API versioning strategies in Node.js - Mini Project: Build & Apply

API Versioning Strategies in Node.js

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple Node.js API for a bookstore. Over time, you want to add new features without breaking existing clients. To do this, you will implement API versioning strategies.

🎯 Goal: Create a basic Node.js API with two versions (v1 and v2) using URL path versioning. You will set up initial data, configure versioning, implement version-specific routes, and complete the server setup.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an initial list of books with exact titles and authors

Add a version prefix variable for API routes

Implement two GET routes for versions v1 and v2

Complete the Express server setup to listen on port 3000

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

APIs often evolve over time. Versioning helps keep old clients working while adding new features.

💼 Career

Understanding API versioning is essential for backend developers working on scalable and maintainable services.

1

DATA SETUP: Create initial book data

Create a constant array called books with these exact objects: { id: 1, title: 'Node Basics', author: 'Alice' } and { id: 2, title: 'Advanced Node', author: 'Bob' }.

Node.js

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use const books = [ ... ] with two objects inside.

2

CONFIGURATION: Add API version prefix

Create a constant called apiVersion and set it to the string 'v1'.

Node.js

const books = [
  { id: 1, title: 'Node Basics', author: 'Alice' },
  { id: 2, title: 'Advanced Node', author: 'Bob' }
];

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use const apiVersion = 'v1'; to set the version prefix.

3

CORE LOGIC: Implement versioned GET routes

Import Express, create an app with express(), and add two GET routes: /api/v1/books that returns the books array, and /api/v2/books that returns the books array with an added year property (2024) for each book.

Node.js

const books = [
  { id: 1, title: 'Node Basics', author: 'Alice' },
  { id: 2, title: 'Advanced Node', author: 'Bob' }
];

const apiVersion = 'v1';

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use app.get with the exact paths /api/v1/books and /api/v2/books. For v2, add year: 2024 to each book.

4

COMPLETION: Start the server on port 3000

Add app.listen(3000) with a callback that logs 'Server running on port 3000'.

Node.js

const express = require('express');
const books = [
  { id: 1, title: 'Node Basics', author: 'Alice' },
  { id: 2, title: 'Advanced Node', author: 'Bob' }
];

const apiVersion = 'v1';

const app = express();

app.get(`/api/v1/books`, (req, res) => {
  res.json(books);
});

app.get(`/api/v2/books`, (req, res) => {
  const booksWithYear = books.map(book => ({ ...book, year: 2024 }));
  res.json(booksWithYear);
});

// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on port 3000')).