11 Express.js: Note Taker

Your Task

Your assignment is to modify starter code to create an application called Note Taker that can be used to write and save notes. This application will use an Express.js back end and will save and retrieve note data from a JSON file.

The application’s front end has already been created. It's your job to build the back end, connect the two, and then deploy the entire application to Heroku.

User Story

AS A small business owner
I WANT to be able to write and save notes
SO THAT I can organize my thoughts and keep track of tasks I need to complete

Acceptance Criteria

GIVEN a note-taking application
WHEN I open the Note Taker
THEN I am presented with a landing page with a link to a notes page
WHEN I click on the link to the notes page
THEN I am presented with a page with existing notes listed in the left-hand column, plus empty fields to enter a new note title and the note’s text in the right-hand column
WHEN I enter a new note title and the note’s text
THEN a Save icon appears in the navigation at the top of the page
WHEN I click on the Save icon
THEN the new note I have entered is saved and appears in the left-hand column with the other existing notes
WHEN I click on an existing note in the list in the left-hand column
THEN that note appears in the right-hand column
WHEN I click on the Write icon in the navigation at the top of the page
THEN I am presented with empty fields to enter a new note title and the note’s text in the right-hand column

Mock-Up

The following images show the web application's appearance and functionality:

Getting Started

On the back end, the application should include a db.json file that will be used to store and retrieve notes using the fs module.

The following HTML routes should be created:

GET /notes should return the notes.html file.
GET * should return the index.html file.

The following API routes should be created:

GET /api/notes should read the db.json file and return all saved notes as JSON.
POST /api/notes should receive a new note to save on the request body, add it to the db.json file, and then return the new note to the client. You'll need to find a way to give each note a unique id when it's saved (look into npm packages that could do this for you).

Bonus

You haven’t learned how to handle DELETE requests, but this application offers that functionality on the front end. As a bonus, try to add the DELETE route to the application using the following guideline:

DELETE /api/notes/:id should receive a query parameter that contains the id of a note to delete. To delete a note, you'll need to read all notes from the db.json file, remove the note with the given id property, and then rewrite the notes to the db.json file.

Grading Requirements

Note: If a Challenge assignment submission is marked as “0”, it is considered incomplete and will not count towards your graduation requirements. Examples of incomplete submissions include the following:

A repository that has no code

A repository that includes a unique name but nothing else

A repository that includes only a README file but nothing else

A repository that only includes starter code

This Challenge is graded based on the following criteria:

Technical Acceptance Criteria: 40%

Satisfies all of the preceding acceptance criteria plus the following:
- Application front end must connect to an Express.js back end.
- Application back end must store notes that have a unique id in a JSON file.
- Application must be deployed to Heroku.

Deployment: 36%

Application deployed at live URL.
Application loads with no errors.
Application GitHub URL submitted.
GitHub repository contains application code.

Application Quality: 11%

Application console is free of errors.

Repository Quality: 13%

Repository has a unique name.
Repository follows best practices for file structure and naming conventions.
Repository follows best practices for class/id naming conventions, indentation, quality comments, etc.
Repository contains multiple descriptive commit messages.
Repository contains quality README file with description, screenshot, and link to deployed application.

Bonus: +10 Points

Application allows users to delete notes.

Review

You are required to submit BOTH of the following for review:

The URL of the functional, deployed application.
The URL of the GitHub repository, with a unique name and a README describing the project.

xensan-dev / note-taker