In this chapter, we'll take a closer look at the project's structure. Maintaining a well-organized structure becomes crucial as we build the entire application. Below, we'll outline the key directories and files we'll encounter in our project:

Project Initial Files

You can access the initial project files and folders on Github If you're new to GitHub, follow the simple two-step process illustrated below to download the project.

Project Structure Overview

Let's explore the purpose of each directory and file. The image below provides a visual representation of the project's structure:

Now, let's delve into the purpose of each directory and file:

1. index.js: This serves as the application's main entry point. Within this file, we set up the Express server, configure middleware, define routes, and initiate the server;

   • Initialization of the Express application;
   • Configuration of middleware, such as express.json(), for JSON request parsing;
   • Route definition and error-handling middleware;
   • Starting the Express server on a specified port (e.g., 3000).

2. routes/: This directory contains route definitions for various API endpoints. Organizing routes into separate modules helps keep the codebase clean;

   • Creating distinct route files for different functionalities (e.g., user management, tweets, posts, authentication);
   • Organization and modularization of route handling code.

3. routes/postsRoutes.js: Specifically handling routes related to posts (tweets) within the application;

   • Definition of routes for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting posts (tweets);
   • Management of interactions with the posts.json data file.

4. middlewares/: Middleware functions stored in this directory are essential for various tasks like validation, authentication, and authorization. They promote code reusability;

   • Segregation of middleware functions into individual modules;
   • Use of middleware for tasks such as data validation, user authentication, and error handling.

5. middlewares/validateData.js: This middleware function focuses on data validation within incoming requests. It ensures that the submitted data meets the required criteria;

   • Examination of incoming data for correctness before processing;
   • Appropriate error responses in cases of invalid or missing data.

6. database/: This directory houses the data storage for the application;

7. database/posts.json: In this file, we store our data - in our case, posts - in JSON format;

8. node_modules/: Automatically generated when we run npm i express, this directory contains all the external libraries and modules utilized in the project;

9. package.json and package-lock.json: These files list all the packages upon which the project depends.