide an introduction to web-development with Node.js. Node.js is basically a webserver, written in JavaScript. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model. So far, in this course we have used JavaScript for client-side scripting. For this assignment, we will use JavaScript for server-side scripting. Essentially, instead of writing the server code in PHP or Python, we will develop a basic server using JavaScript.

 

2 Preparation and Provided Files

 

The first step will be to get Node.js running on CSE lab machines. Please follow the following instructions carefully:

 

1.   Log into a CSE lab machine.

2.   The CSE lab machines run version 6.12.0 of Node.js (as of 12/01/2017). The current stable version is 8.9.1. The version of Node.js on the CSE lab machines is sufficient for this introductory assignment.

3.   Open the terminal and type the following command to add the Node.js module to your path:

module add soft/nodejs

 

4.   The next step is to check the availability of Node.js. Type the following command to check the version of Node.js on the machine:

node -v

 

5.   This will display the current installed version

 

The second step is to create a Node.js project for this assignment. Please follow the following instructions carefully:

 

1.   Open the terminal on a CSE lab machine.

2.   Create a directory named <x500id_hw08 by typing the following command:

mkdir yourx500id_hw08

 

3.   Go inside the directory by typing the following command:

cd  yourx500id_hw08

 

4.   Having a file named package.json in Node.js project makes it easy to manage module dependencies and makes the build process easier. To create package.json file, type the following command:

npm init

5.   Executing step 4 above will result in a prompt for you to enter information. Use the following guideline to enter the information (The things that you need to enter are in bold. The fields with the text <Leave blank should be left blank.):

 

name: (yourx500id_hw08) yourx500id_hw08

 

version: (1.0.0) <Leave blank

 

description: Assignment 8

 

entry point: (index.js) <Leave blank (We will provide an index.js file for your use)

 

test command: <Leave blank git repository: <Leave blank keywords: <Leave blank author: yourx500id

license: (ISC) <Leave blank

 

6.   Next,   copy   all   the   that   are   provided   for   this   assignment   to   the   directory:

yourx500id_hw08

 

7.   Listing (via the command: ls –al) all the available files in the directory should display the following:

 

-rwxrwxrwx 1 yourx500id CSEL-student 1076 Dec 1 10:00 404.html

 

-rwxrwxrwx 1 yourx500id CSEL-student 1157 Dec 1 10:00 405.html

 

-rwxrwxrwx 1 yourx500id CSEL-student 1591 Dec 1 10:00 course.json

 

-rwxrwxrwx 1 yourx500id CSEL-student 6241 Dec 1 10:01 index.js

 

-rwxrwxrwx 1 yourx500id CSEL-student 229 Dec 1 09:40 package.json

 

8.   The project setup is now complete and you are ready to start the server. To start the server, type the following command:

 

node index.js

Executing step 8 above  starts the server and binds it to port 9000.

 

Now,  using  the  browser  running  on  the  same  machine  as  your  node.js  server,     open:

localhost:9000

 

The following page should be displayed:

 

The following files are provided for this assignment:

 

1.   index.js: This file contains the partially complete code for the server.

2.   404.html: This file should be sent to client when the requested file is not found.

3.   405.html: This file should be sent to client when the requested method is supported.

4.   course.json: This file contains the course list in JSON format.

 

 

A description of the functionality that you need to add for this assignment is on the next page. Note, the functionality you need to add is highlighted in  red font.

3 Functionality

 

When the server starts, it listens for incoming connections on port 9000. This server is designed to handle only GET and POST requests.

 

GET requests:

 

1.   Requests for two different pages can be handled by this server: the homepage, and the

addCourse.html page.

2.   GET request for the homepage: The code for this has already been provided to you in index.js file. The function getHomePage reads the course.json file and constructs the HTML page which is returned to the client requesting this page. You do not need to add any code for this.

3.   GET request for the addCourse.html page:

a.   You need to develop your own  addCourse.html page. This will be very similar to the other forms that you have developed for other assignments in this course. A screenshot for this page has been provided in the screenshots section. The form contained in this page should send the posted form data to the server by using: action="/postCourse"

 

b.   You need to complete the getAddCoursePage function in index.js file to return your addCourse.html page to the client. Return the appropriate status code (200).

 

4.   GET request for any page other than homepage and addCourse.html: If the client requests for any page other than the homepage and the addCourse.html page, the server should return the 404.html page provided to you. For this, complete the get404 function in index.js file. Return the appropriate status code (404).

 

POST requests:

 

5.   The server should process the form data posted by client. The form present in addCourse.html should allow the user to enter the contents of a new course and update the course offering.

6.   Details for few courses are pre-populated in course.json file. Your job is to add the capability to add a  the new course to this file and redirect the user to the homepage after successful addition of the new course.

7.   For this, you need to complete the  addCourseFunction function present in index.js file.

This function should read the form data, add the new information to course.json file, and redirect the user to homepage. The code for redirection is 302. Ensure that the newly added data does not change the format of the course.json file.

 

Requests other than GET/POST:

 

8.   For such requests, server should return the 405.html file provided to you. Complete the

get405 function in index.js file. Return the appropriate status code (405).

4 Submission Instructions

 

1.   Include the following two files in one zipped folder for your submission:

a.   index.js

b.   addCourse.html

2.   You do not need to provide any extra files.

3.   The name of the zipped folder should be yourx500id_nodejs.

PLEASE ENSURE TO TEST YOUR CODE ON CSE LAB MACHINES.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Evaluation

 

Your submission will be graded out of 50 points on the following items:

 

1.   addCourse.html is present and can send form data to the server (25 points).

2.   getAddCoursePage function returns the addCourse.html to the client with proper response code (5 points).

3.   get404 function returns the 404.html to the client with proper response code (5 points).

4.   get405 function returns the 405.html to the client with proper response code (5 points).

5.   addCourseFunction function adds the content of the new course to course.json file (5 points).

6.   The user is redirected to the home page after successful addition of a new course (5 points)