Expressjs Named Router & URL Generator

A lightweight express-js router wrapper with additional named router and URL generator.

If you're looking for Expressjs Named Router and URL Generator, here's your

Note: This is a wrapper - not a replacement

Features

• All features of express router (http://expressjs.com/4x/api.html#router)
• Naming router
• URL generation
• Router param matching conditional
• Nested group (replace to router mouting by using app.use('/path', router))
• Simple, easy to use, just need to change 2 lines of code to get this.
• Easy to switch back to express router (if you don't like)

Installation

npm install express-named-router-url-generator --save

Requirements

• Epxressjs 4.x

Usage

This is how you use express route (default)

var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
// var router = express.Router([options]); // with options

// router.get() or any methods that express router supports
router.get('/users/:id/:name', function(req, res, next) {
    res.send('user id is ' + req.params.id + ' and name is ' + req.params.name);
});

module.exports = router;

Just need to change 2 lines to use this module.

Naming Route (optional)

var express = require('express');
var router = require('express-named-router-url-generator')(express); // you need to change this line (1)
// var router = require('express-named-router-url-generator')(express[, options]); // with options

// router.get() or any methods that express router supports
router.get('/users/:id/:name', function(req, res, next) {
    res.send('user id is ' + req.params.id + ' and name is ' + req.params.name);
}
// this is optional argument
, { name: 'router.name' }
);

module.exports = router.expressRouter; // you need to change this line (2)

Route Matching with conditions (optional)

router.put('/users/:id/:name', function(req, res, next) {
    res.send('user id is ' + req.params.id + ' and name is ' + req.params.name);
}, {
    // optional naming
    name: 'router.name',
    // optional condition
    where: {
        id: router.NUMBER,
        name: router.ALPHA
    }
});

This module ships with some rules to use quickly.

proto.NUMBER = /\d+/;
proto.ALPHA = /[a-zA-Z]+/;
proto.ALPHA_NUMBER = /[a-zA-Z0-9]+/;
proto.ALPHA_NUMBER_DASH = /[a-zA-Z0-9_]+/;
proto.SLUG = /[a-zA-Z0-9\-]+/;
proto.SLUG_PLUS = /[a-zA-Z0-9_\-\+]+/;

Of course, you also can define your rules by using regex, array, or string

router.get('/:param1/:param2/:param3/:param4?', function(req, res, next) {
    res.send('hello word');
}, {
    name: 'route.name',
    where: {
        param1: /\d+/, // using regex
        param2: ['hello', 'world'], // match "hello" or "world"
        param3: 'fixed-string' // must equal to "fixed-string"
    }
});

URL Generation

Once you have defined your routes (and loaded the routes), to genrate URL, you can use router.urlFor method of router instance or urlFor helper provided by this module.

Both way are same and can use in any controllers.

router.urlFor

router.urlFor(name [, params [, query [, absolute]]]);

var link = router.urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'});
console.log(link);

// with query string
router.urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'}, 'a=b&c=d');
// or
router.urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'}, {a: 'b', c: 'd'});

urlFor helper

var urlFor = require('express-named-router-url-generator').urlFor;

var link = urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'});
console.log(link);

// with query string
urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'}, 'a=b&c=d');
// or
urlFor('route.name', {id: '123456', name: 'this-is-a-name'}, {a: 'b', c: 'd'});

By default, all generated urls are relative. If you want to generate absolute URL, you need to use domain options.

var express = require('express');
var router = require('express-named-router-url-generator')(express, { domain: 'http://yourdomain.com' });
...

// param and query may be null.
router.link('route.name', null, null, true);

Note: If you mount a router to a path with app.use('/path/', router); URL generator will not know that so it will generate URLs that does not include this path. To define multiple routes inside a path as prefix, this module provide new method router.group()

Nested Route Group

This is helpful method to group multiple routes to a path (a replacement for mouting router by app.use('/path/', router))

router.group('/group1', function() {
    router.get('/path1', function(req, res, next) {
        res.send('you are in "/group1/path1"');
    });
    router.get('/path2', function(req, res, next) {
        res.send('you are in "' + router.link('route2') + '"'); // /group1/path2
    }, {
        name: 'route2'
    });
    router.group('/group2', function() {
        router.get('/path1', function(req, res, next) {
            res.send('you are in "' + router.link('route3') + '"'); // /group1/group2/path1
        }, {
            name: 'route3'
        });
    });
});

Change logs

version 1.0.8 - 2016/01/05

• Fixed compile pattern
• Support node 0.12.x
• Added more pre-rules