Chapter 13: Web Development with Clojure

In this section

• 13.1 Introduction to Web Development in Clojure
  • 13.1.1 Why Use Clojure for Web Development
    Explore the advantages of using Clojure for web development, including its functional programming paradigm, immutability, and seamless JVM integration.
  • 13.1.2 Overview of the Clojure Web Ecosystem
    Explore the key tools and libraries that form the backbone of web development in Clojure. From Ring's HTTP abstraction to popular frameworks like Compojure and Luminus, this overview guides Java developers in navigating the Clojure web landscape.
  • 13.1.3 Setting Up the Development Environment
    Guide to setting up a development environment for web development with Clojure, including tool installations and project configuration.
• 13.2 Web Frameworks Overview (Ring, Compojure, etc.)
  • 13.2.1 Understanding Ring
    Learn the fundamentals of Ring, the key Clojure library for HTTP request and response handling. Explore the Ring specification, HTTP as data, and middleware concepts.
  • 13.2.2 Routing with Compojure
    Learn how to define routes and handlers using Compojure, a concise routing library built on Ring for building RESTful endpoints in Clojure web applications.
  • 13.2.3 Other Web Frameworks
    Explore other web frameworks in the Clojure ecosystem, including Luminus for full-featured web apps, Pedestal for high-performance APIs, and Liberator for RESTful services.
• 13.3 Building RESTful APIs
  • 13.3.1 Principles of RESTful API Design
    An insightful guide to the fundamental principles of RESTful API design, including statelessness, resource identification, standard HTTP methods, and appropriate status codes. Learn to create clean and intuitive APIs.
  • Creating API Endpoints with Compojure
    Learn how to define RESTful API endpoints using Compojure in Clojure. Master handling HTTP methods and using route parameters.
  • 13.3.3 Handling JSON Data
    Learn how to effectively manage JSON data in Clojure web applications using libraries like `cheshire` for parsing and generation.
  • 13.3.4 Versioning and Documentation
    Learn strategies for API versioning and tools for comprehensive API documentation using Clojure.
• 13.4 Handling HTTP Requests and Responses
  • 13.4.1 The Ring Request and Response Model
    Explore the structure of Ring request and response maps in Clojure web development, focusing on map keys and data handling.
  • 13.4.2 Parsing Request Parameters and Body
    Learn to access query parameters, form data, and multipart file uploads in Clojure web development. Explore handling different content types and parsing request bodies effectively.
  • 13.4.3 Generating Responses
    Explore generating diverse response types in Clojure, including HTML, JSON, and redirects. Learn to manage response headers and status codes, and provide examples of content negotiation with the Accept header.
• 13.5 Middleware in Clojure Web Apps
  • 13.5.1 Understanding Middleware Concepts
    Explore middleware in Clojure's Ring framework, learning how it transforms requests and responses to enhance web application functionality.
  • 13.5.2 Common Middleware Functions
    Explore essential middleware functions in Ring for Clojure web applications, including session management, cookies handling, URL encoding/decoding, and content-type handling.
  • 13.5.3 Writing Custom Middleware
    Learn how to write custom middleware for Clojure web applications to handle logging, authentication, request throttling, and more.
• 13.6 Session Management and Authentication
  • 13.6.1 Managing Sessions
    Learn how to manage user sessions in Clojure web applications using Ring's session middleware. Explore various session stores like in-memory, cookies, and database-backed, with practical examples for setup and session data management.
  • 13.6.2 Implementing Authentication
    Explore strategies for implementing authentication mechanisms such as form-based login, token-based (JWT) authentication, and integration with OAuth providers in Clojure applications.
  • 13.6.3 Authorization and Access Control
    Learn how to implement robust authorization techniques to manage user access based on roles and permissions in web applications built with Clojure. Understand practical examples of access control rules and their application in routes or middleware for secure coding.
• 13.7 Integrating with Databases
  • 13.7.1 Using clojure.java.jdbc
    Discover how to use clojure.java.jdbc for seamless database integration, with hands-on examples of establishing connections, executing queries, and performing CRUD operations.
  • 13.7.2 Introducing Next.jdbc
    Explore the Next.jdbc library as a powerful alternative to clojure.java.jdbc, offering improved simplicity and performance for database interactions.
  • 13.7.3 Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) Libraries
    Explore ORM libraries like Korma and Yesql in Clojure for simplifying database operations through higher-level SQL abstractions.
  • 13.7.4 Working with NoSQL Databases
    Explore how to integrate Clojure applications with NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Cassandra. Learn about libraries and perform basic operations using practical examples.
• 13.8 Deploying Clojure Web Applications
  • 13.8.1 Packaging Applications
    Learn how to package a Clojure web application for deployment, including creating an uberjar and specifying the main entry point.
  • 13.8.2 Deployment Options
    Explore diverse deployment options for Clojure web applications, including standalone servers, application servers, Docker containerization, and cloud platforms like Heroku and AWS Elastic Beanstalk. Discover guidelines to select the best deployment strategy for your application needs.
  • 13.8.3 Environment Configuration
    Learn how to effectively manage different configurations for development, testing, and production environments in Clojure web applications.
  • 13.8.4 Logging and Monitoring
    Learn how to set up logging with libraries like tools.logging, configure logback or log4j, and understand the significance of monitoring Clojure applications in production, including tools for health checks and performance monitoring.
• 13.9 Performance Tuning
  • 13.9.1 Profiling and Benchmarking
    Learn how to profile and benchmark Clojure web applications to enhance performance by identifying and rectifying bottlenecks using tools like YourKit, VisualVM, and benchmarking libraries like Criterium.
  • 13.9.2 Optimizing Code
    Explore strategies for optimizing Clojure code through minimizing reflection, leveraging type hints, and implementing efficient data structures and algorithms.
  • 13.9.3 Caching Strategies
    Explore caching strategies to enhance web application performance, including in-memory and external caching systems such as Redis and Memcached.
  • 13.9.4 Database Optimization
    Learn how to optimize database interactions in Clojure by utilizing connection pooling, query optimization, and indexing strategies, along with techniques for monitoring and tuning database performance.
• 13.10 Case Study: Developing a Web Service
  • 13.10.1 Project Overview
    Detailed case study of developing a web service using Clojure, focusing on the application's purpose, requirements, and goals.
  • 13.10.2 Design and Architecture
    Explore the architectural decisions made in developing a web service with Clojure, including frameworks, databases, and deployment strategies.
  • 13.10.3 Implementation Highlights
    Explore key aspects of implementing a web service with Clojure, showcasing concepts applied from earlier sections with practical code snippets.
  • 13.10.4 Challenges and Solutions
    Explore the challenges in web development with Clojure, focusing on concurrency, scaling, and integration issues, and learn how to effectively address them.
  • 13.10.5 Lessons Learned
    Summarize the insights and knowledge gained from developing a web service with Clojure, highlighting best practices, common pitfalls, and future project recommendations.