Hono

Hono is a fast, lightweight web framework for building web applications and APIs in JavaScript and TypeScript. It's optimized for Edge environments like Cloudflare Workers, Deno Deploy, and more.

Core Concepts

1. Minimal and Fast:
   Hono is designed for high performance with minimal overhead.

2. Routing:
   Hono uses an intuitive, declarative routing system.

   import { Hono } from 'hono';
   
   const app = new Hono();
   
   app.get('/', (c) => c.text('Hello, Hono!'));
   
   export default app;

3. Middleware:
   Middleware in Hono is used to handle cross-cutting concerns like authentication, logging, etc.

   app.use('*', async (c, next) => {
     console.log('Request received');
     await next();
   });

4. Response Helpers:
   Hono provides simple methods like c.text(), c.json(), c.html() to send responses.

Basic Setup

1. Installation (Node.js):

   npm install hono

2. Deno Usage:

   import { Hono } from 'https://deno.land/x/hono/mod.ts';
   
   const app = new Hono();
   
   app.get('/', (c) => c.text('Hello from Deno!'));
   
   console.log('Listening on http://localhost:3000');
   app.fire();

3. Cloudflare Workers Example:

   import { Hono } from 'hono';
   
   const app = new Hono();
   
   app.get('/', (c) => c.text('Running on Cloudflare Workers'));
   
   export default app;

Common Routing Patterns

• Basic Routes:

  app.get('/hello', (c) => c.text('Hello World!'));

• Dynamic Routes:

  app.get('/user/:id', (c) => {
    const userId = c.req.param('id');
    return c.text(`User ID: ${userId}`);
  });

• Query Parameters:

  app.get('/search', (c) => {
    const query = c.req.query('q');
    return c.text(`Search Query: ${query}`);
  });

• Post Request:

  app.post('/submit', async (c) => {
    const data = await c.req.json();
    return c.json({ message: 'Data received', data });
  });

Middleware Examples

• Global Middleware for Logging:

  app.use('*', async (c, next) => {
    console.log(`Request: ${c.req.method} ${c.req.url}`);
    await next();
  });

• Error Handling Middleware:

  app.use('*', async (c, next) => {
    try {
      await next();
    } catch (err) {
      return c.json({ error: 'Something went wrong' }, 500);
    }
  });

Key Methods Cheat Sheet

Method	Description
c.text()	Send plain text response
c.json()	Send JSON response
c.html()	Send HTML response
c.req.param()	Access dynamic route parameters
c.req.query()	Access query parameters
c.req.header()	Access request headers

tip

1. Start Small:
   Build a simple API with GET and POST routes to understand the core structure.

2. Use Middleware Wisely:
   Add logging, CORS, and error-handling middleware for robustness.

3. Deploy on Edge:
   Deploy to platforms like Cloudflare Workers or Vercel for instant scalability.

4. Check Hono Documentation:
   Visit the Hono Docs for advanced guides and API references.