express-routeless-mvc
v1.0.1
Published
Express middleware for dynamic, file-based routing without explicit route definitions, supporting flexible MVC structures.
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express-routeless-mvc
⚠️ Experimental - Under Development ⚠️
Express middleware for dynamic, file-based routing without explicit route definitions, supporting flexible MVC structures. Controller and view names must currently match.
Installation
npm install express-routeless-mvcUsage
const express = require('express');
const setupRoutelessMVC = require('express-routeless-mvc');
const path = require('path');
const app = express();
// Register compilers if needed (e.g., CoffeeScript, TypeScript)
// Setup your static files ('public', favicon, etc.)
// Setup other middleware (logger, bodyParser, etc.)
// Example where it is set as the defaults
setupRoutelessMVC(app, {
viewsDir: path.join(__dirname, 'views'), // Default: 'views'
controllersDir: path.join(__dirname, 'controllers'), // Default: 'controllers'
viewEngine: 'html', // Default: 'html'
viewExtensions: ['.html'], // Default: ['.html']
controllerExtensions: ['.js'], // Default: ['.js']
caseSensitive: false, // Default: false
});
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Server running on port 3000');
});Features
- Dynamic Routing: Automatically maps routes based on the
viewsdirectory structure. - Flexible MVC: Organize controllers and views without manual route definitions.
Options
viewsDir(String): Directory for view templates. Default:'views'.controllersDir(String): Directory for controllers. Default:'controllers'.viewEngine(String): Template engine to use. Default:'html'.viewExtensions(Array): Supported view file extensions. Default:['.html'].controllerExtensions(Array): Supported controller file extensions. Default:['.js'].caseSensitive(boolean): Sets the file name case sensitivity. Default:'false'.
Important
Automatic Routing: This package automatically routes all files in the
viewsDirto corresponding routes. If you need to restrict access to certain routes (e.g., require authentication), you must implement your own authorization solution.Authorization: It is standard practice to handle authentication and authorization separately, typically via middleware or in your controllers. You can use packages like Passport.js or add custom authorization logic inside your controllers, such as:
// controllers/admin.js module.exports = (req, res, next) => { if (!req.user) return res.status(401).send('Unauthorized'); if (req.user.role !== 'admin') return res.status(403).send('Forbidden'); return { title: 'Admin Dashboard', user: req.user }; };Naming Convention: Controller and view filenames must match to associate them with the same route.
- Example: For route
/about, useviews/about.htmlandcontrollers/about.js.
- Example: For route
Controllers
Optional functions that provide data to views.
Example: controllers/index.js
module.exports = (req, res, next) => ({
title: 'Home Page',
message: 'Welcome to our website!'
});Views
Place templates in the viewsDir. Filename determines the route.
Example: views/index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Home Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to our website!</h1>
</body>
</html>Error Handling
Add middleware to handle 404 and other errors.
// 404 Handler
app.use((req, res) => {
res.status(404).sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'views', '404.html'));
});
// Error Handler
app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
res.status(err.status || 500).send('Internal Server Error');
});Notes
Compilers: Register necessary compilers before setting up the middleware.
// For CoffeeScript require('coffeescript/register'); // For TypeScript require('ts-node/register');Changing View Engine:
// Install Pug npm install pug // Setup with Pug setupRoutelessMVC(app, { viewEngine: 'pug', viewExtensions: ['.pug'], });