CRUD

Why CRUD matters

Once you see that most apps are combinations of four actions, building them gets less mysterious. Signing up is a create, viewing a profile is a read, editing settings is an update, and removing an item is a delete. A to-do app, a store, and a booking tool are all CRUD underneath.

Thinking in CRUD also helps you describe what you want. Instead of vague requests, you can be specific about which of the four actions each screen needs, which makes your app easier to plan and quicker to get right.

How CRUD works

Each operation maps to something a user does. Create adds a new record, read fetches existing records to display, update changes a record that's already there, and delete removes one. Every one of these is a request your app makes to its database.

On Emergent, the agent builds the backend that carries out these operations against a MongoDB database. You describe the actions a screen needs in plain language, like "let users add and edit their own posts," and the agent creates the create, read, update, and delete steps behind it.

CRUD examples

Think of a simple notes app. Writing a new note is create. Opening the app to see your saved notes is read. Editing a note's text is update. Swiping it away is delete. That's the entire app expressed as four operations, which is why CRUD is a useful way to break down what any feature actually needs to do.