Node.js Setup Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js 14.x or later
• npm or yarn package manager
• DocumentDB installed and running
• Docker installed (if set up is not completed yet)
• Basic Node.js knowledge

Project Setup (skip if already done)

Before connecting from Node.js, make sure you have a running DocumentDB instance using Docker:

# Pull the latest DocumentDB Docker image
docker pull ghcr.io/documentdb/documentdb/documentdb-local:latest

# Tag the image for convenience
docker tag ghcr.io/documentdb/documentdb/documentdb-local:latest documentdb

# Run the container with your chosen username and password
docker run -dt -p 10260:10260 --name documentdb-container documentdb --username <YOUR_USERNAME> --password <YOUR_PASSWORD>
docker image rm -f ghcr.io/documentdb/documentdb/documentdb-local:latest

Installation

1. Creating a new Node.js project

   mkdir my-documentdb-app
   cd my-documentdb-app
   npm init -y

2. Installing the MongoDB driver

   npm install mongodb

Connecting to DocumentDB

DocumentDB Local accepts TLS connections on the gateway port and requires authentication. Connect with the username and password you set when starting the container, and because the container uses a self-signed certificate, the simplest local setup skips certificate validation with tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true (in production, provide the gateway certificate instead).

const { MongoClient } = require('mongodb');

const uri = 'mongodb://<YOUR_USERNAME>:<YOUR_PASSWORD>@localhost:10260/?tls=true&tlsAllowInvalidCertificates=true';
const client = new MongoClient(uri);

async function connect() {
  try {
    await client.connect();
    const db = client.db('your_database');
    return db;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Connection error:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

Basic Operations

1. Creating collections

   const collection = db.collection('your_collection');

2. Document operations

   • Insert operations
   • Find operations
   • Update operations
   • Delete operations

Working with Promises and Async/Await

1. Promise-based operations
2. Async/await patterns
3. Error handling
4. Connection management

Advanced Features

1. Bulk operations
2. Aggregation framework
3. Vector search
4. Geospatial queries
5. Change streams
6. Transactions

Error Handling

1. Connection errors
2. Operation errors
3. Timeout handling
4. Retry strategies

Best Practices

1. Connection pooling
2. Query optimization
3. Bulk operations
4. Error handling
5. Security considerations

Sample Applications

1. Basic CRUD application
2. REST API with Express
3. Vector search example
4. Real-time applications with change streams

Testing

1. Setting up test environment
2. Unit testing with Jest/Mocha
3. Integration testing
4. Mock testing

Deployment

1. Development setup
2. Production considerations
3. Monitoring and logging
4. Performance optimization

Next Steps

• Explore advanced features
• Learn about indexing strategies
• Build your first application