Hi All, I'm trying to wrap my head around the rest-hmvc app... running through the docs here: https://coldbox.ortusbooks.com/digging-deeper/recipes/building-rest-apis I can't seem to get the URL routes working. I have the following route defined in /config/Router.cfc and can see it in /route-visualizer

// User Resource
        route( "/api/v1/user/:userID" )
            .withAction( {
                GET    = 'view',
                POST   = 'save',
                PUT    = 'save',
                DELETE = 'remove'
            } )
            .toHandler( "api.v1.user" );

For example, a PUT to the conventional URL works:

/api/v1/user/save/userid/55

But, a PUT to

/api/v1/user/55

throws an error with message "Action '55' could not be found". Which means coldbox skipped right over the route definition, right?

One mistake we still make from time to time is that we forget routes need to go from most explicit to least explicit, i.e. if you have a

route( "/api/v1/user")

above that route you listed, it will match that one first

Ah, makes sense; I wasn't considering the order. This is /config/Router.cfc so not in the v1 module. I'll make some changes.

Make sure to disable convention routing in your module router then, since it will try that router first

I see three separate router files in the following folders /config, /modules_app/api/config, /modules_app/api/modules_app/v1/config. The one under api/config is empty. The one under v1/config has specific example API routes for authentication and secured routes so I assume that's the one I should use? And to disable convention routing I'd just remove the

route( "/:handler/:action" ).end();

line in /config/Router.cfc and make sure the v1 file has that as the last line, correct?

We bolted it onto an existing app so we may have manually pulled the template from github. It was also two years ago so it may have changed. I don't think you "have to" use the module's router, but we do just to keep our API routes distinct from our legacy app routes

when I change

// User Resource
        route( "/api/v1/user/:userID" )
            .withAction( {
                GET    = 'view',
                POST   = 'save',
                PUT    = 'save',
                DELETE = 'remove'
            } )
            .toHandler( "v1:user" );

TO...

// User Resource
        route( "/who/:userID" )
            .withAction( {
                GET    = 'view',
                POST   = 'save',
                PUT    = 'save',
                DELETE = 'remove'
            } )
            .toHandler( "v1:user" );

POST to URL "/who/55" works fine and is mapped to /api/v1/user/save/userID/55 routes defined with "api/v1/user/:userID" do not match the URL /api/v1/user/55 even though it looks like it should in route-visualizer. Instead that URL is caught by the default handler/action/ route. I'll keep playing and reading but I feel like I'm missing or not understanding some fundamental piece of routing in coldbox.

Routing is a bit of a black art I think the culprit is the

api/v1

part of the route. That should be the route to the module, not to the event. All of our routes are part of our v1 Router.cfc and look like

.route( "/eligibilityRules" )
        .withAction( {
            GET = 'list'
        })
        .toHandler( "eligibilityRules" )

There isn't any reference to the module path.

I would like to use the module's router because that makes sense to me. However, in the skeleton, the module router with...

// API Authentication Routes
		post( "/login", "Auth.login" );
		post( "/logout", "Auth.logout" );
		post( "/register", "Auth.register" );

		// API Secured Routes
		get( "/whoami", "Echo.whoami" );

...aren't loaded into coldbox (at least not visible in route-visualizer) and routes don't work

I do feel like the point of the HVMC architecture is that you wouldn't use a parent router, you'd use the module router

Yes!

It's strange that they aren't loaded. Are they in config/Router.cfc? We have no routing info at all in ModuleConfig.cfc

Maybe I should start from scratch to learn routing instead of using the hmvc-template. It could be just a configuration in the template that I'm missing/don't understand.

@Sam Scott do you have this set in your moduleConfig.cfc files:

this.entryPoint = "/mymodule";

?

yes, so I think I'm making progress...

Your

api

module probably needs

this.entryPoint = "/api";

and your

api/v1

module probably needs

this.entryPoint = "/v1";

or maybe

this.entryPoint = "/api/v1";

(not sure which).

Yes, thanks @cfvonner, those look good.