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MongoDB is a flexible and scalable document-oriented database system that is widely used for large-volume data storage. It uses documents and collections instead of the traditional rational database approach of using tables and rows.

MongoDB does not have a full-fledged REST interface because the server uses a native binary protocol for efficiency. However, various applications allow the creation of MongoDB REST APIs.

REST API

REST API , also known as RESTful Application Programming Interface, follows the constraints of the REST architectural style. This ultimately allows interaction with several other RESTful web services.

In this context, REST stands for Representational State Transfer. REST is not a protocol or a standard, but a set of architectural constraints that allow developers to implement it in a variety of ways.

For an API to conform to REST constraints, it needs to follow the above standards:

1. Separate client-server

   This particular design approach is based on the constraint that the client and server should be decoupled and catered to independently. Here, the communication between the client and server is limited to requests initiated by the client and responses sent by the server as reactions.

   This enhances scalability and manageability by simplifying server components.

2. Code on Demand

   An API can be RESTful even without this constraint; however, it does help the process. It reduces the amount of functionality that must be implemented up front.

3. Stateless

   In REST APIs, the server does not keep information about the user using the API, which means they are stateless. The request sent by the client to the server will carry all the necessary information to ensure that the server understands and complies with the client's request.

4. Unified Interface

   To decouple clients, REST APIs follow a uniform interface. This allows independent application development without linking the application's models, services, or operations to the API layer.

5. Layering

   The architecture of a REST API has multiple layers that work together to create a hierarchical structure that helps create scalable and adaptable applications. Hide the critical and more vulnerable elements of the server behind firewalls, ultimately prohibiting direct interaction with them.

Building the MongoDB REST API

Over time, database technology has become advanced and offers a wide range of capabilities. At the same time, some database systems handle specific data better than others.

MongoDB is an open source solution that offers better scalability and performance when dealing with large unstructured data.

When creating a REST API, choosing the right database is crucial. MongoDB is an excellent choice for your REST API because of its ability to retrieve and store documents, making it ideal for unstructured data.

The first thing you can do to ensure that your MongoDB REST API starts successfully is to prepare your workspace. The first step here is to ensure that your MongoDB instance is running.

Once confirmed, the MongoDB client can connect to the server and further inspect your data or run your queries and other operations.

To use the MongoDB REST API, you need to populate a MongoDB database, which can be done with the mongo package. This package contains the mongoimport command, which allows you to import data files for your database.

From the command line, you can import three different types of data files, including JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Comma Separated Values ​​(CSV), and Tab Separated Values ​​(TSV).

Additionally, you will need to create an application folder for your application. A .json file package needs to be generated to start the application that contains all the node application metadata.

The file then goes on to instruct npm to install package dependencies and the application script.

When building a REST API, you must use a backend web server. Using Express JS as a backend server for document storage is a common way to do this.

This technology links JSON-based REST API payloads to MongoDB's document model. Use Express to create a backend middle tier that runs on Node.js and allows you to expose REST API routes to your application.

Additionally, a Node.js driver connects the MongoDB Atlas cluster to the Express.js server.

MongoDB Atlas is a

Install application dependencies

The MongoDB REST API requires a file to serve as the command center for the application. When npm needs to run the application, it will run this file first.

This command center file can include installed third-party modules and two modules installed from the npm directory. The dependencies are as follows:

1. MongoDB: Official module for MongoDB that allows communication between MongoDB and Node.js applications.
2. Express: Node.js framework
3. Body-parser: Processing request bodies with Express

Building a MongoDB REST API Application

You will need a connection string to connect to the MongoDB REST API.

1. Go to the Atlas dashboard and select Clusters.
2. Go to the overview page and click the Connect button.
3. Add the string to your .js file and you can make the connection with a few code tweaks.

Building the MongoDB REST API endpoint

To proceed further, you will need to establish and query endpoints for your data. You will need to build an endpoint to add data.

In your .js application, add the API endpoint code to complete the creation of the REST API.

The MongoDB REST API is relatively simple to set up using the right instructions. It allows you to store and retrieve data, which makes it ideal for unstructured data.

We hope this article helped you understand MongoDB REST APIs and how to build them.