Northcoders News API

What is NC News API?

NC News API allows the creation of SQL-based databases and permits the user to interact with databases through different endpoints.

To see a live example of this API, please follow this link: NC News. You can use the endpoints listed in this file to see what the API returns when calling different endpoints.

Setup

First off, clone the repository to your local machine. You can find information on how to do this here: Cloning a repository

Please note that if you plan to develop this API further and use it in production, you might need your own Github repository

Once you have cloned the repository, open it with your preferred software (example: VSCode) and run the following commands in the console:

• npm install // Installs all npm dependencies
• npm setup-dbs // Drops and set up databases as specified in the setup.psql file
• npm seed // Seeds database with the data present in db/data folders

If you would like to run any tests during your development, you can use npm test. This will run all JEST tests present in the test folder

Once you have completed the above, you will need to set up your test and development databases:

1. On the root project folder, create two .env files: ".env.development" and ".env.test"
2. On each one of these files, add the following line: "PGDATABASE=yourDatabaseName"

Please ensure to name your databases appropriately depending on their intended use.

Once this is done, please have a look at the setup.sql file to drop and create your databases as needed.

Please note you will need both Node.js v21.6.1 and PostgreSQL 14.11 (or newer) to run this project.

Files

endpoints.json

This file contains information about all endpoints present on the database. It MUST be updated when adding a new endpoint with all the necessary information for the user. Please see the file for examples on how to write new endpoints information.

Endpoints

/api

• GET: retrieves a list of the current endpoints present on the database.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Output: Returns an object with an "endpoints" key containing all (object) endpoints from the endpoints.json file.

/api/topics

• GET: retrieves a list of the current topics present on the database.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Queries: topic, sort_by, order
  • Output: Returns an object with a "topic" key containing an array containing all (object) topics from the database.
• POST: posts a topic and retrieves the posted topic.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Body: { slug: "name", description: "text"}
  • Output: Returns an object with a "topic" key containing the posted topic object.

/api/articles

• GET: retrieves the list of articles present in the database.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Queries:: "author", "topic", "sort_by", "order", "p", "limit"
  • Output: Returns an object with an "articles" key containing an array with all (object) articles from the database.
• POST: posts an article and retrieves the posted article.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Body: { author: "name", title: "title", body: "text", topic: "topic" }
  • Output: Returns an object with an "article" key containing the posted article object.
• DELETE: deletes the article with the ID provided and all comments on that article. Returns nothing.
  • Parameters: article_id (number)
  • Output: N/A

/api/articles/:article_id

• GET: retrieves an article with the requested ID.
  • Parameters: article_id (number)
  • Output: Returns an object with an "article" key containing an (object) article from the database.
• POST: Updates and article's votes key and responds with the updated article.
  • Parameters: article_id (number)
  • Body: {inc_votes: "number"}
  • Output: Returns an object with an "article" key containing an updated (object) article from the database.

/api/articles/:article_id/comments

• GET: retrieves a list of comments from the requested article ID.
  • Parameters: article_id (number)
  • Queries:: "p", "limit"
  • Output: Returns an object with a "comments" key containing an array of comments from the database.
• POST: posts a comment to the requested article ID and retrieves the posted comment.
  • Parameters: article_id (number)
  • Body: {username: "string", body: "string"}
  • Output: Returns an object with a "comment" key containing an array with the posted comment.

/api/comments/:comment_id

• DELETE: deletes the comment with the ID provided. Returns nothing.
  • Parameters: comment_id (number)
  • Output: N/A
• PATCH: increase or decrease the votes key on the comment with the ID provided. Returns the updated comment.
  • Parameters: comment_id (number)
  • Body: { inc_votes : 1 }
  • Output: Returns an object with a "comment" key containing an updated (object) comment from the database.

/api/users

• GET: retrieves the list of users present in the database.
  • Parameters: N/A
  • Output: Returns an object with an "users" key containing an array with all (object) users from the database.

/api/users/:username

• GET: retrieves a user from the database.
  • Parameters: username
  • Output: Returns an object with an "user" key containing an (object) user from the database.