Node.js Express for REST? Are there controllers in Express?

Question

I'm currently developing a community (like a lightweight "social network") for a limited (local) target. This is the first project where SEO doesn't matter and where I can happily exclude no-js users. That's why I'm thinking to start the project over and write my first site that is completely build with Javascript and my first Node application for educational reasons.

Details so far:

Browser: jQuery, maybe JavaScriptMVC (there are some things I don't like about JavaScriptMVC (like the routes), maybe I write my own little MVC or do you know a better suited framework?)

Server: Node.JS, Express framework, (maybe socket.io or nowjs for further features)

I got a few questions so far. I know it's better to ask a single question but there are more or less connected:

• Express looks really nice but I'm missing MVC. I couldn't find any project that implements mvc and is build on Express. Is there a reason for that? Routing is nice in Express but I need a way to spread code across multiple files (controllers would be the best way I guess, the application won't be small and I need it maintainable)

• The application will be more or less completely based on AJAX (json) requests. Is Express the right framework for such applications, anyway? I think the best way to write this project is to expose a json REST api which can then be queried by the web application over AJAX and by a mobile device app (which I'm also going to write). In my opinion Express' route system is quite suited for REST. But feel free to recommend other frameworks.

Answer 1

Have you seen Swagger? An API server available in Node.js with an automated UI Generator.

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