Unique Indexes

Part of the Databases with MongoDB section of Coddy's Node.js journey. Lesson 17 of 29.

Two books with one ISBN should never both be stored, and a findOne before each insert leaves a gap: two requests can both find nothing and both insert.

An index is a sorted list of a field's values that the database keeps beside a collection to find documents fast. A unique index also refuses a second document with a value it holds already: the insert throws a MongoServerError with code 11000, "E11000 duplicate key error".

await users.createIndex({ email: 1 }, { unique: true });

try {
    await users.insertOne({ email: 'ada@example.com' });
} catch (err) {
    if (err.code !== 11000) throw err;
    // the email is taken
}

Create the index at start-up, before the data goes in. Creating an index that exists does nothing.

Challenge

Easy

No two books may share an ISBN, even when two requests arrive at the same moment. Let the database refuse the duplicate.

In server.js, at the top, create a unique index on isbn. Do this before the starter stores the three books with insertMany, and wait for it with await.
In POST /books, the insert now throws an error when the ISBN is already stored. Catch that error. When its code is 11000, respond with status 409 and an error, for example { "error": "That ISBN is already on the shelf" }. Throw any other error again, so Express responds with 500.
A book with a new ISBN still gets 201 and the stored book, as before. Try it: Send POST /books with a second copy of Dune: { "title": "Dune", "author": "Frank Herbert", "year": 1965, "isbn": "9780441013593", "genre": "scifi" }. You get 409 and the error. Send GET /books: you still get three books, and the Data tab shows Dune once. Send POST /books with { "title": "Beloved", "author": "Toni Morrison", "year": 1987, "isbn": "9781400033416", "genre": "literary" }: you get 201.

Try it yourself

import express from 'express';
import { MongoClient, ObjectId } from 'mongodb';

const client = new MongoClient('mongodb://localhost:27017');
const db = client.db('shelf');
const books = db.collection('books');

await books.insertMany([
    { title: 'Dune', author: 'Frank Herbert', year: 1965, isbn: '9780441013593', genre: 'scifi' },
    { title: 'Kindred', author: 'Octavia E. Butler', year: 1979, isbn: '9780807083697', genre: 'scifi' },
    { title: 'Emma', author: 'Jane Austen', year: 1815, isbn: '9780141439587', genre: 'classic' },
]);

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

// Every error answers { error: message }.
function sendError(res, status, message) {
    res.status(status).json({ error: message });
}

// The :id as an ObjectId, or null after answering 400 for a bad id.
function parseId(req, res) {
    if (ObjectId.isValid(req.params.id)) {
        return new ObjectId(req.params.id);
    }
    sendError(res, 400, 'Not a valid id');
    return null;
}

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Bookshelf API');
});

app.get('/books', async (req, res) => {
    const filter = {};
    if (req.query.author) {
        filter.author = req.query.author;
    }
    if (req.query.from || req.query.to) {
        filter.year = {};
        if (req.query.from) {
            filter.year.$gte = Number(req.query.from);
        }
        if (req.query.to) {
            filter.year.$lte = Number(req.query.to);
        }
    }
    const list = await books.find(filter).toArray();
    res.json(list);
});

app.post('/books', async (req, res) => {
    const book = req.body;
    await books.insertOne(book);
    res.status(201).json(book);
});

app.get('/books/newest', async (req, res) => {
    const n = Number(req.query.n) || 3;
    const list = await books
        .find({}, { projection: { title: 1, year: 1, _id: 0 } })
        .sort({ year: -1 })
        .limit(n)
        .toArray();
    res.json(list);
});

app.get('/books/:id', async (req, res) => {
    const id = parseId(req, res);
    if (!id) return;
    const book = await books.findOne({ _id: id });
    if (!book) {
        return sendError(res, 404, 'No such book');
    }
    res.json(book);
});

app.patch('/books/:id', async (req, res) => {
    const id = parseId(req, res);
    if (!id) return;
    const result = await books.updateOne({ _id: id }, { $set: req.body });
    if (result.matchedCount === 0) {
        return sendError(res, 404, 'No such book');
    }
    res.json(await books.findOne({ _id: id }));
});

app.post('/books/:id/copies', async (req, res) => {
    const id = parseId(req, res);
    if (!id) return;
    const result = await books.updateOne({ _id: id }, { $inc: { copies: 1 } });
    if (result.matchedCount === 0) {
        return sendError(res, 404, 'No such book');
    }
    res.json(await books.findOne({ _id: id }));
});

app.post('/books/:id/tags', async (req, res) => {
    const id = parseId(req, res);
    if (!id) return;
    const result = await books.updateOne({ _id: id }, { $push: { tags: req.body.tag } });
    if (result.matchedCount === 0) {
        return sendError(res, 404, 'No such book');
    }
    res.json(await books.findOne({ _id: id }));
});

app.delete('/books/:id', async (req, res) => {
    const id = parseId(req, res);
    if (!id) return;
    const result = await books.deleteOne({ _id: id });
    if (result.deletedCount === 0) {
        return sendError(res, 404, 'No such book');
    }
    res.status(204).end();
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Bookshelf is running on port 3000');
});

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

Practice on your own: Express playground

Unique Indexes

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