- 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
When users send an HTTP request to our API, they use a specific method to indicate whether they want to retrieve, send, delete, or update data. While we could technically delete data on a GET request, it’s our responsibility to design the API in a way that is intuitive and adheres to best practices.
Most HTTP methods are simple and self-explanatory. However, both the POST and PATCH methods can modify existing data, which can sometimes cause confusion. In this article, we’ll explore how to use them with Drizzle ORM and clarify their differences.
PUT
Our database contains a straightforward table with articles.
database-schema.ts
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import { serial, text, pgTable } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core'; export const articles = pgTable('articles', { id: serial('id').primaryKey(), title: text('title').notNull(), content: text('content'), }); export const databaseSchema = { articles, }; |
Let’s start by fetching one of the existing articles.
1 |
GET /articles/1 |
Response:
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{ "id": 1, "title": "My first article", "content": "Hello world!" } |
One of the possible approaches to modifying existing articles is to use a PUT method. It changes the entities by replacing them. If the request does not include a particular field, the field should be removed.
1 |
PUT /articles/1 |
Request body:
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{ "id": 1, "title": "My first article, modified" } |
Response:
1 2 3 4 5 |
{ "id": 1, "title": "My first article, modified", "content": null } |
Since the request body does not contain the content property, our application should set it to null.
Implementing the PUT method with Drizzle ORM
We need to use the update method to modify existing entities with the Drizzle ORM.
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this.drizzleService.db .update(databaseSchema.articles) .set({ title: 'My first article!', }) .where(eq(databaseSchema.articles.id, 1)); |
The crucial thing is that the update method affects only the properties we provide explicitly. To remove the content property, we need to explicitly set it to null.
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this.drizzleService.db .update(databaseSchema.articles) .set({ title: 'My first article!', content: null, }) .where(eq(databaseSchema.articles.id, 1)); |
To deal with this, we can create a Data Transfer Object that uses null as a default value.
replace-article.dto.ts
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import { IsString, IsNotEmpty, IsOptional } from 'class-validator'; export class ReplaceArticleDto { @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() title: string; @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() @IsOptional() content: string | null = null; } |
Now, we can use the above DTO in our service. If the user doesn’t provide one of the optional properties, our API will set them to null.
articles.service.ts
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { DrizzleService } from '../database/drizzle.service'; import { databaseSchema } from '../database/database-schema'; import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm'; import { ReplaceArticleDto } from './dto/replace-article.dto'; @Injectable() export class ArticlesService { constructor(private readonly drizzleService: DrizzleService) {} async replace(id: number, article: ReplaceArticleDto) { const updatedArticles = await this.drizzleService.db .update(databaseSchema.articles) .set({ title: article.title, content: article.content, }) .where(eq(databaseSchema.articles.id, id)) .returning(); if (updatedArticles.length === 0) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return updatedArticles.pop(); } // ... } |
Finally, we can create a PUT method handler in our controller.
articles.controller.ts
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import { Body, Controller, Param, ParseIntPipe, Put } from '@nestjs/common'; import { ArticlesService } from './articles.service'; import { ReplaceArticleDto } from './dto/replace-article.dto'; @Controller('articles') export class ArticlesController { constructor(private readonly articlesService: ArticlesService) {} @Put(':id') replace( @Param('id', ParseIntPipe) id: number, @Body() article: ReplaceArticleDto, ) { return this.articlesService.replace(id, article); } // ... } |
Thanks to this approach, making a PUT request without providing the content property changes it to null.
PATCH
Alternatively, we can use the PATCH method to modify existing entities partially using a set of instructions. The most common way of implementing the PATCH method is to handle a request body with a partial entity.
1 |
PATCH /articles/2 |
Request body:
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{ "id": 2, "title": "My second article, modified" } |
Response:
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{ "id": 2, "title": "My second article, modified", "content": "Hello world!" } |
The most important thing about the PATCH requests is that to delete a property, we must send the null value explicitly. Because of that, the above request does not remove the content property. This prevents us from removing values by accident.
Implementing the PATCH method with Drizzle ORM
With the PATCH method, providing any of the properties is optional. Because of that, we might think of using the @IsOptional() decorator built into the class-validator library. Unfortunately, there is a significant issue with it. It allows the property to be either undefined or null, which can be confusing.
While all properties are optional when using a PATCH method, trying to set null for a property that is not nullable can cause an Internal Server Error in our application. To solve this, we should use the @ValidateIf() decorator to allow the users to omit a value but not provide null.
update-article.dto.ts
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import { IsString, IsNotEmpty, IsOptional, ValidateIf } from 'class-validator'; export class UpdateArticleDto { @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() @ValidateIf((object, value) => value !== undefined) title?: string; @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() @IsOptional() content?: string | null; } |
We can still use the @IsOptional() decorator for content because this property is nullable in our database.
With the above approach, we validate the title property only if the user provides it. If the user does not provide the title property, we don’t throw an error.
We can create a custom decorator that uses ValidateIf() under the hood to prevent our code from being duplicated.
can-be-undefined.ts
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import { ValidateIf } from 'class-validator'; export function CanBeUndefined() { return ValidateIf((data, value) => value !== undefined); } |
Thanks to the above decorator, our code can be shorter and more explicit.
update-article.dto.ts
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import { IsString, IsNotEmpty, IsOptional } from 'class-validator'; import { CanBeUndefined } from '../../utilities/can-be-undefined'; export class UpdateArticleDto { @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() @CanBeUndefined() title?: string; @IsString() @IsNotEmpty() @IsOptional() content?: string | null; } |
To implement the PATCH method with Drizzle ORM, we need to use the update method like before. It fits our needs since it does not modify the properties the user didn’t explicitly provide.
articles.service.ts
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import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common'; import { DrizzleService } from '../database/drizzle.service'; import { databaseSchema } from '../database/database-schema'; import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm'; import { UpdateArticleDto } from './dto/update-article.dto'; @Injectable() export class ArticlesService { constructor(private readonly drizzleService: DrizzleService) {} async update(id: number, article: UpdateArticleDto) { const updatedArticles = await this.drizzleService.db .update(databaseSchema.articles) .set({ title: article.title, content: article.content, }) .where(eq(databaseSchema.articles.id, id)) .returning(); if (updatedArticles.length === 0) { throw new NotFoundException(); } return updatedArticles.pop(); } // ... } |
The last step is to add the PATCH method to our controller.
articles.controller.ts
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import { Body, Controller, Param, ParseIntPipe, Patch } from '@nestjs/common'; import { ArticlesService } from './articles.service'; import { UpdateArticleDto } from './dto/update-article.dto'; @Controller('articles') export class ArticlesController { constructor(private readonly articlesService: ArticlesService) {} @Patch(':id') update( @Param('id', ParseIntPipe) id: number, @Body() article: UpdateArticleDto, ) { return this.articlesService.update(id, article); } // ... } |
Summary
In this article, we’ve explained how to modify existing entities using both the PUT and PATCH methods using NestJS and the Drizzle ORM. To achieve that, we had to dive deeper into how the class-validator handles missing values.
While we can make both approaches work, using PATCH prevents the users from accidentally removing properties since they need to provide the null value explicitly. Understanding the difference between PUT and PATCH methods is important if we want our API to be user-friendly and to follow best practices.