Parse as your app's backend

Parse is a cloud based backend service. For an application either a mobile app or a web app, Parse provides storage, SDK for easy integration and cloud services for additional processing including push notification support, analytics etc.

Parse provides APIs for variety of technologies. This blog is focusing on JavaScript. The framework is inspired by backbone and it's style of coding in JavaScript. Lot of articles use Handlebars and other templates in their examples. For simplicity, I'm using JQuery in this blog.

Get Started

1. Once you register and login at Parse.com, create an app and launch quick start guide for it.
2. Choose Data - Web - and New Project
3. Here you can chose to download a blank HTML/JavaScript project or explore APIs to be added in an existing project.

Core

Parse Core provides data storage, retrieval and Data Browser. The Data Browser allows you to create one or more classes (which can be visualized as a table - refer to the screenshot). Here you can add/delete and modify data. It's the same data your app is integrating with, so changes are reflected in your app automatically (as you refresh screens).

Click on Add Class - provide name. It creates a table with default columns like objectId, CreatedAt, updatedAt etc. Click +cols to start adding custom columns.

Now, get started with code-

// Get started with initialize function

Parse.initialize("[application_id]", "[JavaScript Key]");



You get these keys as soon as you create the app. You could go to Key's screen to view and copy all available keys. If you chose to download the blank template you may use boilerplate code.

Create an object of class created in Data Browser. I'm referring to a class named book in my example.

var Book = Parse.Object.extend("book");

// Now create an object of book.
var book = new Book();

C.R.U.D

Following code demonstrates Create, Retrieval, Update and Delete of books data
// Create new records
// use set
book.set("aKey", "aValue");


Key here is same as column name in Data Browser

// Or set all column values at one-go.
book.set({aKey: 'aValue', secondKey: 'secondValue'});

//save creates the record for the table/class
// you may pass above object instead of null/first param. Then set is not required
book.save(null, {success: function(response){
   // On successful save response has all saved records.
}, error: function(error){
  // error information if occurred is in error object.
}
});


// ----------------------------------------------------------------- // Retrieval
// To Parse.Query function pass the class 
// Book below is not new'ed. It's returned value of Parse.Object.extend(). Refer to code above.
var query = new Parse.Query(Book);

// You may filter with queries like below. This looks for key with a value specified
query.equalTo("key", "value");

//or directly calling find() returns all records
query.find({
success: function(results){
for (i in results){
var data = results[i];

    // addBookRow() updates DOM with new row.
addBookRow(data.get("title"),
data.get("author"),
data.get("publisher"));
}
},
error: function(error){
$(".error").hide();
console.error(error);
}

// ----------------------------------------------------------------- // Update by getting an instance of book class for an existing record.
// I used find() for it.
query.find({
   success: function(result){
        // Get first row from results
var row = result[0];

        // update the first "title" column with new value
        row.set("title", "new value");
        row.save(null, { success: function(){}, error: function(){}});

   }
});

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// Delete by getting an instance of book class for an existing record
// Used query.find to get it
query.find({
   success: function(result){
        // Get first row from results
var row = result[0];

        // Delete with destroy function.
        row.destory({ success: function(){}, error: function(){}});

   }
});

Refer to complete sample here

This is a introductory blog on Parse, planning to followup with concepts of

• More queries and explore more of JavaScript parse library
• Cloud code - additional hooks and validations on cloud. It's server side logic. Used instead of adding complex logic with-in a browser or a mobile app.
• Parse Push - Easy integration of Push for various mobile platforms. Currently it's only for mobile devices.

Have fun Parsing!