simpleblog

Simple Blog

A simple blog application built with the JAQ Stack (Java, Angular, Helidon, MongoDB).

Technology Stack

• Java: 21
• Helidon MP: 4.3.1
• Angular: 20.0.0
• MongoDB: 3.9.1 (Java Driver)
• Maven: For build and dependency management

Features

• Create, read blog posts
• RESTful API backend with Helidon MP
• Modern Angular 20 frontend
• MongoDB database integration
• CORS support for cross-origin requests

Prerequisites

• JDK 21 or higher
• Maven 3.6+
• Node.js 18+ (for Angular development)
• MongoDB (running locally on default port 27017)

Database Setup

The application uses MongoDB with the following configuration:

• Database: jaqstack
• Collection: blogposts

Make sure MongoDB is running before starting the application.

Building the Application

Backend (Helidon MP)

mvn clean package

This will create an executable JAR file at target/simpleblog.jar.

Frontend (Angular)

cd ui.resources
npm install
ng build

The built frontend will be in ui.resources/dist/ and will be automatically copied to the JAR during the Maven build.

Running the Application

Start MongoDB

Make sure MongoDB is running on localhost:27017.

Start the Backend

java -jar target/simpleblog.jar

The server will start on http://localhost:8080.

Start the Frontend (Development)

cd ui.resources
ng serve

The Angular app will be available at http://localhost:4200.

API Endpoints

Blog Posts

• GET /blog/posts - Get all blog posts
• GET /blog/post/{id} - Get a blog post by ID
• POST /blog/post - Create a new blog post

Example: Create a Blog Post

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/blog/post \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"My Blog Post","content":"This is the content","author":"John Doe"}'

Example: Get All Blog Posts

curl http://localhost:8080/blog/posts

Project Structure

simpleblog/
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       ├── java/
│       │   └── com/jaqstack/helidon/simpleblog/
│       │       ├── BlogPost.java          # Blog post model
│       │       ├── BlogResource.java      # REST endpoints
│       │       ├── BlogService.java       # Business logic
│       │       ├── DataService.java       # MongoDB operations
│       │       └── Main.java              # Application entry point
│       └── resources/
│           └── META-INF/
│               ├── beans.xml               # CDI configuration
│               └── microprofile-config.properties
├── ui.resources/                           # Angular frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── app/
│   │       ├── app.component.*            # Root component
│   │       ├── home/                      # Home page component
│   │       ├── blog-detail/               # Blog detail component
│   │       └── blog.service.ts            # API service
│   └── dist/                               # Built frontend (copied to JAR)
└── pom.xml                                 # Maven configuration

CORS Configuration

The application includes CORS headers to allow the Angular frontend (running on port 4200) to communicate with the backend (running on port 8080). CORS is configured in BlogResource.java with support for preflight OPTIONS requests.

Building a Native Image

The generation of native binaries requires an installation of GraalVM 22.1.0+.

You can build a native binary using Maven as follows:

mvn -Pnative-image install -DskipTests

The generation of the executable binary may take a few minutes to complete depending on your hardware and operating system. When completed, the executable file will be available under the target directory.

Health Check

curl -s -X GET http://localhost:8080/health

Metrics

# Prometheus Format
curl -s -X GET http://localhost:8080/metrics

# JSON Format
curl -H 'Accept: application/json' -X GET http://localhost:8080/metrics

Building the Docker Image

docker build -t simpleblog .

Running the Docker Image

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 simpleblog:latest

License

MIT