zuzhi / ascent

A simple full-stack clojure app

atemoia

A simple full-stack clojure app

Learn more about clojure project structure.

Checkout the live demo.

This is a simple fullstack clojure application developed to explain how to deploy a clojure app.

Overview

It consists in a backend in src/atemoia/server.clj. This backend has JSON and HTML endpoints

A frontend in src/atemoia/client.cljs. This is a react app interacts with the JSON endpoints.

There is a build script in dev/atemoia/build.clj. This is invoked via clj -A:dev -M -m atemoia.build

The build script compiles clojurescript to a minified bundle and compiles clojure to java classes. Then generates a JAR file that include both java class files and javascript static assets.

There is a Dockerfile that uses node:alpine image to install npm dependencies. Then use clojure:alpine image to compile and create the jar file. Then create an openjdk:alpine image with just the jar file as "final product".

Heroku operates in container mode, as described in heroku.yml. There is a github integration that triggers the deploy process.

Developing

Before start, install your npm dependencies with npm install

You can start your REPL using clj -A:dev

In the repl, (require 'atemoia.server) then (in-ns 'atemoia.server). Call (dev-main) and after some seconds the application should be available in localhost:8080.

You will need a postgresql server running

docker run --name my-postgres --env=POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres --rm -p 5432:5432 postgres:alpine

You can change src/atemoia/server.clj and run (require 'atemoia.server :reload) to see your changes.

Some changes (in the HTTP server) will need to call (dev-main) again

Changes in src/atemoia/client.cljs are hot reloaded.

You will never need to restart your REPL.

atemoia.build

This namespace has a single -main function that when called, generate a jar file in target/atemoia.jar.

The jar contains everything that is listed in target/classes. This directory will only exists after you call this function.

The function will

• Delete the target dir
• Start shadow-cljs server, generate a production bundle of atemoia.client in target/classes/public, as described in shadow-cljs.edn, stop shadow-cljs server
• Write the pom file and others jar metadata files in target/classes/META-INF
• Compile every clojure namespaces found in src and every required dependency into target/classes
• Create an uberjar file that has atemoia.server as entrypoint.

Uberjar's are not a complex thing. It's simply zip the target/classes folder into a .jar, keeping it tree structure.

You can open the jar and compare with target/classes to have a better understanding of this process. They should be equal.

FAQ

• How long will my bullet point remain here?

Up to 10 elements. This code do that.

• Why pedestal?

Is the one that I like to use. The main feature that I like that no other http server does is the io.pedestal.test/response-for helper.

• Why not datomic?

The idea is to be easy to deploy on heroku. Heroku gives me Postgres, so I'm ok to use it.

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