README

Connect is an extensible HTTP server framework for node using "plugins" known as middleware.

var connect = require('connect');
var http = require('http');
var app = connect();
// gzip/deflate outgoing responses
var compression = require('compression');
app.use(compression());
// store session state in browser cookie
var cookieSession = require('cookie-session');
app.use(cookieSession({
keys: ['secret1', 'secret2']
}));
// parse urlencoded request bodies into req.body
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended: false}));
// respond to all requests
app.use(function(req, res){
res.end('Hello from Connect!\n');
});
//create node.js http server and listen on port
http.createServer(app).listen(3000);

## Getting Started

Connect is a simple framework to glue together various "middleware" to handle requests.

### Install Connect

$ npm install connect

### Create an app

The main component is a Connect "app". This will store all the middleware added and is, itself, a function.

var app = connect();

### Use middleware

The core of Connect is "using" middleware. Middleware are added as a "stack" where incoming requests will execute each middleware one-by-one until a middleware does not call `next()` within it.

app.use(function middleware1(req, res, next) {
// middleware 1
next();
});
app.use(function middleware2(req, res, next) {
// middleware 2
next();
});

### Mount middleware

The `.use()` method also takes an optional path string that is matched against the beginning of the incoming request URL. This allows for basic routing.

app.use('/foo', function fooMiddleware(req, res, next) {
// req.url starts with "/foo"
next();
});
app.use('/bar', function barMiddleware(req, res, next) {
// req.url starts with "/bar"
next();
});

### Error middleware

There are special cases of "error-handling" middleware. There are middleware where the function takes exactly 4 arguments. When a middleware passes an error to `next`, the app will proceed to look for the error middleware that was declared after that middleware and invoke it, skipping any error middleware above that middleware and any non-error middleware below.

// regular middleware
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
// i had an error
next(new Error('boom!'));
});
// error middleware for errors that occurred in middleware
// declared before this
app.use(function onerror(err, req, res, next) {
// an error occurred!
});

### Create a server from the app

The last step is to actually use the Connect app in a server. The `.listen()` method is a convenience to start a HTTP server (and is identical to the `http.Server`'s `listen` method in the version of Node.js you are running).

var server = app.listen(port);

The app itself is really just a function with three arguments, so it can also be handed to `.createServer()` in Node.js.

var server = http.createServer(app);

## Middleware

These middleware and libraries are officially supported by the Connect/Express team:

- body-parser - previous `bodyParser`, `json`, and `urlencoded`. You may also be interested in:
  - body
  - co-body
  - raw-body
- compression - previously `compress`
- connect-timeout - previously `timeout`
- cookie-parser - previously `cookieParser`
- cookie-session - previously `cookieSession`
- csurf - previously `csrf`
- errorhandler - previously `error-handler`
- express-session - previously `session`
- method-override - previously `method-override`
- morgan - previously `logger`
- response-time - previously `response-time`
- serve-favicon - previously `favicon`
- serve-index - previously `directory`
- serve-static - previously `static`
- vhost - previously `vhost`

Most of these are exact ports of their Connect 2.x equivalents. The primary exception is `cookie-session`.

Some middleware previously included with Connect are no longer supported by the Connect/Express team, are replaced by an alternative module, or should be superseded by a better module. Use one of these alternatives instead:

- `cookieParser`
  - cookies and keygrip
- `limit`
  - raw-body
- `multipart`
  - connect-multiparty
  - connect-busboy
- `query`
  - qs
- `staticCache`
  - st
  - connect-static

Checkout http-framework for many other compatible middleware!

## API

The Connect API is very minimalist, enough to create an app and add a chain of middleware.

When the `connect` module is required, a function is returned that will construct a new app when called.

// require module
var connect = require('connect')
// create app
var app = connect()

### app(req, res[, next])

The `app` itself is a function. This is just an alias to `app.handle`.

### app.handle(req, res[, out])

Calling the function will run the middleware stack against the given Node.js http request (`req`) and response (`res`) objects. An optional function `out` can be provided that will be called if the request (or error) was not handled by the middleware stack.

### app.listen([...])

Start the app listening for requests. This method will internally create a Node.js HTTP server and call `.listen()` on it.

This is an alias to the `server.listen()` method in the version of Node.js running, so consult the Node.js documentation for all the different variations. The most common signature is `app.listen(port)`.

### app.use(fn)

Use a function on the app, where the function represents a middleware. The function will be invoked for every request in the order that `app.use` is called. The function is called with three arguments:

app.use(function (req, res, next) {
// req is the Node.js http request object
// res is the Node.js http response object
// next is a function to call to invoke the next middleware
})

In addition to a plan function, the `fn` argument can also be a Node.js HTTP server instance or another Connect app instance.

### app.use(route, fn)

Use a function on the app, where the function represents a middleware. The function will be invoked for every request in which the URL (`req.url` property) starts with the given `route` string in the order that `app.use` is called. The function is called with three arguments:

app.use('/foo', function (req, res, next) {
// req is the Node.js http request object
// res is the Node.js http response object
// next is a function to call to invoke the next middleware
})

In addition to a plan function, the `fn` argument can also be a Node.js HTTP server instance or another Connect app instance.

The `route` is always terminated at a path separator (`/`) or a dot (`.`) character. This means the given routes `/foo/` and `/foo` are the same and both will match requests with the URLs `/foo`, `/foo/`, `/foo/bar`, and `/foo.bar`, but not match a request with the URL `/foobar`.

The `route` is matched in a case-insensitive manor.

In order to make middleware easier to write to be agnostic of the `route`, when the `fn` is invoked, the `req.url` will be altered to remove the `route` part (and the original will be available as `req.originalUrl`). For example, if `fn` is used at the route `/foo`, the request for `/foo/bar` will invoke `fn` with ‘req.url === ’/bar'`and`req.originalUrl === '/foo/bar'`.

## Running Tests

npm install
npm test

## People

The Connect project would not be the same without all the people involved.

The original author of Connect is TJ Holowaychuk

The current lead maintainer is Douglas Christopher Wilson

List of all contributors

## Node Compatibility

- Connect `< 1.x` - node `0.2`
- Connect `1.x` - node `0.4`
- Connect `< 2.8` - node `0.6`
- Connect `>= 2.8 < 3` - node `0.8`
- Connect `>= 3` - node `0.10`, `0.12`, `4.x`, `5.x`, `6.x`, `7.x`, `8.x`, `9.x`, `10.x`, `11.x`, `12.x`; io.js `1.x`, `2.x`, `3.x`

## License

[MIT](LICENSE)