Request

• Request Map
• Headers
• Content Types
• Method Spoofing
• Extending Request

This guide outlines how to use the request map to read request data.

Coast passes the current HTTP request object as part of the request lifecycle which is sent to all route handlers and middleware:

(defn index [{:keys [params session errors uri request-method] :as request}])

The example above uses destructuring to assign the keys in the request map to variables of the same name.

Request Map

The request map is composed of a number of keys that will help you decided what to do on each request

There are quite a few ways to retrieve values out of a clojure map, here are a few examples:

; using clojure's get function
(get request :params) ; => {}

; using the keyword itself as a function
(:params request) ; => {}

; using destructuring in the function arguments
(defn index [{:params params}])

; using :keys destructuring in the function arguments
(defn index [{:keys [params]}])

; having the request still be a variable in the current function
(defn index [{:keys [params] :as request}]
  (let [session (:session request)]))

Request body keys

The following list of functions can be used to read any value from the request map.

function	description
:params	Returns a value containing a mix of query params and form params
:body	Returns a value in the case of a json request
:coerced-params	Coast attempts to automatically coerce numbers, booleans and the like
:raw-params	This key holds the value of the params as the http server received them, before coast coerces them
:session	This is set when a person is said to be logged in
:uri	This is the url of the incoming request
:request-method	The simulated method of the incoming request
:original-request-method	The actual method of the incoming request
:errors	This is set by you on form errors
:headers	The request's headers

:params

Returns a value containing a mix of query params and form params

(coast/form-for :todo/change {:todo/id 123}
  [:input {:type "text" :name "todo/name"}]
  [:input {:type "text" :name "todo/category"}]))

  [:input {:type "submit" :value "Submit"}]

; sends your handler function this request map when submitted
(defn change [request]
  (let [params (:params request)
        uri (:uri request)
        request-method (:request-method request)]
    (= params {:todo/name "some name" :todo/category "some category" :todo/id 123})
    (= uri "/todos/123")
    (= request-method :put)))

:body

Returns a value in the case of a json request

:coerced-params

Coast attempts to automatically coerce numbers, booleans and the like, these are stored here

:raw-params

Coast attempts to intelligently coerce params from strings to ints, floats, decimals, booleans, and sequences.

This key holds the value of the params as the http server received them.

:session

This is set when a person is said to be logged in

(= request {:session {:id 123 :a-value-you-control ""}})

:uri

This is the url of the incoming request

:request-method

This is the spoofed method of the incoming request. Spoofed methods being either put, patch or delete.

:original-request-method

This is the method of the incoming request before Coast gets ahold of it

:errors

This can be set when rescue-ing from any errors, validation errors, app code exceptions, those kinds of things.

Headers

Headers in coast are string values, not keywords

So this:

Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json

Is this in coast:

(defn change [request]
  (= request {:headers {"Accept" "application/json" "Content-Type" "application/json"}}))

Content Types

Web servers don't only serve web pages – they also have to deal with API responses served as JSON

In Coast you can separate json responses and html responses at the router level

; routes.clj
(def routes
  (coast/routes
    (coast/site
      [:get "/" :home/index])

    (coast/api
      [:get "/api" :api.home/index])))

This helps Coast not only handle json requests with less checking for json request bodies, it also helps with returning the response as json without specifying json in every single handler function:

(ns api.home
  (:require [coast]))

(defn index [request]
  (coast/ok {:hello "world"})) ; this will return maps, vectors or anything allowable as json

Feel free to not specify any particular set of route middleware though:

(def routes
  (coast/routes
    [:get "/" :home/index]))

Content negotiation and what should be returned is entirely up to you.

Method spoofing

HTML forms are only capable of making GET and POST requests, which means you cannot utilize the REST conventions of other HTTP methods like PUT, PATCH and DELETE.

Coast makes it simple to bypass the request method by adding a _method input to a form, executing the correct route for you automatically:

; give this route
[:put "/posts/:post-id" :post/change]

(coast/form {:method :put :action "/posts/:post-id" :post/id 123}))

; of course you can take this one step further by using coast's form helper
(let [post {:post/id 123}]
  (coast/form-for :post/change post))

Extending Request

It is also possible to add your own keys to the request map by calling assoc or merge in a middleware function you define

; src/middleware.clj
(defn wrap-auth [handler]
  (fn [request]
    (if (some? (:session request))
      (handler (assoc request :authenticated? true))
      (handler request))))

; src/server.clj
(def app (-> (coast/app {:routes routes}))
             (wrap-auth)