Can not post the nested object json to node express body parser

Question

Hi I'm creating sample REST api using Node, Express and Mongo. I'm using bodyParser() middle ware to parse the form data. Its working fine for simple object say

         var user = {
             name:'test',
             age:'20'
         }

req.body produce the same set of format to save it in the mongodb like.

         {
             name:'test',
             age:'20'
         }

When using complex object

         var user = {
                 name:'test',
                 age:'20',
                 education: {
                     institute:"xxx",
                     year:2010
                 }
            }

req.body produce different format something like

           {
                 name:'test',
                 age:'20',
                 education[institute]: "xxx",
                 edcuation[year]:2010
            }

I would like to get the same format which i post in the body to save them in the database. Is this the right approach or any other method available to this?

Azotic

Answer 1

I think it's not clear in the documentation. I've spent hours trying to find it. Anyway...

You need to change your body-parser option to extended: true as shown below.

app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));

https://github.com/expressjs/body-parser#bodyparserurlencodedoptions

Afterheat

Actually, I may be having a similar issue. Server is written in node.js + Express and client is another node.js app. The schema for the collection is hierarchical and thereby a bit more complex. I tried both extended:true and extended:false and neither work. What am I missing? – Freshet

I really don't know why. But I recommend you to open a new question on stack or report on github site of body-parser. – Afterheat