- 1. API with NestJS #1. Controllers, routing and the module structure
- 2. API with NestJS #2. Setting up a PostgreSQL database with TypeORM
- 3. API with NestJS #3. Authenticating users with bcrypt, Passport, JWT, and cookies
- 4. API with NestJS #4. Error handling and data validation
- 5. API with NestJS #5. Serializing the response with interceptors
- 6. API with NestJS #6. Looking into dependency injection and modules
- 7. API with NestJS #7. Creating relationships with Postgres and TypeORM
- 8. API with NestJS #8. Writing unit tests
- 9. API with NestJS #9. Testing services and controllers with integration tests
- 10. API with NestJS #10. Uploading public files to Amazon S3
- 11. API with NestJS #11. Managing private files with Amazon S3
- 12. API with NestJS #12. Introduction to Elasticsearch
- 13. API with NestJS #13. Implementing refresh tokens using JWT
- 14. API with NestJS #14. Improving performance of our Postgres database with indexes
- 15. API with NestJS #15. Defining transactions with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
- 16. API with NestJS #16. Using the array data type with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
- 17. API with NestJS #17. Offset and keyset pagination with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
- 18. API with NestJS #18. Exploring the idea of microservices
- 19. API with NestJS #19. Using RabbitMQ to communicate with microservices
- 20. API with NestJS #20. Communicating with microservices using the gRPC framework
- 21. API with NestJS #21. An introduction to CQRS
- 22. API with NestJS #22. Storing JSON with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
- 23. API with NestJS #23. Implementing in-memory cache to increase the performance
- 24. API with NestJS #24. Cache with Redis. Running the app in a Node.js cluster
- 25. API with NestJS #25. Sending scheduled emails with cron and Nodemailer
- 26. API with NestJS #26. Real-time chat with WebSockets
- 27. API with NestJS #27. Introduction to GraphQL. Queries, mutations, and authentication
- 28. API with NestJS #28. Dealing in the N + 1 problem in GraphQL
- 29. API with NestJS #29. Real-time updates with GraphQL subscriptions
- 30. API with NestJS #30. Scalar types in GraphQL
- 31. API with NestJS #31. Two-factor authentication
- 32. API with NestJS #32. Introduction to Prisma with PostgreSQL
- 33. API with NestJS #33. Managing PostgreSQL relationships with Prisma
- 34. API with NestJS #34. Handling CPU-intensive tasks with queues
- 35. API with NestJS #35. Using server-side sessions instead of JSON Web Tokens
- 36. API with NestJS #36. Introduction to Stripe with React
- 37. API with NestJS #37. Using Stripe to save credit cards for future use
- 38. API with NestJS #38. Setting up recurring payments via subscriptions with Stripe
- 39. API with NestJS #39. Reacting to Stripe events with webhooks
- 40. API with NestJS #40. Confirming the email address
- 41. API with NestJS #41. Verifying phone numbers and sending SMS messages with Twilio
- 42. API with NestJS #42. Authenticating users with Google
- 43. API with NestJS #43. Introduction to MongoDB
- 44. API with NestJS #44. Implementing relationships with MongoDB
- 45. API with NestJS #45. Virtual properties with MongoDB and Mongoose
- 46. API with NestJS #46. Managing transactions with MongoDB and Mongoose
- 47. API with NestJS #47. Implementing pagination with MongoDB and Mongoose
- 48. API with NestJS #48. Definining indexes with MongoDB and Mongoose
- 49. API with NestJS #49. Updating with PUT and PATCH with MongoDB and Mongoose
- 50. API with NestJS #50. Introduction to logging with the built-in logger and TypeORM
- 51. API with NestJS #51. Health checks with Terminus and Datadog
- 52. API with NestJS #52. Generating documentation with Compodoc and JSDoc
- 53. API with NestJS #53. Implementing soft deletes with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
- 54. API with NestJS #54. Storing files inside a PostgreSQL database
- 55. API with NestJS #55. Uploading files to the server
- 56. API with NestJS #56. Authorization with roles and claims
- 57. API with NestJS #57. Composing classes with the mixin pattern
- 58. API with NestJS #58. Using ETag to implement cache and save bandwidth
- 59. API with NestJS #59. Introduction to a monorepo with Lerna and Yarn workspaces
- 60. API with NestJS #60. The OpenAPI specification and Swagger
- 61. API with NestJS #61. Dealing with circular dependencies
- 62. API with NestJS #62. Introduction to MikroORM with PostgreSQL
- 63. API with NestJS #63. Relationships with PostgreSQL and MikroORM
- 64. API with NestJS #64. Transactions with PostgreSQL and MikroORM
- 65. API with NestJS #65. Implementing soft deletes using MikroORM and filters
- 66. API with NestJS #66. Improving PostgreSQL performance with indexes using MikroORM
- 67. API with NestJS #67. Migrating to TypeORM 0.3
- 68. API with NestJS #68. Interacting with the application through REPL
- 69. API with NestJS #69. Database migrations with TypeORM
- 70. API with NestJS #70. Defining dynamic modules
- 71. API with NestJS #71. Introduction to feature flags
- 72. API with NestJS #72. Working with PostgreSQL using raw SQL queries
- 73. API with NestJS #73. One-to-one relationships with raw SQL queries
- 74. API with NestJS #74. Designing many-to-one relationships using raw SQL queries
- 75. API with NestJS #75. Many-to-many relationships using raw SQL queries
- 76. API with NestJS #76. Working with transactions using raw SQL queries
- 77. API with NestJS #77. Offset and keyset pagination with raw SQL queries
- 78. API with NestJS #78. Generating statistics using aggregate functions in raw SQL
- 79. API with NestJS #79. Implementing searching with pattern matching and raw SQL
- 80. API with NestJS #80. Updating entities with PUT and PATCH using raw SQL queries
- 81. API with NestJS #81. Soft deletes with raw SQL queries
- 82. API with NestJS #82. Introduction to indexes with raw SQL queries
- 83. API with NestJS #83. Text search with tsvector and raw SQL
- 84. API with NestJS #84. Implementing filtering using subqueries with raw SQL
- 85. API with NestJS #85. Defining constraints with raw SQL
- 86. API with NestJS #86. Logging with the built-in logger when using raw SQL
- 87. API with NestJS #87. Writing unit tests in a project with raw SQL
- 88. API with NestJS #88. Testing a project with raw SQL using integration tests
- 89. API with NestJS #89. Replacing Express with Fastify
- 90. API with NestJS #90. Using various types of SQL joins
- 91. API with NestJS #91. Dockerizing a NestJS API with Docker Compose
- 92. API with NestJS #92. Increasing the developer experience with Docker Compose
- 93. API with NestJS #93. Deploying a NestJS app with Amazon ECS and RDS
- 94. API with NestJS #94. Deploying multiple instances on AWS with a load balancer
- 95. API with NestJS #95. CI/CD with Amazon ECS and GitHub Actions
- 96. API with NestJS #96. Running unit tests with CI/CD and GitHub Actions
- 97. API with NestJS #97. Introduction to managing logs with Amazon CloudWatch
- 98. API with NestJS #98. Health checks with Terminus and Amazon ECS
- 99. API with NestJS #99. Scaling the number of application instances with Amazon ECS
- 100. API with NestJS #100. The HTTPS protocol with Route 53 and AWS Certificate Manager
- 101. API with NestJS #101. Managing sensitive data using the AWS Secrets Manager
- 102. API with NestJS #102. Writing unit tests with Prisma
- 103. API with NestJS #103. Integration tests with Prisma
- 104. API with NestJS #104. Writing transactions with Prisma
- 105. API with NestJS #105. Implementing soft deletes with Prisma and middleware
- 106. API with NestJS #106. Improving performance through indexes with Prisma
- 107. API with NestJS #107. Offset and keyset pagination with Prisma
- 108. API with NestJS #108. Date and time with Prisma and PostgreSQL
- 109. API with NestJS #109. Arrays with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 110. API with NestJS #110. Managing JSON data with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 111. API with NestJS #111. Constraints with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 112. API with NestJS #112. Serializing the response with Prisma
- 113. API with NestJS #113. Logging with Prisma
- 114. API with NestJS #114. Modifying data using PUT and PATCH methods with Prisma
- 115. API with NestJS #115. Database migrations with Prisma
- 116. API with NestJS #116. REST API versioning
- 117. API with NestJS #117. CORS – Cross-Origin Resource Sharing
- 118. API with NestJS #118. Uploading and streaming videos
- 119. API with NestJS #119. Type-safe SQL queries with Kysely and PostgreSQL
- 120. API with NestJS #120. One-to-one relationships with the Kysely query builder
- 121. API with NestJS #121. Many-to-one relationships with PostgreSQL and Kysely
- 122. API with NestJS #122. Many-to-many relationships with Kysely and PostgreSQL
- 123. API with NestJS #123. SQL transactions with Kysely
- 124. API with NestJS #124. Handling SQL constraints with Kysely
- 125. API with NestJS #125. Offset and keyset pagination with Kysely
- 126. API with NestJS #126. Improving the database performance with indexes and Kysely
- 127. API with NestJS #127. Arrays with PostgreSQL and Kysely
- 128. API with NestJS #128. Managing JSON data with PostgreSQL and Kysely
- 129. API with NestJS #129. Implementing soft deletes with SQL and Kysely
- 130. API with NestJS #130. Avoiding storing sensitive information in API logs
- 131. API with NestJS #131. Unit tests with PostgreSQL and Kysely
- 132. API with NestJS #132. Handling date and time in PostgreSQL with Kysely
- 133. API with NestJS #133. Introducing database normalization with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 134. API with NestJS #134. Aggregating statistics with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 135. API with NestJS #135. Referential actions and foreign keys in PostgreSQL with Prisma
- 136. API with NestJS #136. Raw SQL queries with Prisma and PostgreSQL range types
- 137. API with NestJS #137. Recursive relationships with Prisma and PostgreSQL
- 138. API with NestJS #138. Filtering records with Prisma
- 139. API with NestJS #139. Using UUID as primary keys with Prisma and PostgreSQL
- 140. API with NestJS #140. Using multiple PostgreSQL schemas with Prisma
- 141. API with NestJS #141. Getting distinct records with Prisma and PostgreSQL
- 142. API with NestJS #142. A video chat with WebRTC and React
- 143. API with NestJS #143. Optimizing queries with views using PostgreSQL and Kysely
- 144. API with NestJS #144. Creating CLI applications with the Nest Commander
- 145. API with NestJS #145. Securing applications with Helmet
- 146. API with NestJS #146. Polymorphic associations with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 147. API with NestJS #147. The data types to store money with PostgreSQL and Prisma
- 148. API with NestJS #148. Understanding the injection scopes
- 149. API with NestJS #149. Introduction to the Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL
- 150. API with NestJS #150. One-to-one relationships with the Drizzle ORM
- 151. API with NestJS #151. Implementing many-to-one relationships with Drizzle ORM
- 152. API with NestJS #152. SQL constraints with the Drizzle ORM
- 153. API with NestJS #153. SQL transactions with the Drizzle ORM
- 154. API with NestJS #154. Many-to-many relationships with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 155. API with NestJS #155. Offset and keyset pagination with the Drizzle ORM
- 156. API with NestJS #156. Arrays with PostgreSQL and the Drizzle ORM
- 157. API with NestJS #157. Handling JSON data with PostgreSQL and the Drizzle ORM
- 158. API with NestJS #158. Soft deletes with the Drizzle ORM
- 159. API with NestJS #159. Date and time with PostgreSQL and the Drizzle ORM
- 160. API with NestJS #160. Using views with the Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 161. API with NestJS #161. Generated columns with the Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 162. API with NestJS #162. Identity columns with the Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 163. API with NestJS #163. Full-text search with the Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 164. API with NestJS #164. Improving the performance with indexes using Drizzle ORM
- 165. API with NestJS #165. Time intervals with the Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 166. API with NestJS #166. Logging with the Drizzle ORM
- 167. API with NestJS #167. Unit tests with the Drizzle ORM
- 168. API with NestJS #168. Integration tests with the Drizzle ORM
- 169. API with NestJS #169. Unique IDs with UUIDs using Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 170. API with NestJS #170. Polymorphic associations with PostgreSQL and Drizzle ORM
- 171. API with NestJS #171. Recursive relationships with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 172. API with NestJS #172. Database normalization with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 173. API with NestJS #173. Storing money with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 174. API with NestJS #174. Multiple PostgreSQL schemas with Drizzle ORM
- 175. API with NestJS #175. PUT and PATCH requests with PostgreSQL and Drizzle ORM
- 176. API with NestJS #176. Database migrations with the Drizzle ORM
- 177. API with NestJS #177. Response serialization with the Drizzle ORM
- 178. API with NestJS #178. Storing files inside of a PostgreSQL database with Drizzle
- 179. API with NestJS #179. Pattern matching search with Drizzle ORM and PostgreSQL
- 180. API with NestJS #180. Organizing Drizzle ORM schema with PostgreSQL
When working on our REST APIs, we usually focus on implementing the four fundamental operations: creating, reading, updating, and deleting (CRUD). Deleting entities is a common feature in many web applications. The simplest way to do it is by permanently deleting rows from the database. In this article, we use Kysely to explore the idea of soft deletes that enable us to keep deleted entities within the database.
The purpose of soft deletes
The simplest way to add the soft delete feature is through a boolean flag.
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CREATE TABLE comments ( id int GENERATED BY DEFAULT AS IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY, content text NOT NULL, article_id int REFERENCES articles(id) NOT NULL, author_id int REFERENCES users(id) NOT NULL, is_deleted boolean DEFAULT false ) |
In the above code, we use the DEFAULT keyword. This means that the is_deleted flag is set to false by default whenever we insert an entity into our database.
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INSERT into comments ( content, article_id, author_id ) VALUES ( 'An interesting article!', 1, 1 ) RETURNING * |
We don’t use the DELETE keyword when we want to do a soft delete on the record above. Instead, we don’t delete it permanently. To achieve that, we change the value in the is_deleted column.
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UPDATE comments SET is_deleted = true WHERE id = 1 |
The important thing is that implementing soft deletes impacts various queries. For instance, we need to consider it when retrieving the list of all entities.
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SELECT * FROM comments WHERE is_deleted = false |
Soft delete pros
The most apparent benefit of soft deletes is that we can quickly recover the deleted entities. While backups can also do this, soft deletes provide a better user experience. A practical example is an undo button that sets the is_deleted flag back to false. We can also retrieve the deleted records from the database, even though we’ve marked them as removed. This can be helpful when we want to create a report that includes all our records, for instance.
Soft deletes can also come in handy when handling relationships. For instance, permanently deleting a record referenced in another table can lead to a foreign constraint violation. This doesn’t occur with soft deletes because we don’t remove the entities from the database.
If you want to learn more about constraints, check out API with NestJS #124. Handling SQL constraints with Kysely
Soft delete cons
A significant drawback of soft deletes is that we have to account for them in all associated queries. If we retrieve our data and overlook filtering by the is_deleted column, we could provide the data the users shouldn’t have access to. Implementing this filtering can also impact our performance.
Another important thing to consider is the unique constraint. Let’s examine the users table we defined in one of the earlier parts of this series.
20230813165809_add_users_table.ts
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import { Kysely } from 'kysely'; export async function up(database: Kysely<unknown>): Promise<void> { await database.schema .createTable('users') .addColumn('id', 'serial', (column) => { return column.primaryKey(); }) .addColumn('email', 'text', (column) => { return column.notNull().unique(); }) .addColumn('name', 'text', (column) => { return column.notNull(); }) .addColumn('password', 'text', (column) => { return column.notNull(); }) .execute(); } export async function down(database: Kysely<unknown>): Promise<void> { await database.schema.dropTable('users').execute(); } |
In the situation mentioned above, we require a unique email for each user. With hard deletes, deleting users would free up their email for others to use. However, with soft deletes, we don’t remove records from the database, so deleting users this way doesn’t make their emails available to others.
Implementing soft deletes with Kysely
A commonly used approach for soft deletes involves storing the deletion date instead of a simple boolean flag.
20231015202921_add_comments_table.ts
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import { Kysely } from 'kysely'; export async function up(database: Kysely<unknown>): Promise<void> { await database.schema .createTable('comments') .addColumn('id', 'serial', (column) => { return column.primaryKey(); }) .addColumn('content', 'text', (column) => { return column.notNull(); }) .addColumn('article_id', 'integer', (column) => { return column.references('articles.id'); }) .addColumn('author_id', 'integer', (column) => { return column.references('users.id'); }) .addColumn('deleted_at', 'timestamptz') .execute(); } export async function down(database: Kysely<unknown>): Promise<void> { await database.schema.dropTable('users').execute(); } |
If you’re interested in learning more about dates in PostgreSQL, take a look at Managing date and time with PostgreSQL and TypeORM
Besides creating the migration, we also need to design an appropriate interface.
commentsTable.ts
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import { Generated } from 'kysely'; export interface CommentsTable { id: Generated<number>; content: string; author_id: number; article_id: number; deleted_at: Date | null; } |
We also need to add it to our Tables interface.
database.ts
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import { ArticlesTable } from '../articles/articlesTable'; import { Kysely } from 'kysely'; import { UsersTable } from '../users/usersTable'; import { AddressesTable } from '../users/addressesTable'; import { CategoriesTable } from '../categories/categoriesTable'; import { CategoriesArticlesTable } from '../categories/categoriesArticlesTable'; import { CommentsTable } from '../comments/commentsTable'; export interface Tables { articles: ArticlesTable; users: UsersTable; addresses: AddressesTable; categories: CategoriesTable; categories_articles: CategoriesArticlesTable; comments: CommentsTable; } export class Database extends Kysely<Tables> {} |
Besides the above, we must create a model to handle the data returned from the database.
comment.model.ts
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export interface CommentModelData { id: number; content: string; author_id: number; article_id: number; deleted_at: Date | null; } export class Comment { id: number; content: string; authorId: number; articleId: number; deletedAt: Date | null; constructor(commentData: CommentModelData) { this.id = commentData.id; this.content = commentData.content; this.authorId = commentData.author_id; this.articleId = commentData.article_id; this.deletedAt = commentData.deleted_at; } } |
Creating records
To create an entity, we first need to define a Data Transfer Object that validates the data coming from the user.
comment.dto.ts
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import { IsString, IsNotEmpty, IsNumber } from 'class-validator'; export class CommentDto { @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() content: string; @IsNumber() articleId: number; } |
Please notice that we are not allowing the users to set the value of the deleted_at column. Instead, we want it to be null by default.
comments.repository.ts
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import { BadRequestException, Injectable } from '@nestjs/common'; import { Comment } from './comment.model'; import { CommentDto } from './comment.dto'; import { Database } from '../database/database'; import { PostgresErrorCode } from '../database/postgresErrorCode.enum'; import { isDatabaseError } from '../types/databaseError'; @Injectable() export class CommentsRepository { constructor(private readonly database: Database) {} async create(commentData: CommentDto, authorId: number) { try { const databaseResponse = await this.database .insertInto('comments') .values({ content: commentData.content, author_id: authorId, article_id: commentData.articleId, }) .returningAll() .executeTakeFirstOrThrow(); return new Comment(databaseResponse); } catch (error) { if ( isDatabaseError(error) && error.code === PostgresErrorCode.ForeignKeyViolation ) { throw new BadRequestException('Article not found'); } throw error; } } // ... } |
Above, we look for the foreign key violations to detect if the user tried to create a comment for an article that does not exist.
Deleting records
A critical aspect of soft deletes is managing the DELETE method correctly.
comments.controller.ts
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import { ClassSerializerInterceptor, Controller, Delete, Param, UseGuards, UseInterceptors, } from '@nestjs/common'; import FindOneParams from '../utils/findOneParams'; import { CommentsService } from './comments.service'; import { JwtAuthenticationGuard } from '../authentication/jwt-authentication.guard'; @Controller('comments') @UseInterceptors(ClassSerializerInterceptor) export class CommentsController { constructor(private readonly commentsService: CommentsService) {} @Delete(':id') @UseGuards(JwtAuthenticationGuard) async delete(@Param() { id }: FindOneParams) { await this.commentsService.delete(id); } // ... } |
The query in our repository should correctly set the value for the delete_at column. One approach to achieve this is using the now() function built into PostgreSQL, which provides the current date and time and the timezone.
comments.repository.ts
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { Comment } from './comment.model'; import { Database } from '../database/database'; import { sql } from 'kysely'; @Injectable() export class CommentsRepository { constructor(private readonly database: Database) {} async delete(id: number) { const databaseResponse = await this.database .updateTable('comments') .set({ deleted_at: sql`now()`, }) .where('id', '=', id) .where('deleted_at', 'is', null) .returningAll() .executeTakeFirst(); if (!databaseResponse) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return new Comment(databaseResponse); } // ... } |
We use where('deleted_at', 'is', null) to disallow removing an entity already marked as deleted.
Fetching records
Considering the deleted_at column in the rest of our queries is essential. A good example is when fetching records. For starters, we need to filter out the records with the delete_at values using where('deleted_at', 'is', null).
comments.repository.ts
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { Comment } from './comment.model'; import { Database } from '../database/database'; @Injectable() export class CommentsRepository { constructor(private readonly database: Database) {} async getAll() { const databaseResponse = await this.database .selectFrom('comments') .where('deleted_at', 'is', null) .selectAll() .execute(); return databaseResponse.map((comment) => new Comment(comment)); } async getById(id: number) { const databaseResponse = await this.database .selectFrom('comments') .where('id', '=', id) .where('deleted_at', 'is', null) .selectAll() .executeTakeFirst(); if (!databaseResponse || databaseResponse.deleted_at) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return new Comment(databaseResponse); } // ... } |
Thanks to the above, attempting to retrieve a record marked as deleted will result in the 404 Not Found error.
Updating records
The use of soft deletes can also impact how we implement updating entities. We aim for our API to return a 404 Not Found error when a user attempts to update a record marked as deleted.
comments.repository.ts
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { Comment } from './comment.model'; import { CommentDto } from './comment.dto'; import { Database } from '../database/database'; @Injectable() export class CommentsRepository { constructor(private readonly database: Database) {} async update(id: number, commentData: CommentDto) { const databaseResponse = await this.database .updateTable('comments') .set({ content: commentData.content, article_id: commentData.articleId, }) .where('id', '=', id) .where('deleted_at', 'is', null) .returningAll() .executeTakeFirst(); if (!databaseResponse) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return new Comment(databaseResponse); } // ... } |
Restoring records
There might be instances where we want to restore a deleted entity. Thankfully, this simple task can be accomplished by setting the value in the deleted_at column to null.
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { Comment } from './comment.model'; import { Database } from '../database/database'; @Injectable() export class CommentsRepository { constructor(private readonly database: Database) {} async restore(id: number) { const databaseResponse = await this.database .updateTable('comments') .set({ deleted_at: null, }) .where('id', '=', id) .returningAll() .executeTakeFirst(); if (!databaseResponse) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return new Comment(databaseResponse); } // ... } |
Summary
In this article, we’ve explored soft deletes and discussed their advantages and disadvantages. Soft deletes can enhance the user experience when deleting and restoring entities. However, they do introduce added complexity to all of our SQL queries. Despite this, soft deletes have specific use cases and can be valuable in certain situations.