Writing a full stack monolith with Angular Universal + NestJS + PostgreSQL

Hello, Habr!

In this article, we will create a ready-made monolith template that can be used as a basis for a new fullstack application as a skeleton for hanging functionality.

This article will be helpful if you:

• Beginner fullstack developer;
• A startup who writes an MVP to test a hypothesis.

Why I chose such a stack:

• Angular: I have a lot of experience with it, I love strict architecture and Typescript out of the box, comes from .NET
• NestJS: the same language, the same architecture, fast writing REST API, the ability to switch to Serverless in the future (cheaper than a virtual machine)
• PostgreSQL: I am going to host in Yandex.Cloud, at minimums it is 30% cheaper than MongoDB

Before writing an article, I looked on Habré for articles about a similar case, I found the following:

• Angular and SEO: how to make them friends?
• Firebase + Angular Universal = the impossible is possible
• Making Angular friends with Google (Angular Universal)
• Amazing Angular

From this it does not describe "copied and pasted" or provides links to what else needs to be finalized.

Table of contents:

1. Create an Angular application and add the ng-zorro component library

2. Install NestJS and solve problems with SSR

3. Make an API in NestJS and connect it to the front

4. Connect the PostgreSQL database

1. Angular

Angular-CLI SPA- :

npm install -g @angular/cli

Angular :

ng new angular-habr-nestjs

, :

cd angular-habr-nestjs
ng serve --open

. NG-Zorro:

ng add ng-zorro-antd

:

? Enable icon dynamic loading [ Detail: https://ng.ant.design/components/icon/en ] Yes
? Set up custom theme file [ Detail: https://ng.ant.design/docs/customize-theme/en ] No
? Choose your locale code: ru_RU
? Choose template to create project: sidemenu

app.component , :

, src/app/pages/welcome, NG-Zorro:

// welcome.component.html
<nz-table #basicTable [nzData]="items$ | async">
  <thead>
  <tr>
    <th>Name</th>
    <th>Age</th>
    <th>Address</th>
  </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
  <tr *ngFor="let data of basicTable.data">
    <td>{{ data.name }}</td>
    <td>{{ data.age }}</td>
    <td>{{ data.address }}</td>
  </tr>
  </tbody>
</nz-table>

// welcome.module.ts
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';

import { WelcomeRoutingModule } from './welcome-routing.module';

import { WelcomeComponent } from './welcome.component';
import { NzTableModule } from 'ng-zorro-antd';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';

@NgModule({
  imports: [
    WelcomeRoutingModule,
    NzTableModule, //   
    CommonModule //    async
  ],
  declarations: [WelcomeComponent],
  exports: [WelcomeComponent]
})
export class WelcomeModule {
}

// welcome.component.ts
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
import { share } from 'rxjs/operators';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-welcome',
  templateUrl: './welcome.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./welcome.component.scss']
})
export class WelcomeComponent implements OnInit {
  items$: Observable<Item[]> = of([
    {name: '', age: 24, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 23, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 21, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 23, address: ''}
  ]);

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {
  }

  ngOnInit() {
  }

  //     ,  
  getItems(): Observable<Item[]> {
    return this.http.get<Item[]>('/api/items').pipe(share());
  }
}

interface Item {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  address: string;
}

:

2. NestJS

NestJS , Angular Universal (Server Side Rendering) .

ng add @nestjs/ng-universal

, SSR :

npm run serve

:) :

TypeError: Cannot read property 'indexOf' of undefined
    at D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\@nestjs\ng-universal\dist\utils\setup-universal.utils.js:35:43
    at D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\dist\server\main.js:107572:13
    at View.engine (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\@nestjs\ng-universal\dist\utils\setup-universal.utils.js:30:11)
    at View.render (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\view.js:135:8)
    at tryRender (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\application.js:640:10)
    at Function.render (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\application.js:592:3)
    at ServerResponse.render (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\response.js:1012:7)
    at D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\@nestjs\ng-universal\dist\angular-universal.module.js:60:66
    at Layer.handle [as handle_request] (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\router\layer.js:95:5)
    at next (D:\Projects\angular-habr-nestjs\node_modules\express\lib\router\route.js:137:13)

, server/app.module.ts liveReload false:

import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AngularUniversalModule } from '@nestjs/ng-universal';
import { join } from 'path';

@Module({
  imports: [
    AngularUniversalModule.forRoot({
      viewsPath: join(process.cwd(), 'dist/browser'),
      bundle: require('../server/main'),
      liveReload: false
    })
  ]
})
export class ApplicationModule {}

, - Ivy :

// tsconfig.server.json
{
  "extends": "./tsconfig.app.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "outDir": "./out-tsc/server",
    "target": "es2016",
    "types": [
      "node"
    ]
  },
  "files": [
    "src/main.server.ts"
  ],
  "angularCompilerOptions": {
    "enableIvy": false, //  
    "entryModule": "./src/app/app.server.module#AppServerModule"
  }
}

ng run serve SSR .

! SSR , devtools .

extractCss: true, styles.js, styles.css:

// angular.json
...
"architect": {
        "build": {
          "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:browser",
          "options": {
            "outputPath": "dist/browser",
            "index": "src/index.html",
            "main": "src/main.ts",
            "polyfills": "src/polyfills.ts",
            "tsConfig": "tsconfig.app.json",
            "aot": true,
            "assets": [
              "src/favicon.ico",
              "src/assets",
              {
                "glob": "**/*",
                "input": "./node_modules/@ant-design/icons-angular/src/inline-svg/",
                "output": "/assets/"
              }
            ],
            "extractCss": true, //  
            "styles": [
              "./node_modules/ng-zorro-antd/ng-zorro-antd.min.css",
              "src/styles.scss"
            ],
            "scripts": []
          },
...

app.component.scss:

// app.component.scss
@import "~ng-zorro-antd/ng-zorro-antd.min.css"; //  

:host {
  display: flex;
  text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;
  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
}

.app-layout {
  height: 100vh;
}
...

, SSR , SSR, CSR (Client Side Rendering). :

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { Routes, RouterModule } from '@angular/router';

const routes: Routes = [
  { path: '', pathMatch: 'full', redirectTo: '/welcome' },
  { path: 'welcome', loadChildren: () => import('./pages/welcome/welcome.module').then(m => m.WelcomeModule) }
];

@NgModule({
  imports: [RouterModule.forRoot(routes, {initialNavigation: 'enabled', scrollPositionRestoration: 'enabled'})], //  initialNavigation, scrollPositionRestoration
  exports: [RouterModule]
})
export class AppRoutingModule { }

• initialNavigation: 'enabled' , SSR
• scrollPositionRestoration: 'enabled' .
  
  
  
  

  3. NestJS

server items:

cd server
nest g module items
nest g controller items --no-spec

// items.module.ts
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ItemsController } from './items.controller';

@Module({
  controllers: [ItemsController]
})
export class ItemsModule {
}

// items.controller.ts
import { Controller } from '@nestjs/common';

@Controller('items')
export class ItemsController {}

. items :

// server/src/items/items.controller.ts
import { Body, Controller, Get, Post } from '@nestjs/common';

class Item {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  address: string;
}

@Controller('items')
export class ItemsController {

  //      Angular 
  private items: Item[] = [
    {name: '', age: 24, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 23, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 21, address: ''},
    {name: '', age: 23, address: ''}
  ];

  @Get()
  getAll(): Item[] {
    return this.items;
  }

  @Post()
  create(@Body() newItem: Item): void {
    this.items.push(newItem);
  }
}

GET Postman:

, ! , GET items api, server/main.ts NestJS:

// server/main.ts
import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { ApplicationModule } from './app.module';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(ApplicationModule);
  app.setGlobalPrefix('api'); //  
  await app.listen(4200);
}
bootstrap();

. welcome.component.ts :

// welcome.component.ts
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
import { share } from 'rxjs/operators';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-welcome',
  templateUrl: './welcome.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./welcome.component.scss']
})
export class WelcomeComponent implements OnInit {
  items$: Observable<Item[]> = this.getItems(); //   

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {
  }

  ngOnInit() {
  }

  getItems(): Observable<Item[]> {
    return this.http.get<Item[]>('/api/items').pipe(share());
  }
}

interface Item {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  address: string;
}

, SSR, :

SSR :

// welcome.component.ts
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
import { share } from 'rxjs/operators';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-welcome',
  templateUrl: './welcome.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./welcome.component.scss']
})
export class WelcomeComponent implements OnInit {
  items$: Observable<Item[]> = this.getItems(); //   

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {
  }

  ngOnInit() {
  }

  getItems(): Observable<Item[]> {
    return this.http.get<Item[]>('http://localhost:4200/api/items').pipe(share()); //       SSR  
  }
}

interface Item {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  address: string;
}

( SSR, ), :

• @nguniversal/common:

npm i @nguniversal/common

• app/app.module.ts SSR:

// app.module.ts
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';

import { AppRoutingModule } from './app-routing.module';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import { IconsProviderModule } from './icons-provider.module';
import { NzLayoutModule } from 'ng-zorro-antd/layout';
import { NzMenuModule } from 'ng-zorro-antd/menu';
import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms';
import { HttpClientModule } from '@angular/common/http';
import { BrowserAnimationsModule } from '@angular/platform-browser/animations';
import { NZ_I18N } from 'ng-zorro-antd/i18n';
import { ru_RU } from 'ng-zorro-antd/i18n';
import { registerLocaleData } from '@angular/common';
import ru from '@angular/common/locales/ru';
import {TransferHttpCacheModule} from '@nguniversal/common';

registerLocaleData(ru);

@NgModule({
  declarations: [
    AppComponent
  ],
  imports: [
    BrowserModule.withServerTransition({ appId: 'serverApp' }),
    TransferHttpCacheModule, // 
    AppRoutingModule,
    IconsProviderModule,
    NzLayoutModule,
    NzMenuModule,
    FormsModule,
    HttpClientModule,
    BrowserAnimationsModule
  ],
  providers: [{ provide: NZ_I18N, useValue: ru_RU }],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }

app.server.module.ts:

// app.server.module.ts
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { ServerModule, ServerTransferStateModule } from '@angular/platform-server';

import { AppModule } from './app.module';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';

@NgModule({
  imports: [
    AppModule,
    ServerModule,
    ServerTransferStateModule, // 
  ],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent],
})
export class AppServerModule {}

. SSR, , .

4. PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL, TypeORM :

npm i pg typeorm @nestjs/typeorm

: PostgreSQL .

server/app.module.ts:

// server/app.module.ts
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { AngularUniversalModule } from '@nestjs/ng-universal';
import { join } from 'path';
import { ItemsController } from './src/items/items.controller';
import { TypeOrmModule } from '@nestjs/typeorm';

@Module({
  imports: [
    AngularUniversalModule.forRoot({
      viewsPath: join(process.cwd(), 'dist/browser'),
      bundle: require('../server/main'),
      liveReload: false
    }),
    TypeOrmModule.forRoot({ //    
      type: 'postgres',
      host: 'localhost',
      port: 5432,
      username: 'postgres',
      password: 'admin',
      database: 'postgres',
      entities: ['dist/**/*.entity{.ts,.js}'],
      synchronize: true
    })
  ],
  controllers: [ItemsController]
})
export class ApplicationModule {}

:

• type: ,
• host port:
• username password:
• database:
• entities: ,

, Item :

// server/src/items/item.entity.ts
import { Column, CreateDateColumn, Entity, PrimaryGeneratedColumn } from 'typeorm/index';

@Entity()
export class ItemEntity {
  @PrimaryGeneratedColumn()
  id: number;

  @CreateDateColumn()
  createDate: string;

  @Column()
  name: string;

  @Column()
  age: number;

  @Column()
  address: string;
}

. 

// items.module.ts
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { TypeOrmModule } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
import { ItemEntity } from './item.entity';
import { ItemsController } from './items.controller';

@Module({
  imports: [
    TypeOrmModule.forFeature([ItemEntity]) //  -    
  ],
  controllers: [ItemsController]
})
export class ItemsModule {
}

, , :

// items.controller.ts
import { Body, Controller, Get, Post } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ItemEntity } from './item.entity';
import { InjectRepository } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
import { Repository } from 'typeorm/index';

interface Item {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  address: string;
}

@Controller('items')
export class ItemsController {

  constructor(@InjectRepository(ItemEntity)
              private readonly itemsRepository: Repository<ItemEntity>) { //  
  }

  @Get()
  getAll(): Promise<Item[]> {
    return this.itemsRepository.find();
  }

  @Post()
  create(@Body() newItem: Item): Promise<Item> {
    const item = this.itemsRepository.create(newItem);
    return this.itemsRepository.save(item);
  }
}

Postman:

. , DBeaver:

! , :

! fullstack , .

P.S. :

• Ng-Zorro , Angular Material. - ;
• , , . , "" MVP , ;
• http://localhost:4200/api

:

• NG-Zorro
• Angular
• NestJS Documentation
• Project sources