AWS Documentation » Amazon DynamoDB » Developer Guide » Getting Started with DynamoDB » Node.js and DynamoDB » Step 2: Load Sample Data

Step 2: Load Sample Data

In this step, you populate the Movies table with sample data.

We use a sample data file that contains information about a few thousand movies from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The movie data is in JSON format, as shown in the following example. For each movie, there is a year, a title, and a JSON map named info.

[
   {
      "year" : ... ,
      "title" : ... ,
      "info" : { ... }
   },
   {
      "year" : ...,
      "title" : ...,
      "info" : { ... }
   },

    ...

]

In the JSON data, note the following:

• The year and title are used as the primary key attribute values for the Movies table.

• The rest of the info values are stored in a single attribute called info. This program illustrates how you can store JSON in a DynamoDB attribute.

The following is an example of movie data:

{
    "year" : 2013,
    "title" : "Turn It Down, Or Else!",
    "info" : {
        "directors" : [
            "Alice Smith",
            "Bob Jones"
        ],
        "release_date" : "2013-01-18T00:00:00Z",
        "rating" : 6.2,
        "genres" : [
            "Comedy",
            "Drama"
        ],
        "image_url" : "http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/N/O9ERWAU7FS797AJ7LU8HN09AMUP908RLlo5JF90EWR7LJKQ7@@._V1_SX400_.jpg",
        "plot" : "A rock band plays their music at high volumes, annoying the neighbors.",
        "rank" : 11,
        "running_time_secs" : 5215,
        "actors" : [
            "David Matthewman",
            "Ann Thomas",
            "Jonathan G. Neff"
       ]
    }
}

Step 2.1: Download the Sample Data File

1. Download the sample data archive: moviedata.zip

2. Extract the data file (moviedata.json) from the archive.

3. Copy and paste the moviedata.json file into your current directory.

Step 2.2: Load the Sample Data into the Movies Table

After you download the sample data, you can run the following program to populate the Movies table.

1. Copy and paste the following program into a file named MoviesLoadData.js:

   var AWS = require("aws-sdk");
   var fs = require('fs');
   
   AWS.config.update({
       region: "us-west-2",
       endpoint: "http://localhost:8000"
   });
   
   var docClient = new AWS.DynamoDB.DocumentClient();
   
   console.log("Importing movies into DynamoDB. Please wait.");
   
   var allMovies = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('moviedata.json', 'utf8'));
   allMovies.forEach(function(movie) {
       var params = {
           TableName: "Movies",
           Item: {
               "year":  movie.year,
               "title": movie.title,
               "info":  movie.info
           }
       };
   
       docClient.put(params, function(err, data) {
          if (err) {
              console.error("Unable to add movie", movie.title, ". Error JSON:", JSON.stringify(err, null, 2));
          } else {
              console.log("PutItem succeeded:", movie.title);
          }
       });
   });
   

2. To run the program, type the following command:

   node MoviesLoadData.js