Question

I need to perform some background task periodically in CouchDB (guess that could be done through cronjob, just curious about some native CouchDB approaches). I also need to retrieve some resources from HTTP on server (e.g. to authenticate through OAuth2 and store token permanently in some document). Could it be achieved somehow (e.g. nodejs to be integrated with CouchDB. I don’t really like the idea to have nodejs webserver in front of couchdb, I’m trying to avoid that additional layer and use couchdb as HTTP server, DB backed and server-side business logic).

Answer 1

CouchDB is a database. Its primary job is to store data. Yes, it has some JavaScript parts but those are to help it build indexes, or convert to and from JSON.

Asking CouchDB to run periodic cron-style tasks, or to fetch HTTP resources, is similar to asking MySQL to run periodic cron-style tasks, or to fetch HTTP resources. Unfortunately, it’s not possible.

You do not necessarily need a HTTP server. You can build a 2.1-tier architecture, with direct browser-to-CouchDB connections as before; but run your periodic or long-lasting back-end programs yourself, and they simply read and write CouchDB data as a normal user (perhaps an admin user).