Creating a Simple Full-Stack Application with React and Node.js
Dec 28, 2024 pm 10:35 PMIn my previous blogs, I introduced React and Node.js. Now, let's bring them together to build something even more exciting: a simple full-stack application! You might think full-stack apps are only for larger projects, with multiple databases and complex structures. While conceptually that's true, practically, full-stack applications can be as simple as a small frontend with a basic backend. So, let’s break it down and see how easy it is to create a full-stack app with React and Node.js.
Step 1: Backend with Node.js and Express
Let's start by creating the backend. We’ll use Express as our server to send a simple JSON message response to the frontend.
- Install Express: To get started, first install Express by running this command in your terminal:
npm install express
- Create the server: Now, let's create the server with a simple route that will return a greeting message.
const express = require('express'); const app = express(); const PORT = 3000; app.get('/greet', (req, res) => { res.status(200).json({ message: "Zee here..." }); }); app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server is running at http://localhost:${PORT}`));
Explanation:
- We import the express module and create an instance of it with express().
- We set up a simple GET route at /greet that responds with a JSON object containing a greeting message.
- We start the server on port 3000, and the console will log that the server is running.
Step 2: Frontend with React
Now, let’s create the frontend using React. We'll use two hooks: useState and useEffect to fetch data from the backend.
- Create the React app: If you haven’t already set up your React app, you can create one using create-react-app by running:
npx create-react-app my-fullstack-app cd my-fullstack-app
- Write the frontend code: Now, let's modify the App.js file to fetch the data from our backend and display it.
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'; export function App() { const [response, setResponse] = useState(null); useEffect(() => { const controller = new AbortController(); // This is used to abort the fetch request if the component is unmounted const fetchData = async () => { try { const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/greet', { signal: controller.signal, }); if (!response.ok) throw new Error("Couldn't fetch data"); const data = await response.json(); setResponse(data.message); // Corrected the response property here } catch (error) { console.error(error); } }; fetchData(); // Clean up function to abort the fetch request if needed return () => controller.abort(); }, []); return ( <div> {response ? <p>{response}</p> : <p>Loading...</p>} </div> ); }
Explanation:
- useState is used to hold the response data from the backend.
- useEffect is used to trigger the fetch request when the component mounts.
- We use the fetch() API to send a request to http://localhost:3000/greet and handle the response. If the fetch is successful, we update the response state with the message from the backend.
- We display the response in the component, showing "Loading..." while the request is in progress.
Step 3: Running the App
- Start the backend: In the backend folder (where your server.js file is located), run:
npm install express
- Start the frontend: In the frontend folder (where your React app is located), run:
const express = require('express'); const app = express(); const PORT = 3000; app.get('/greet', (req, res) => { res.status(200).json({ message: "Zee here..." }); }); app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server is running at http://localhost:${PORT}`));
Now, open your browser and go to http://localhost:3000. You should see a simple message fetched from the backend, and it will display "Zee here...".
Conclusion
And that's it! You've just created a simple full-stack application using React and Express. It's a great start, and with this foundation, you can expand and build more complex applications. Happy coding!
Key Takeaways:
- A full-stack application doesn't need to be complex. A simple frontend and backend can be considered full-stack.
- React’s useState and useEffect hooks are great for fetching data from a backend API.
- Express is a simple and powerful framework for building backend APIs.
The above is the detailed content of Creating a Simple Full-Stack Application with React and Node.js. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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