How to Build a MVC Web App from Terminal: Step-by-Step Guide

Building an MVC (Model-View-Controller) web application from the terminal is an efficient way to create a structured, scalable, and maintainable project. You will need to know how to build a MVC Web App from Terminal.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, using the terminal simplifies the development process by allowing quick command executions, automation, and better control over dependencies.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to build an MVC web app from terminal, covering setup, structure, coding, and deployment.

Table of Contents

What is an MVC Web App?

MVC is a software design pattern that separates an application into three interconnected components:

Model: Manages data and business logic.
View: Handles the user interface and presentation.
Controller: Connects the Model and View, processing user requests.

This separation makes web applications easier to manage and scale.

How to build a MVC web app from terminal?

Let’s break the process down in steps.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Development Environment

Before we start coding, ensure you have the necessary tools installed:

A programming language (such as Node.js, Python, PHP, or C#)
A package manager (like npm, pip, composer, or NuGet)
A database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB)
Git (for version control)

Open your terminal and verify the installations:

shCopyEditnode -v   # Check Node.js version
npm -v    # Check npm version
git --version  # Check Git version

If anything is missing, install them using your OS’s package manager.

Step 2: Creating a New MVC Project from the Terminal

The process varies based on the framework you use. Here’s how to create an MVC project in different languages.

Using Node.js (Express.js Framework)

Open the terminal and navigate to your desired project directory:shCopyEditmkdir mvc-web-app && cd mvc-web-app
Initialize a new Node.js project:shCopyEditnpm init -y
Install Express.js and related dependencies:shCopyEditnpm install express ejs body-parser
Create an app.js file for the server:shCopyEdittouch app.js
Define the MVC structure:shCopyEditmkdir models views controllers routes

Using Python (Flask Framework)

Create a new directory and navigate to it:shCopyEditmkdir mvc-web-app && cd mvc-web-app
Set up a virtual environment:shCopyEditpython -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # (Windows: venv\Scripts\activate)
Install Flask:shCopyEditpip install flask
Define the MVC folder structure:shCopyEditmkdir templates static models controllers touch app.py

Step 3: Implementing the MVC Components

1. Model (Handles Data Logic)

Create a models/user.js file for Express.js:

javascriptCopyEditclass User {
  constructor(name, email) {
    this.name = name;
    this.email = email;
  }
}

module.exports = User;

For Flask, create models.py:

pythonCopyEditclass User:
    def __init__(self, name, email):
        self.name = name
        self.email = email

2. Controller (Handles Requests & Logic)

For Express.js, create controllers/userController.js:

javascriptCopyEditexports.getUser = (req, res) => {
  res.send("User profile page");
};

For Flask, create controllers.py:

pythonCopyEditfrom flask import Flask, render_template

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/user')
def user():
    return "User Profile Page"

3. View (Handles UI & Presentation)

For Express.js, create a views/index.ejs file:

htmlCopyEdit<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Home</title></head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to the MVC Web App</h1>
</body>
</html>

For Flask, create templates/index.html:

html Copy Edit
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Home</title></head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to the MVC Web App</h1>
</body>
</html>

Step 4: Running the MVC Web App from the Terminal

Starting the Server in Express.js

Run the following command:

shCopyEditnode app.js

Starting the Server in Flask

Execute:

shCopyEditpython app.py

Your web app is now running! Open a browser and go to http://localhost:3000 (for Express) or http://127.0.0.1:5000 (for Flask).

Step 5: Deploying the Web App from the Terminal

To deploy your MVC web app, follow these steps:

Initialize Git:shCopyEditgit init git add . git commit -m "Initial commit"
Push to GitHub:shCopyEditgit remote add origin https://github.com/your-repo.git git push -u origin main
Deploy on Heroku (for Express.js):shCopyEditheroku create git push heroku main
Deploy on PythonAnywhere (for Flask):shCopyEditscp -r * username@pythonanywhere.com:/home/username/mysite

Your MVC web app is now live!

Conclusion

Learning how to build an MVC web app from the terminal is a crucial skill for developers. It streamlines development, improves project organization, and makes deployments easier. Whether you use Express.js, Flask, or another framework, following an MVC pattern ensures better scalability and maintainability.

Ready to start your next project? Open your terminal and begin coding today!

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