How to do HTTP Requests in Node.js? Node.js Rest Client

Node.js / October 12, 2021 / TopCode / 1

Introduction:

HTTP requests are an integral part of web development. Node.js is a powerful JavaScript-based platform built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript V8 engine. It is used to build fast, scalable and concurrent web applications. This tutorial covers how to make HTTP requests in Node.js.

HTTP request client in Node:

Node.js provides the http module which can be used to make HTTP requests. The http.request() function is used to make an HTTP request. Let’s look at a code example to demonstrate how to make an HTTP request using the http.request() function.

var http = require('http');

var options = 
{
host: 'www.example.com',
port: 80,
method: 'GET'
};

var req = http.request(options, function(res) {
console.log('STATUS: ' + res.statusCode);
console.log('HEADERS: ' + JSON.stringify(res.headers));
res.setEncoding('utf8');
res.on('data', function (chunk) {
console.log('BODY: ' + chunk);
});
});

req.on('error', function(e) {
console.log('problem with request: ' + e.message);
});

// write data to request body
req.write('data\n');
req.write('data\n');
req.end();

The code above creates an HTTP request using the http.request() function. It specifies the URL, the port number and the request method. The response is handled by a callback function which prints out the HTTP status code, the headers and the response body.

HTTP GET request example:

An HTTP GET request is used to retrieve data from a server. The GET request uses the URL to specify the endpoint and any query parameters. The following example demonstrates how to make an HTTP GET request in Node.js.

var http = require('http');

var options = 
{host: 'www.example.com',
port: 80,path: '/getdata',
method: 'GET'
};

var req = http.request(options, function(res) {
console.log('STATUS: ' + res.statusCode);
console.log('HEADERS: ' + JSON.stringify(res.headers));
res.setEncoding('utf8');
res.on('data', function (chunk) {
console.log('BODY: ' + chunk);
});
});

req.on('error', function(e) {console.log('problem with request: ' + e.message);
});

req.end();

In the code snippet above, the path and the method properties of the options object are set to the endpoint and the GET request method respectively. The rest of the code is the same as in the previous example.

HTTP POST request example:

An HTTP POST request is used to send data to the server. The POST request requires a body which contains the data to be sent to the server. The following example demonstrates how to make an HTTP POST request in Node.js.

var http = require('http');

var options = 
{host: 'www.example.com',
port: 80,
path: '/postdata',
method: 'POST'
};

var req = http.request(options, function(res) {
console.log('STATUS: ' + res.statusCode);
console.log('HEADERS: ' + JSON.stringify(res.headers));res.setEncoding('utf8');
res.on('data', function (chunk) {
console.log('BODY: ' + chunk);
});
});

req.on('error', function(e) {
console.log('problem with request: ' + e.message);
});

// write data to request body
req.write(JSON.stringify({username: 'test', password: 'test'}));
req.end();

In the code snippet above, the path and the method properties of the options object are set to the endpoint and the POST request method respectively. The data to be sent to the server is written to the request body using the req.write() function.

HTTP Update request example:

An HTTP Update request is used to update data on the server. The body of the request contains the data that needs to be updated on the server. The following example demonstrates how to make an HTTP Update request in Node.js.

var http = require('http');

var options = 
{host: 'www.example.com',
port: 80,
path: '/updatedata',
method: 'PUT'
};

var req = http.request(options, function(res) {
console.log('STATUS: ' + res.statusCode);console.log('HEADERS: ' + JSON.stringify(res.headers));
res.setEncoding('utf8');
res.on('data', function (chunk) {console.log('BODY: ' + chunk);
});
});

req.on('error', function(e) {console.log('problem with request: ' + e.message);
});

// write data to request body
req.write(JSON.stringify({username: 'test', password: 'newpassword'}));
req.end();

In the code snippet above, the path and the method properties of the options object are set to the endpoint and the PUT request method respectively. The data to be updated on the server is written to the request body using the req.write() function.

HTTP Delete request example:

An HTTP Delete request is used to delete data from the server. The body of the request contains the ID of the data to be deleted. The following example demonstrates how to make an HTTP Delete request in Node.js.

var http = require('http');

var options = 
{host: 'www.example.com',
port: 80,
path: '/deletedata',
method: 'DELETE'
};

var req = http.request(options, function(res) {
console.log('STATUS: ' + res.statusCode);
console.log('HEADERS: ' + JSON.stringify(res.headers));
res.setEncoding('utf8');
res.on('data', function (chunk) {console.log('BODY: ' + chunk);
});
});

req.on('error', function(e) {console.log('problem with request: ' + e.message);
});

// write data to request body
req.write(JSON.stringify({id: '123456'}));
req.end();

In the code snippet above, the path and the method properties of the options object are set to the endpoint and the DELETE request method respectively. The ID of the data to be deleted is written to the request body using the req.write() function.

Making HTTP requests in Node.js is a straightforward process. The http module provides the necessary functions to make requests. The http.request() function can be used to make an HTTP request. This tutorial covers how to make an HTTP request in Node.js, with examples of GET, POST, Update and Delete requests.

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