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Cover image for Easy Way to Separate Java Backend and Vue Frontend
Yw Zhang
Yw Zhang

Posted on • Edited on

Easy Way to Separate Java Backend and Vue Frontend

#vue #googlecloud #beginners #java

How to Run

My complete project is on the github.vue-java-separate



git clone git@github.com:zhng1456/vue-java-separate.git
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Open the project in IDEA and run Application.java

Image description

Access http://localhost:9090 in chrome

Explore the network tab in chrome dev tool,we find that http://localhost:9090/api/users returns the data of the table.

Image description

The post will help you create the project from scratch and separate backend and frontend.

Java Backend

First,create a maven project in you IDEA.

File→New → Project

create a module,New→module

pom.xml



<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <parent>
        <artifactId>vue-java-separate</artifactId>
        <groupId>org.example</groupId>
        <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    </parent>
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <artifactId>java-backend</artifactId>

    <properties>
        <maven.compiler.source>8</maven.compiler.source>
        <maven.compiler.target>8</maven.compiler.target>
    </properties>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

</project>
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Create the first controller



package com.yw;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

/**
 * @author henry
 * @date 2021/8/3
 */
@RestController
@SpringBootApplication
public class Application {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
    }

    @GetMapping("/")
    public String hello() {
        return "admin";
    }
}
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change port in application.yml



server:
  port: 9090
  context-path: /
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Run the project and curl http://localhost:9090



$ curl "http://127.0.0.1:9090/"
admin%
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Vue project

Init

use vue-cli create webpack project.

I create vue project in root of the maven project.

If you develop more complex project,you can put vue project in another git repository.



vue init webpack vue-frontend

cd vue-frontend

# run the application
npm run dev

# build
npm run build
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After execute “npm run build”,the dist dictory is as follows

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Simplify js and css files

Modify the webpack config files to make one js file and one css file in dist directory.

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The detail is in this commit.

Install Element UI 



npm install element-ui -S
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modify main.js



// The Vue build version to load with the `import` command
// (runtime-only or standalone) has been set in webpack.base.conf with an alias.
import Vue from 'vue'
import App from './App'
import ElementUI from 'element-ui'
import 'element-ui/lib/theme-chalk/index.css'
Vue.use(ElementUI)
Vue.config.productionTip = false

/* eslint-disable no-new */
new Vue({
  el: '#app',
  components: { App },
  template: '<App/>'
})
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Send HTTP Request

Add a controller in java backend



package com.yw.controller;

import com.yw.entity.User;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class UserController {

    @GetMapping("users")
    public List<User> selectAllUsers() {
        List<User> userList = new ArrayList<>();
        for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
            User user = new User();
            user.setId(1);
            user.setName(String.format("name%s", i));
            user.setAddress(String.format("address%s", i));
            userList.add(user);
        }
        return userList;
    }
}
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Call the controller in vue and show results with el-table



export async function getAllUsers() {
  const response = await fetch('/api/users');
  return await response.json();
}
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<template>
  <div class="hello">
    <h1>{{ msg }}</h1>
    <el-row>
      <el-button>default</el-button>
      <el-button type="primary">primary</el-button>
      <el-button type="success">success</el-button>
      <el-button type="info">info</el-button>
      <el-button type="warning">warning</el-button>
      <el-button type="danger">danger</el-button>
    </el-row>
    <el-table
      :data="userList"
      style="width: 100%">
      <el-table-column
        prop="id"
        label="id"
        width="180">
      </el-table-column>
      <el-table-column
        prop="name"
        label="name"
        width="180">
      </el-table-column>
      <el-table-column
        prop="address"
        label="address">
      </el-table-column>
    </el-table>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import { getAllUsers } from '../services/user'
export default {
  name: 'HelloWorld',
  data () {
    return {
      msg: 'Welcome to Your Vue.js App',
      userList: []
    }
  },

  methods: {
    getAllUsers() {
      getAllUsers().then(response => {
        console.log(response)
        this.userList = response
      })
    }
  },
  mounted() {
    this.getAllUsers();
  }
}
</script>
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Run Locally

Before run the project,we need to config proxy in webpack config



devServer: {
    proxy: {
      '/api/*': {
        target: 'http://localhost:9090',
        changeOrigin: true,
        secure: false
      }
    }
  }
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Run java backend and run vue project,access http://localhost:8080

Image description

Separate Backend and Frontend

How to Separate

The role of the front-end project is to provide the built js files and css files.If we can access the file by internet,all links are fine.So the solution to separate backend and frontend is

  • Put the root of pages,index.html to java backend and use FreeMarker to show it
  • Upload files to Google Cloud Storage
  • Import js files and css files in index.html

Add FreeMarker

Add Maven dependency



<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-freemarker</artifactId>
</dependency>
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config FreeMarker in application.yaml



server:
  port: 9090
  context-path: /

spring:
  freemarker:
    suffix: .ftl
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Create the directory templates in resources and create index.ftl



<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>vue-frontend</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="app"></div>
</body>
</html>
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Upload Files to Google Cloud Storage

We need to craete a bucket and the most important thing is to set Public to internet.

Image description

Then upload js files and css files(you can find this files in your dist directory of vue project)

Image description

Click “Copy URL” and confirm that you can access it.

Import cloud files in template

Import files in index.ftl



<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://storage.googleapis.com/webpack-frontend/app.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <title>vue-frontend</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="app"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/webpack-frontend/app.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
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Run java backend



/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -XX:TieredStopAtLevel=1 -noverify -Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=always -javaagent:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/lib/idea_rt.jar=64768:/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA.app/Contents/bin -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote -Dspring.jmx.enabled=true -Dspring.liveBeansView.mbeanDomain -Dspring.application.admin.enabled=true -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -classpath /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/charsets.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/cldrdata.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/dnsns.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/jaccess.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/jfxrt.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/legacy8ujsse.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/localedata.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/nashorn.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/openjsse.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunec.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunjce_provider.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunpkcs11.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/zipfs.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jce.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jfr.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jfxswt.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jsse.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/management-agent.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/resources.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/rt.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/charsets.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/deploy.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/cldrdata.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/dnsns.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/jaccess.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/jfxrt.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/localedata.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/nashorn.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunec.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunjce_provider.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/sunpkcs11.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/ext/zipfs.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/javaws.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jce.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jfr.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jfxswt.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/jsse.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/management-agent.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/plugin.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/resources.jar:/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/rt.jar:/Users/yunwang/workspace/vue-java-separate/java-backend/target/classes:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-web/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-web-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-autoconfigure/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-autoconfigure-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-logging/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-logging-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/ch/qos/logback/logback-classic/1.2.3/logback-classic-1.2.3.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/ch/qos/logback/logback-core/1.2.3/logback-core-1.2.3.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/slf4j/slf4j-api/1.7.26/slf4j-api-1.7.26.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/apache/logging/log4j/log4j-to-slf4j/2.11.2/log4j-to-slf4j-2.11.2.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/apache/logging/log4j/log4j-api/2.11.2/log4j-api-2.11.2.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/slf4j/jul-to-slf4j/1.7.26/jul-to-slf4j-1.7.26.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/javax/annotation/javax.annotation-api/1.3.2/javax.annotation-api-1.3.2.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-core/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-core-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-jcl/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-jcl-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/yaml/snakeyaml/1.23/snakeyaml-1.23.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-json/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-json-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jackson-databind/2.9.9/jackson-databind-2.9.9.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jackson-annotations/2.9.0/jackson-annotations-2.9.0.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jackson-core/2.9.9/jackson-core-2.9.9.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/datatype/jackson-datatype-jdk8/2.9.9/jackson-datatype-jdk8-2.9.9.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/datatype/jackson-datatype-jsr310/2.9.9/jackson-datatype-jsr310-2.9.9.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/jackson/module/jackson-module-parameter-names/2.9.9/jackson-module-parameter-names-2.9.9.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-tomcat/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-tomcat-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/apache/tomcat/embed/tomcat-embed-core/9.0.21/tomcat-embed-core-9.0.21.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/apache/tomcat/embed/tomcat-embed-el/9.0.21/tomcat-embed-el-9.0.21.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/apache/tomcat/embed/tomcat-embed-websocket/9.0.21/tomcat-embed-websocket-9.0.21.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/hibernate/validator/hibernate-validator/6.0.17.Final/hibernate-validator-6.0.17.Final.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/javax/validation/validation-api/2.0.1.Final/validation-api-2.0.1.Final.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/jboss/logging/jboss-logging/3.3.2.Final/jboss-logging-3.3.2.Final.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/com/fasterxml/classmate/1.4.0/classmate-1.4.0.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-web/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-web-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-beans/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-beans-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-webmvc/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-webmvc-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-aop/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-aop-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-context/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-context-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-expression/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-expression-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/boot/spring-boot-starter-freemarker/2.1.6.RELEASE/spring-boot-starter-freemarker-2.1.6.RELEASE.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/freemarker/freemarker/2.3.28/freemarker-2.3.28.jar:/Users/yunwang/.m2/repository/org/springframework/spring-context-support/5.1.8.RELEASE/spring-context-support-5.1.8.RELEASE.jar com.yw.Application

  .   ____          _            __ _ _
 /\\ / ___'_ __ _ _(_)_ __  __ _ \ \ \ \
( ( )\___ | '_ | '_| | '_ \/ _` | \ \ \ \
 \\/  ___)| |_)| | | | | || (_| |  ) ) ) )
  '  |____| .__|_| |_|_| |_\__, | / / / /
 =========|_|==============|___/=/_/_/_/
 :: Spring Boot ::        (v2.1.6.RELEASE)

2022-09-18 06:21:04.801  INFO 3257 --- [           main] com.yw.Application                       : Starting Application on Zhangs-MacBook-Air.local with PID 3257 (/Users/yunwang/workspace/vue-java-separate/java-backend/target/classes started by yunwang in /Users/yunwang/workspace/vue-java-separate)
2022-09-18 06:21:04.806  INFO 3257 --- [           main] com.yw.Application                       : No active profile set, falling back to default profiles: default
2022-09-18 06:21:05.182  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.s.b.w.embedded.tomcat.TomcatWebServer  : Tomcat initialized with port(s): 9090 (http)
2022-09-18 06:21:05.191  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.apache.catalina.core.StandardService   : Starting service [Tomcat]
2022-09-18 06:21:05.191  INFO 3257 --- [           main] org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine  : Starting Servlet engine: [Apache Tomcat/9.0.21]
2022-09-18 06:21:05.229  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.a.c.c.C.[Tomcat].[localhost].[/]       : Initializing Spring embedded WebApplicationContext
2022-09-18 06:21:05.230  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.s.web.context.ContextLoader            : Root WebApplicationContext: initialization completed in 369 ms
2022-09-18 06:21:05.307  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.s.s.concurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor  : Initializing ExecutorService 'applicationTaskExecutor'
2022-09-18 06:21:05.342  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.s.b.a.w.s.WelcomePageHandlerMapping    : Adding welcome page template: index
2022-09-18 06:21:05.398  INFO 3257 --- [           main] o.s.b.w.embedded.tomcat.TomcatWebServer  : Tomcat started on port(s): 9090 (http) with context path ''
2022-09-18 06:21:05.403  INFO 3257 --- [           main] com.yw.Application                       : Started Application in 15.777 seconds (JVM running for 21.088)
```

Notice “Adding welcome page template: index” and it means your config is correct.

Access http://localhost:9090

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4s3qabqrn3vhwx1hcnwl.png)
### More convenient Way to Upload files

It is too troublesome to manually upload the file every time, is there a more convenient way?

Yes,we can upload files by node client of Google Cloud Storage.

I will detail this part in another post [how-to-deploy-vue-frontend](https://dev.to/zhng1456/how-to-deploy-vue-frontend-17ph).
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