How to Build a CRUD App with Backbone.js? A Step-by-Step Tutorial

introduction in this guide, you'll learn how to create a functional crud (create, read, update, delete) application using backbone js this walkthrough will help you understand the core operations of a web application by showing you how to construct a crud system that effectively manipulates and manages data you will begin by setting up a back4app project titled basic crud app backbone to serve as a reliable backend for your application after that, you'll design a flexible database schema by defining specific collections and fields—either manually or with assistance from the back4app ai agent this process ensures your data structure is tailored for seamless crud interactions next, you will use the intuitive back4app admin app, which features a drag and drop interface, to easily handle your data collections this tool simplifies crud operations, making backend data management straightforward finally, you'll connect your backbone js frontend to back4app using the rest api and guide relies on standard api calls to interact with your backend you’ll also learn how to secure your data with robust access controls by the conclusion of this tutorial, you'll have constructed a production ready web application that supports crud functionalities and includes user authentication along with advanced data management features key takeaways master the art of building crud applications that handle data effectively using a dependable backend service discover strategies for creating a scalable database design and integrating it with a backbone js frontend learn to use the back4app admin app’s drag and drop features to simplify create, read, update, and delete tasks get acquainted with deployment methods, including docker containerization, to quickly launch your application prerequisites before diving in, make sure you have a back4app account and an active project refer to getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app if you need guidance a backbone js development setup you can include backbone js via a package manager like npm or by linking directly from a cdn a basic understanding of javascript, backbone js, and restful apis check out the backbone js documentation https //backbonejs org/#getting started for a refresher if needed step 1 – project initialization creating your back4app project sign in to your back4app account click on the “new app” button from your dashboard name your project basic crud app backbone and follow the prompts to set it up create new project once your project is created, it will be visible on your dashboard, ready to be configured as your backend for the application step 2 – crafting the database schema defining your data model for this crud application, you will set up several collections below are sample collections with the fields and types you need to establish your schema, ensuring your app can perform all crud operations 1\ items collection this collection will hold details for each item field data type description id objectid auto generated unique identifier title string name or title of the item description string a brief overview of the item created at date timestamp indicating when the item was added updated at date timestamp for the most recent update 2\ users collection this collection stores user details and authentication info field data type description id objectid auto generated unique identifier username string unique identifier for the user email string user’s unique email address password hash string securely hashed password created at date account creation timestamp updated at date last modification timestamp of the user data you can create these collections manually via the back4app dashboard by adding a new class for each collection and configuring the corresponding fields create new class simply choose a data type, set the field name, provide a default value if needed, and mark the field as required create column leveraging the back4app ai agent for schema creation the back4app ai agent is a handy utility within your dashboard that helps automate database schema creation by inputting a descriptive prompt for your desired collections and fields, the ai agent can swiftly generate the necessary database structure, saving you time and ensuring consistency how to use the ai agent access the ai agent log into your back4app dashboard and locate the ai agent in the navigation or project settings detail your data model input a prompt that outlines the collections and fields you require review and implement evaluate the suggested schema and apply the changes to your project sample prompt create the following collections for my back4app project 1\) collection items \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ title string \ description string \ created at date (auto generated) \ updated at date (auto updated) 2\) collection users \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ username string (unique) \ email string (unique) \ password hash string \ created at date (auto generated) \ updated at date (auto updated) utilizing the ai agent ensures that your schema is properly structured for your application's requirements step 3 – activating the admin app & managing crud operations introducing the admin app the back4app admin app is a no code interface that lets you efficiently manage your backend data its intuitive drag and drop design makes executing crud operations such as adding, viewing, modifying, and deleting records incredibly simple activating the admin app open the “more” menu from your back4app dashboard select “admin app” and then choose “enable admin app ” set up your administrator credentials by creating the initial admin account this step also establishes roles (like b4aadminuser ) and system collections enable admin app after activation, log in to the admin app to handle your data seamlessly admin app dashboard managing crud operations using the admin app within the admin app you can add new entries use the “add record” option in any collection (for instance, items) to create new entries view/modify records click on a record to inspect or alter its details remove records utilize the delete feature to clear out unwanted data this interface enhances user experience by streamlining all data management tasks step 4 – connecting backbone js with back4app now that your backend is configured, it's time to integrate your backbone js frontend with back4app using backbone js with rest api calls since the parse sdk is not tailored for backbone js, you'll employ backbone’s built in models, collections, and views in tandem with rest api calls to interact with back4app setting up your backbone models and collections begin by defining a model for your items and a corresponding collection for example // models/item js var item = backbone model extend({ urlroot 'https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', idattribute 'objectid', defaults { title '', description '' } }); export default item; // collections/itemscollection js import item from ' /models/item'; var itemscollection = backbone collection extend({ model item, url 'https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', parse function(response) { return response results; } }); export default itemscollection; building a backbone view for crud interactions create a view to render the list of items and handle user actions such as adding, editing, and deleting // views/itemsview\ js import backbone from 'backbone'; import from 'underscore'; import itemscollection from ' /collections/itemscollection'; var itemsview = backbone view\ extend({ el '#app', initialize function() { this collection = new itemscollection(); this listento(this collection, 'sync update', this render); this collection fetch({ headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' } }); }, events { 'click #add item' 'additem', 'click delete item' 'deleteitem', 'click edit item' 'edititem', 'click #save edit' 'saveedit' }, render function() { var template = template(` \<h2>items\</h2> \<div> \<input id="new title" type="text" placeholder="title"> \<input id="new description" type="text" placeholder="description"> \<button id="add item">add item\</button> \</div> \<ul> <% collection each(function(item) { %> \<li data id="<%= item id %>"> \<strong><%= item get('title') %>\</strong> <%= item get('description') %> \<button class="edit item">edit\</button> \<button class="delete item">delete\</button> \</li> <% }); %> \</ul> \<div id="edit section" style="display\ none;"> \<input id="edit title" type="text"> \<input id="edit description" type="text"> \<button id="save edit">save\</button> \</div> `); this $el html(template({ collection this collection })); return this; }, additem function() { var title = this $('#new title') val(); var description = this $('#new description') val(); var newitem = this collection create( { title title, description description }, { headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, wait true, success function() { console log('item added successfully '); }, error function(error) { console error('failed to add item ', error); } } ); }, deleteitem function(e) { var itemid = $(e currenttarget) closest('li') data('id'); var item = this collection get(itemid); item destroy({ headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, success function() { console log('item removed '); }, error function(error) { console error('error deleting item ', error); } }); }, edititem function(e) { var itemid = $(e currenttarget) closest('li') data('id'); var item = this collection get(itemid); this $('#edit section') show(); this $('#edit title') val(item get('title')); this $('#edit description') val(item get('description')); this currenteditid = itemid; }, saveedit function() { var newtitle = this $('#edit title') val(); var newdescription = this $('#edit description') val(); var item = this collection get(this currenteditid); item save( { title newtitle, description newdescription }, { headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, success function() { console log('item updated '); }, error function(error) { console error('update failed ', error); } } ); this $('#edit section') hide(); } }); export default itemsview; this view fetches items from back4app using the rest api and allows you to add, edit, and delete records step 5 – securing your backend implementing access control lists (acls) protect your data by setting acls on your objects for instance, to restrict an item's access solely to its creator function createsecureitem(itemdata, owner) { var item = backbone model extend({ urlroot 'https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items' }); var item = new item(); item set({ title itemdata title, description itemdata description }); // assume a custom api call or configuration that assigns acls based on the owner // here you would include acl headers or a similar mechanism as needed item save(null, { headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, success function(saveditem) { console log('secure item created ', saveditem); }, error function(err) { console error('error creating secure item ', err); } }); } configuring class level permissions (clps) within your back4app dashboard, set up clps for each collection to ensure only authorized users can access or modify sensitive data step 6 – user authentication setting up user accounts in backbone js back4app utilizes a user management system similar to parse’s user class for authentication in your backbone js application, you can handle user registration and login using ajax calls to the back4app rest api for example, to register a new user function signupuser(username, password, email) { $ ajax({ url 'https //parseapi back4app com/users', method 'post', headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key', 'content type' 'application/json' }, data json stringify({ username username, password password, email email }), success function(response) { alert('user registered successfully!'); }, error function(error) { alert('error during registration ' + error responsejson error); } }); } a similar method can be applied for logging in users and managing sessions step 7 – deploying your backbone js frontend back4app’s web deployment feature allows you to host your backbone js application seamlessly by linking your github repository 7 1 creating a production build open your project directory in a terminal run your build process if you are using a task runner or bundler (like webpack or gulp), execute the command (for example, npm run build ) to generate optimized static assets confirm the build ensure that your build output directory contains the main html file and all necessary asset folders 7 2 organizing and pushing your source code your github repository should include all source files for your backbone js app a typical structure might be basic crud app backbone/ \| bower components/ \| public/ \| └── index html \| src/ \| ├── models/ \| │ └── item js \| ├── collections/ \| │ └── itemscollection js \| ├── views/ \| │ └── itemsview\ js \| └── app js \| package json \| readme md sample configuration file src/app js import backbone from 'backbone'; import itemsview from ' /views/itemsview'; $(document) ready(function() { new itemsview(); }); pushing to github initialize git (if not done) git init stage your files git add commit your changes git commit m "initial commit of backbone js frontend code" create a github repository (for example, basic crud app backbone ) push your repository git remote add origin https //github com/your username/basic crud app backbone git git push u origin main 7 3 integrating your repository with back4app web deployment access the web deployment section in your back4app dashboard, go to your project and click on the web deployment option link your github account follow the prompts to authorize back4app to access your repository select your repository and branch choose your basic crud app backbone repository and the main branch 7 4 deployment configuration provide additional settings build command if no pre built assets exist, specify the command (e g , npm run build ) for building your app output directory designate the folder (for example, public or dist ) containing your static files environment variables add any necessary api keys or configurations 7 5 dockerizing your backbone js project if you choose docker for deployment, include a dockerfile similar to \# use an official node image to build the application from node 16 alpine as builder \# set working directory workdir /app \# copy package files and install dependencies copy package json / run npm install \# copy the entire project and build the app copy run npm run build \# use nginx to serve the static files from nginx\ stable alpine copy from=builder /app/public /usr/share/nginx/html expose 80 cmd \["nginx", " g", "daemon off;"] configure back4app to use docker deployment if desired 7 6 launching your application click the deploy button once your configuration is set, hit deploy monitor the build back4app will fetch your code, execute the build process, and deploy your containerized app get your live url after deployment, a url will be provided where your backbone js app is hosted 7 7 verifying your deployment visit the provided url open the url in your browser to confirm that your app loads correctly test functionality ensure that navigation, data fetching, and crud operations work as expected troubleshoot use browser tools and back4app logs to resolve any issues step 8 – conclusion and future directions great job! you have successfully built a crud application using backbone js and back4app you set up a project named basic crud app backbone , defined detailed collections for items and users, and managed your backend using the admin app additionally, you integrated your backbone js frontend via rest api calls and applied essential security measures next steps enhance the frontend expand your backbone js app with more detailed views, search capabilities, and real time updates add new features consider integrating more advanced backend logic, third party apis, or refined access controls further learning visit the back4app documentation https //www back4app com/docs for more insights on performance improvements and custom integrations by following this tutorial, you now have the expertise to create a robust, scalable crud backend for your backbone js application using back4app enjoy coding and exploring new features!