Web Application Development Tutorial - Part 3: Creating, Updating and Deleting Books

About This Tutorial

In this tutorial series, you will build an ABP based web application named Acme.BookStore. This application is used to manage a list of books and their authors. It is developed using the following technologies:

• MongoDB as the database provider.
• Angular as the UI Framework.

This tutorial is organized as the following parts;

• Part 1: Creating the project and book list page
• Part 2: The book list page
• Part 3: Creating, updating and deleting books (this part)
• Part 4: Integration tests
• Part 5: Authorization
• Part 6: Authors: Domain layer
• Part 7: Authors: Database Integration
• Part 8: Authors: Application Layer
• Part 9: Authors: User Interface
• Part 10: Book to Author Relation

Download the Source Code

This tutorial has multiple versions based on your UI and Database preferences. We've prepared a few combinations of the source code to be downloaded:

• MVC (Razor Pages) UI with EF Core
• Blazor UI with EF Core
• Angular UI with MongoDB

If you encounter the "filename too long" or "unzip" error on Windows, please see this guide.

Creating a New Book

In this section, you will learn how to create a new modal dialog form to create a new book.

BookComponent

Open /src/app/book/book.component.ts and replace the content as below:

import { ListService, PagedResultDto } from '@abp/ng.core';
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { BookService, BookDto } from '@proxy/books';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-book',
  templateUrl: './book.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./book.component.scss'],
  providers: [ListService],
})
export class BookComponent implements OnInit {
  book = { items: [], totalCount: 0 } as PagedResultDto<BookDto>;

  isModalOpen = false; // add this line

  constructor(public readonly list: ListService, private bookService: BookService) {}

  ngOnInit() {
    const bookStreamCreator = (query) => this.bookService.getList(query);

    this.list.hookToQuery(bookStreamCreator).subscribe((response) => {
      this.book = response;
    });
  }

  // add new method
  createBook() {
    this.isModalOpen = true;
  }
}

• We defined a property called isModalOpen and a method called createBook.

Open /src/app/book/book.component.html and make the following changes:

<abp-page [title]=" '::Menu:Books' | abpLocalization ">
  <abp-page-toolbar-container class="col">
    <div class="text-lg-end pt-2">
      <button class="btn btn-primary btn-sm"
              type="button"
              (click)="createBook()">
        <i class="fa fa-plus me-1"></i>
        {{ '::NewBook' | abpLocalization }}
      </button>
    </div>
  </abp-page-toolbar-container>

  <div class="card">
    <div class="card-body">

      <ngx-datatable [rows]="book.items" [count]="book.totalCount" [list]="list" default>
        <ngx-datatable-column [name]="'::Name' | abpLocalization" prop="name"></ngx-datatable-column>
        <ngx-datatable-column [name]="'::Type' | abpLocalization" prop="type">
          <ng-template let-row="row" ngx-datatable-cell-template>
            {{ '::Enum:BookType.' + row.type | abpLocalization }}
          </ng-template>
        </ngx-datatable-column>
        <ngx-datatable-column [name]="'::PublishDate' | abpLocalization" prop="publishDate">
          <ng-template let-row="row" ngx-datatable-cell-template>
            {{ row.publishDate | date }}
          </ng-template>
        </ngx-datatable-column>
        <ngx-datatable-column [name]="'::Price' | abpLocalization" prop="price">
          <ng-template let-row="row" ngx-datatable-cell-template>
           {{ row.price | currency }}
          </ng-template>
        </ngx-datatable-column>
      </ngx-datatable>
    </div>
  </div>
</abp-page>

<!-- Add the modal here -->
<abp-modal [(visible)]="isModalOpen">
  <ng-template #abpHeader>
    <h3>{{ '::NewBook' | abpLocalization }}</h3>
  </ng-template>

  <ng-template #abpBody> </ng-template>

  <ng-template #abpFooter>
    <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" abpClose>
      {{ '::Close' | abpLocalization }}
    </button>
  </ng-template>
</abp-modal>

• Added New book button to the page header.
• Added the abp-modal which renders a modal to allow user to create a new book. abp-modal is a pre-built component to show modals. While you could use another approach to show a modal, abp-modal provides additional benefits.

You can open your browser and click New book button to see the new modal.

Create a Reactive Form

Reactive forms provide a model-driven approach to handling form inputs whose values change over time.

Open /src/app/book/book.component.ts and replace the content as below:

import { ListService, PagedResultDto } from '@abp/ng.core';
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { BookService, BookDto, bookTypeOptions } from '@proxy/books'; // add bookTypeOptions
import { FormGroup, FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms'; // add this

@Component({
  selector: 'app-book',
  templateUrl: './book.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./book.component.scss'],
  providers: [ListService],
})
export class BookComponent implements OnInit {
  book = { items: [], totalCount: 0 } as PagedResultDto<BookDto>;

  form: FormGroup; // add this line

  // add bookTypes as a list of enum members
  bookTypes = bookTypeOptions;

  isModalOpen = false;

  constructor(
    public readonly list: ListService,
    private bookService: BookService,
    private fb: FormBuilder // inject FormBuilder
  ) {}

  ngOnInit() {
    const bookStreamCreator = (query) => this.bookService.getList(query);

    this.list.hookToQuery(bookStreamCreator).subscribe((response) => {
      this.book = response;
    });
  }

  createBook() {
    this.buildForm(); // add this line
    this.isModalOpen = true;
  }

  // add buildForm method
  buildForm() {
    this.form = this.fb.group({
      name: ['', Validators.required],
      type: [null, Validators.required],
      publishDate: [null, Validators.required],
      price: [null, Validators.required],
    });
  }

  // add save method
  save() {
    if (this.form.invalid) {
      return;
    }

    this.bookService.create(this.form.value).subscribe(() => {
      this.isModalOpen = false;
      this.form.reset();
      this.list.get();
    });
  }
}

• Imported FormGroup, FormBuilder and Validators from @angular/forms.
• Added form: FormGroup property.
• Added bookTypes property as a list of BookType enum members. That will be used in form options.
• Injected FormBuilder into the constructor. FormBuilder provides convenient methods for generating form controls. It reduces the amount of boilerplate needed to build complex forms.
• Added buildForm method to the end of the file and executed the buildForm() in the createBook method.
• Added save method.

Open /src/app/book/book.component.html and replace <ng-template #abpBody> </ng-template> with the following code part:

<ng-template #abpBody>
  <form [formGroup]="form" (ngSubmit)="save()">
    <div class="form-group">
      <label for="book-name">Name</label><span> * </span>
      <input type="text" id="book-name" class="form-control" formControlName="name" autofocus />
    </div>

    <div class="form-group mt-2">
      <label for="book-price">Price</label><span> * </span>
      <input type="number" id="book-price" class="form-control" formControlName="price" />
    </div>

    <div class="form-group mt-2">
      <label for="book-type">Type</label><span> * </span>
      <select class="form-control" id="book-type" formControlName="type">
        <option [ngValue]="null">Select a book type</option>
        <option [ngValue]="type.value" *ngFor="let type of bookTypes"> {{ type.key }}</option>
      </select>
    </div>

    <div class="form-group mt-2">
      <label>Publish date</label><span> * </span>
      <input
        #datepicker="ngbDatepicker"
        class="form-control"
        name="datepicker"
        formControlName="publishDate"
        ngbDatepicker
        (click)="datepicker.toggle()"
      />
    </div>
  </form>
</ng-template>

Also replace <ng-template #abpFooter> </ng-template> with the following code part:

<ng-template #abpFooter>
  <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" abpClose>
      {{ '::Close' | abpLocalization }}
  </button>

  <!--added save button-->
  <button class="btn btn-primary" (click)="save()" [disabled]="form.invalid">
        <i class="fa fa-check me-1"></i>
        {{ '::Save' | abpLocalization }}
  </button>
</ng-template>

Datepicker

We've used NgBootstrap datepicker in this component. So, need to arrange dependencies related to this component.

Open /src/app/book/book.module.ts and replace the content as below:

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { SharedModule } from '../shared/shared.module';
import { BookRoutingModule } from './book-routing.module';
import { BookComponent } from './book.component';
import { PageModule } from '@abp/ng.components/page'
import { NgbDatepickerModule } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap'; // add this line

@NgModule({
  declarations: [BookComponent],
  imports: [
    BookRoutingModule,
    SharedModule,
    PageModule,
    NgbDatepickerModule, // add this line
  ]
})
export class BookModule { }

• We imported NgbDatepickerModule to be able to use the date picker.

Open /src/app/book/book.component.ts and replace the content as below:

import { ListService, PagedResultDto } from '@abp/ng.core';
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { BookService, BookDto, bookTypeOptions } from '@proxy/books';
import { FormGroup, FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

// added this line
import { NgbDateNativeAdapter, NgbDateAdapter } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-book',
  templateUrl: './book.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./book.component.scss'],
  providers: [
    ListService,
    { provide: NgbDateAdapter, useClass: NgbDateNativeAdapter } // add this line
  ],
})
export class BookComponent implements OnInit {
  book = { items: [], totalCount: 0 } as PagedResultDto<BookDto>;

  form: FormGroup;

  bookTypes = bookTypeOptions;

  isModalOpen = false;

  constructor(
    public readonly list: ListService,
    private bookService: BookService,
    private fb: FormBuilder
  ) {}

  ngOnInit() {
    const bookStreamCreator = (query) => this.bookService.getList(query);

    this.list.hookToQuery(bookStreamCreator).subscribe((response) => {
      this.book = response;
    });
  }

  createBook() {
    this.buildForm();
    this.isModalOpen = true;
  }

  buildForm() {
    this.form = this.fb.group({
      name: ['', Validators.required],
      type: [null, Validators.required],
      publishDate: [null, Validators.required],
      price: [null, Validators.required],
    });
  }

  save() {
    if (this.form.invalid) {
      return;
    }

    this.bookService.create(this.form.value).subscribe(() => {
      this.isModalOpen = false;
      this.form.reset();
      this.list.get();
    });
  }
}

• Imported NgbDateNativeAdapter and NgbDateAdapter.
• We added a new provider NgbDateAdapter that converts Datepicker value to Date type. See the datepicker adapters for more details.

Now, you can open your browser to see the changes:

Updating a Book

Open /src/app/book/book.component.ts and replace the content as shown below:

import { ListService, PagedResultDto } from '@abp/ng.core';
import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { BookService, BookDto, bookTypeOptions } from '@proxy/books';
import { FormGroup, FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms';
import { NgbDateNativeAdapter, NgbDateAdapter } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-book',
  templateUrl: './book.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./book.component.scss'],
  providers: [ListService, { provide: NgbDateAdapter, useClass: NgbDateNativeAdapter }],
})
export class BookComponent implements OnInit {
  book = { items: [], totalCount: 0 } as PagedResultDto<BookDto>;

  form: FormGroup;

  selectedBook = {} as BookDto; // declare selectedBook

  bookTypes = bookTypeOptions;

  isModalOpen = false;

  constructor(
    public readonly list: ListService,
    private bookService: BookService,
    private fb: FormBuilder
  ) {}

  ngOnInit() {
    const bookStreamCreator = (query) => this.bookService.getList(query);

    this.list.hookToQuery(bookStreamCreator).subscribe((response) => {
      this.book = response;
    });
  }

  createBook() {
    this.selectedBook = {} as BookDto; // reset the selected book
    this.buildForm();
    this.isModalOpen = true;
  }

  // Add editBook method
  editBook(id: string) {
    this.bookService.get(id).subscribe((book) => {
      this.selectedBook = book;
      this.buildForm();
      this.isModalOpen = true;
    });
  }

  buildForm() {
    this.form = this.fb.group({
      name: [this.selectedBook.name || '', Validators.required],
      type: [this.selectedBook.type || null, Validators.required],
      publishDate: [
        this.selectedBook.publishDate ? new Date(this.selectedBook.publishDate) : null,
        Validators.required,
      ],
      price: [this.selectedBook.price || null, Validators.required],
    });
  }

  // change the save method
  save() {
    if (this.form.invalid) {
      return;
    }

    const request = this.selectedBook.id
      ? this.bookService.update(this.selectedBook.id, this.form.value)
      : this.bookService.create(this.form.value);

    request.subscribe(() => {
      this.isModalOpen = false;
      this.form.reset();
      this.list.get();
    });
  }
}

• We declared a variable named selectedBook as BookDto.
• We added editBook method. This method fetches the book with the given id and sets it to selectedBook object.
• We replaced the buildForm method so that it creates the form with the selectedBook data.
• We replaced the createBook method so it sets selectedBook to an empty object.
• We changed the save method to handle both of create and update operations.

Add "Actions" Dropdown to the Table

Open the /src/app/book/book.component.html  and add the following ngx-datatable-column definition as the first column in the ngx-datatable:

<ngx-datatable-column
  [name]="'::Actions' | abpLocalization"
  [maxWidth]="150"
  [sortable]="false"
>
  <ng-template let-row="row" ngx-datatable-cell-template>
    <div ngbDropdown container="body" class="d-inline-block">
      <button
        class="btn btn-primary btn-sm dropdown-toggle"
        data-toggle="dropdown"
        aria-haspopup="true"
        ngbDropdownToggle
      >
        <i class="fa fa-cog me-1"></i>{{ '::Actions' | abpLocalization }}
      </button>
      <div ngbDropdownMenu>
        <button ngbDropdownItem (click)="editBook(row.id)">
          {{ '::Edit' | abpLocalization }}
        </button>
      </div>
    </div>
  </ng-template>
</ngx-datatable-column>

Added an "Actions" dropdown as the first column of the table that is shown below:

Also, change the ng-template #abpHeader section as shown below:

<ng-template #abpHeader>
    <h3>{{ (selectedBook.id ? '::Edit' : '::NewBook' ) | abpLocalization }}</h3>
</ng-template>

This template will show Edit text for edit record operation, New Book for new record operation in the title.

Deleting a Book

Open the /src/app/book/book.component.ts and inject the ConfirmationService.

Replace the constructor as below:

// ...

// add new imports
import { ConfirmationService, Confirmation } from '@abp/ng.theme.shared';

//change the constructor
constructor(
  public readonly list: ListService,
  private bookService: BookService,
  private fb: FormBuilder,
  private confirmation: ConfirmationService // inject the ConfirmationService
) {}

// Add a delete method
delete(id: string) {
  this.confirmation.warn('::AreYouSureToDelete', '::AreYouSure').subscribe((status) => {
    if (status === Confirmation.Status.confirm) {
      this.bookService.delete(id).subscribe(() => this.list.get());
    }
  });
}

• We imported ConfirmationService.
• We injected ConfirmationService to the constructor.
• Added a delete method.

See the Confirmation Popup documentation for more about this service.

Add a Delete Button

Open /src/app/book/book.component.html and modify the ngbDropdownMenu to add the delete button as shown below:

<div ngbDropdownMenu>
  <!-- add the Delete button -->
    <button ngbDropdownItem (click)="delete(row.id)">
        {{ '::Delete' | abpLocalization }}
    </button>
</div>

The final actions dropdown UI looks like below:

Clicking the "Delete" action calls the delete method which then shows a confirmation popup as shown below: