expressjsHow do I use Express.js to read the body of a request?

Express.js is a web application framework for Node.js that allows you to create web applications. One of the things you can do with Express.js is read the body of a request. To do this, you need to use the body-parser middleware. Here is an example of how to use it:

const express = require('express')
const bodyParser = require('body-parser')

const app = express()

// parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }))

// parse application/json
app.use(bodyParser.json())

app.post('/', (req, res) => {
  console.log(req.body)
})

This example sets up the body-parser middleware to parse both application/x-www-form-urlencoded and application/json data. Then, when a POST request is made to /, the body of the request is printed to the console.

The body-parser middleware can also be used to read data from PUT and DELETE requests.

Code explanation

1. const express = require('express'): This line imports the Express.js module.
2. const bodyParser = require('body-parser'): This line imports the body-parser middleware.
3. app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false })): This line sets up the body-parser middleware to parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded data.
4. app.use(bodyParser.json()): This line sets up the body-parser middleware to parse application/json data.
5. app.post('/', (req, res) => { console.log(req.body) }): This line sets up a POST route that will print the body of the request to the console.

Helpful links

• Express.js Documentation
• body-parser Documentation

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