nx/docs/tutorial/07-share-code.md

Step 7: Share Code

There is a problem. Both the backend and the frontend define the Todo interface. The interface is in sync now, but in a real application, over time, it will diverge, and, as a result, runtime errors will creep in. You need to share this interface between the backend and the frontend. In Nx, you can do it by creating a library.

Run the following generator to create a library:

ng g lib data

When asked "What framework should this library use?", select TypeScript. The result should look like this:

myorg/
├── apps/
│   ├── todos/
│   ├── todos-e2e/
│   └── api/
├── libs/
│   └── data/
│       ├── jest.conf.js
│       ├── src/
│       │   ├── lib/
│       │   └── index.ts
│       ├── tsconfig.app.json
│       ├── tsconfig.json
│       ├── tsconfig.spec.json
│       └── tslint.json
├── nx.json
├── package.json
├── tools/
├── tsconfig.json
└── tslint.json

Copy the interface into the library's index file.

export interface Todo {
  title: string;
}

Update Backend

Now update app.service.ts to import the interface:

import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
import { Todo } from '@myorg/data';

@Injectable()
export class AppService {
  todos: Todo[] = [{ title: 'Todo 1' }, { title: 'Todo 2' }];

  getData(): Todo[] {
    return this.todos;
  }

  addTodo() {
    this.todos.push({
      title: `New todo ${Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000)}`
    });
  }
}

Update Frontend

Next import the interface on the frontend:

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
import { Todo } from '@myorg/data';

@Component({
  selector: 'myorg-root',
  templateUrl: './app.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./app.component.css']
})
export class AppComponent {
  todos: Todo[] = [];

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {
    this.fetch();
  }

  fetch() {
    this.http.get<Todo[]>('/api/todos').subscribe(t => (this.todos = t));
  }

  addTodo() {
    this.http.post('/api/addTodo', {}).subscribe(() => {
      this.fetch();
    });
  }
}

Every time you add a new library, you have to restart ng serve. So restart both ng serve api and ng serve todos and you should see the application running.

!!!!! Nx allows you to share code... !!!!! Between frontend and backend apps Between different frontend apps Between different node apps