“React + Postgres: A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started”

Unlock the Power of Backend Development

As a frontend developer, you’re likely no stranger to user interfaces. However, gaining a deeper understanding of backend and database interactions can open up new opportunities and enhance your skills. By learning how to work with both frontend and backend development, you can increase your value as a developer, take on more complex projects, and even move into a leadership role.

Getting Started with PostgreSQL

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to create a small application using Express and Node.js that interacts with a PostgreSQL database. We’ll also build a simple React app to test the entire application flow from frontend to backend.

Setting Up PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source relational database management system that’s been around since 1996. To get started, download and install PostgreSQL on your computer. During the installation process, you’ll be prompted to create a superuser password, which you’ll need to remember for later use.

Creating a Postgres Database

To create a database and table, we’ll use the command-line tool psql. We’ll also create a new user with login permission and grant them permission to create databases.

Basic SQL Queries

Postgres uses SQL to store and manipulate data. Let’s explore four basic SQL queries:

1. Select Query: Retrieve data from a table using the SELECT keyword.
2. Insert Query: Insert new data into a table using the INSERT keyword.
3. Delete Query: Delete a row from a table using the DELETE keyword.
4. Update Query: Update a row in a table using the UPDATE keyword.

Creating an API Server with Node.js and Express

To connect our React app to the PostgreSQL database, we’ll create a simple API server using Node.js and Express. We’ll build a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) API that can process HTTP requests.

Making Node.js Talk to Postgres

We’ll use the pg library to connect our Node.js app to Postgres. We’ll create a merchantModel.js file that imports the pg library and creates a pool object to query the database.

Creating Your React Application

Finally, we’ll create a simple React app that sends requests to our API server. We’ll use Vite to bootstrap our React app and write a simple app that can add, delete, and update merchants.

Putting it All Together

Now that we’ve created our API server and React app, let’s see how they work together. We’ll send requests from our React app to our API server, which will then interact with our PostgreSQL database.

By following this tutorial, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how to work with backend development, databases, and APIs. You’ll also see how to create a simple CRUD application using React, Node.js, and PostgreSQL.