A Kabanero Collection defines a logical set of software components for developing applications that can be built and deployed to container platforms. There are 3 Kabanero Collections for Node.js; one that includes just the runtime environment (nodejs) and others that include the Express or LoopBack frameworks (nodejs-express or nodejs-loopback). The way in which you use these collections is similar. In this guide we will explore how to use the nodejs-express Kabanero Collection.
In this guide you will learn how to create, run, update, deploy and deliver a simple cloud native application using the nodejs-express Kabanero Collection in your VS Code IDE.
- You must have Docker installed.
- You must have access to a Kubernetes cluster. If you are using Docker for Desktop, you can enable Kubernetes from the menu by selecting Preferences -> Kubernetes -> Enable Kubernetes.
- You must install the VS Code Codewind extension from the VS Code Marketplace, which creates a CODEWIND workspace and downloads Docker images to your Docker registry.
- (Optional) If you have an enterprise-specific Kabanero Collection Hub, you need the URL to your index file.
Note: Because Codewind includes Appsody code, you must remove any local installations of Appsody before installing the Codewind extension to avoid possible conflicts. Run brew uninstall Appsody and manually remove the .Appsody folder from your filesystem.
You are now ready to create your first project!
By default, Codewind is configured to use the public Kabanero Collection hub. If you have been given an enterprise-specific Kabanero Collection Hub URL, configure your installation by following these steps:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NOTE: Need to add a step for setting the URL to the correct collection for the developer (Champ provides) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> At this point in time you cannot configure the repo in Codewind for VS Code <placeholder for steps ... equivalent to appsody repo list to see what's there / appsody repo add URL / appsody repo list for verification / appsody repo set-default NAME>
VS Code is now configured to use the Kabanero Collection Hub for your organisation.
The next step is to create a project folder for your application code. Open your VS Code Explorer menu and find the CODEWIND folder. To create a new project, click the '+' symbol on the Projects folder.
A list of available project types is shown. Select the Appsody template for Nodejs-express. Choose a suitable name for your project and press Enter to save it.
A new project is created, built, and started inside a container, which is linked to the VS Code workspace.
Projects are created with a default set of files, which you can find in a project folder in your CODEWIND-WORKSPACE.
Click on app.js to view the code for the "Hello from Appsody" app.
const app = require('express')()
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.send("Hello from Appsody!");
});
module.exports.app = app;
To see the running app, right-click on the project in the CODEWIND folder and click Open App.
Your browser opens to display "Hello from Appsody!" on a local port number.
Codewind watches for file changes and automatically updates your application.
Edit app.js to change the "Hello from Appsody!" string and then refresh your browser to see the text update straight away.
You can find information about the running app by opening the Project Overview. Right-click on the project in the CODEWIND folder and click Open Project Overview.
VS Code displays information about the status of the app, similar to the following screenshot:
To stop the application, click the Disable project button.
You are now ready to develop your own app!
At some stage in development, you are likely to want to do some local testing. As well as checking whether your code runs cleanly, Codewind provides application metrics, performance monitoring, and debugging capabilities. For more information about developing applications with Codewind for VS Code, see the Codewind documentation.
When you've finished developing and testing your app, you are ready to deliver it to your enterprise Kabanero pipelines. This step involves pushing the project to a pre-configured git repository (public or enterprise). Your operations team should have configured the necessary hooks on the repository to trigger the pipelines that build and deploy your project into the production environment.