Develop Reference

How to wait for all the code in a promise to finish before resolving it? (but a little more complex)

Sorry for the very confusing question, I have this code that gets information from a website without any node modules or libraries. It is a list of users separated into different pages use ?page= at the end of the URL. I have managed to iterate through the pages and split up the raw HTML just right. However, my promise resolves before all the data is collected. How can I wait for everything to finish before I resolve the promise? I have tried countless solutions, but none seem to work. Please don't ask to use a node package, as my goal is to not use one :) A friend helped with the regex and splitting it up. Here is the code I am using:
function getData() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let final = [] //the array of users returned in the end
const https = require("https"), url = "https://buildtheearth.net/buildteams/121/members";
https.get(url + "?page=1", request => { //initial request, gets the number of user pages.
let rawList = '';
request.setEncoding("utf8"),
request.on("data", data => {rawList += data}),
request.on("end", () => {
if(request = (request = (request = rawList.substring(rawList.indexOf('<div class="pagination">'))).substring(0, request.indexOf("</div>"))).match(/<a(.+)>(.+)<\/a>/g)) {
for(let t = parseInt(request[request.length - 1].match(/(\d+)(?!.*\d)/g)), a = 1; a < t + 1; a++) { //iterates through member pages
https.get(url + "?page=" + a, request2 => { //https request for each page of members
let rawList2 = '';
request2.setEncoding('utf8'),
request2.on("data", data => {rawList2 += data}),
request2.on("end", () => {
let i = rawList2.match(/<td>(.+)<\/td>/g); //finds table in HTML
if (i)
for (var t = 1; t < i.length; t += 3) //iterates through rows in table
console.log(i[t].replace(/<td>/g, "").replace(/<\/td>/g, "")), /* logs element to the console (for testing) */
final.push(i[t].replace(/<td>/g, "").replace(/<\/td>/g, "")); //pushes element to the array that is resolved in the end
})
})
}
}
resolve(final) //resolves promise returning final array, but resolves before elements are added with code above
})
})
})
}
If this helps, here is the website I am trying to get info from.
I am still a little new to JS so if you could help, I would really appreciate it :)

I ended up turning each action into an async function with a try and catch block and then chained the functions together with .then() For the base (getting data from a website) I took inspiration from an article on Medium. Here is the site I am pulling data from, and here is the function to get data from a website:
const getData = async (url) => {
const lib = url.startsWith('https://') ? https : http;
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const req = lib.get(url, res => {
if (res.statusCode < 200 || res.statusCode >= 300) {
return reject(new Error(`Status Code: ${res.statusCode}`));
}
const data = [];
res.on('data', chunk => data.push(chunk));
res.on('end', () => resolve(Buffer.concat(data).toString()));
});
req.on('error', reject);
req.end();
});
};
and then I got the number of pages (which can be accessed by appending ?page=<page number> to the end of the url) with this this function:
const pages = async () => {
try {
let html = await getData('https://buildtheearth.net/buildteams/121/members',);
let pages = await (html = (html = html.substring(html.indexOf('<div class="pagination">'))).substring(0, html.indexOf("</div>"))).match(/<a(.+)>(.+)<\/a>/g)
let pageCount = await parseInt(pages[pages.length - 1].match(/(\d+)(?!.*\d)/g))
return pageCount
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
}
}
and then I used the page count to iterate through the pages and add the HTML of each to an array with this function:
const getPages = async pageCount => {
let returns = []
try {
for (page = 1; page <= pageCount; page++) {
try {
let pageData = await getData('https://buildtheearth.net/buildteams/121/members?page=' + page)
returns.push(pageData)
} catch (error) {
return error
}
}
} catch (error) {
return error
} finally {return returns}
}
and then I iterated through the array of strings of HTML of each page, and extracted the data I needed out of each with this function which would return the list of members I need:
const iteratePages = async pages => {
if (!Array.isArray(pages)) return
try {
let returns = []
await pages.forEach(page => {
let list = page.match(/<td>(.+)<\/td>/g);
if (list)
for (var element = 1; element < list.length; element += 3)
returns.push(list[element].replace(/<td>/g, "").replace(/<\/td>/g, ""));
})
return returns
} catch (error) {
return error
}
}
And then it was a matter of chaining each together to get the array I needed:
pages().then(pageCount => getPages(pageCount)).then(pages => iteratePages(pages)).then(finalList => {console.log(finalList); console.log(finalList.length)})

Async functions in for loops javascript

I am not experienced with async functions and I would like to perform a request in a for loop. Here's my code:
app.route('/friendlist').post((req, res) => {
var body = req.body;
var list = "";
con.query(`SELECT * FROM player_friends WHERE main_user_id = '${body.player_id}'`, (err, row, fields) => {
if (err) throw err;
async function queryOutUserData(data) {
var rows = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
con.query(`SELECT * FROM players WHERE player_id = '${data.player_id}'`, (error, player, field) => {
if (error) {
console.log(error);
return reject(error);
}
resolve(player);
});
});
rows.then(message => {
return message
});
}
for (var i = 0; i <= row.length; i++) {
console.log(row[i].main_user_id);
var result = await queryOutUserData(row[i]);
list = list + ";" + result[0].player_id + ":" + result[0].player_username;
}
console.log(list);
return list;
});
});
Actually here's the full problem: I did some debugging and apparently value i in for loop increases before the promise is resolved. Also as I mentioned I am not familiar with async functions, could you provide me a descriptive resource about how promises and async functions work?
Thanks
NOTE: For better indentation, here's the code: https://hastebin.com/fovayucodi.js

Instead of using async/await I suggest doing everything in one query using WHERE IN rather than one query per player. See if the following fits your needs:
app.route('/friendlist').post((req,res) => {
var body = req.body;
var list = "";
con.query(`SELECT * FROM player_friends WHERE main_user_id = '${body.player_id}'`, (err, row, fields) => {
if (err) throw err;
const playerIds = row.map(player => player.player_id);
con.query(`SELECT * FROM players WHERE player_id IN ${playerIds}`, (error, players, field) => {
for (let player of players) {
list += `;${player.player_id}:${player.player_username}`;
}
});
console.log(list);
return list;
});
});

If you await a promise, it evaluates to the result of that promise, so rows is not a promise, it's the result. So this:
rows.then(message => {return message});
Doesn't make much sense, just do:
return message;
Also, you have an await inside of a regular function, thats a syntax error.
Additionally return list; doesn't do much (if that is express), you might want to return res.json({ list });.
: I did some debugging and apparently value i in for loop increases before the promise is resolved.
I doubt that you can debug code if you can't actually run it because of the syntax errors.

try to use for-of instead just a for.
something like this:
Async Function:
async function test() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
resolve(true);
return
}, 1000)
})
}
Here another function using for and waiting for the finish of loop
async function myFunction() {
const data = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
for(let i of data) {
const value = await test();
console.log(value)
}
console.log("finish");
}

How to update an array data in database using NodeJs Async?

I am new to NodeJs and I'm finding the Non Blocking and Asynchronous nature of JS extremely difficult to understand and handle,
I have a piece of code which is supposed to Iterate an array
and for every iteration, I'm supposed to make a DB update.
Can someone provide the correct implementation of Async library functions and help fix my code?
Code example -
function updateFunction(conn, requestBody, callback) {
let arr = [];
async.each(requestBody.arr, function(item, callback) {
let sqlData = []
let columns = "";
if(item.columnData != null){
sqlData.push(item.columnData);
columns += "`columnName` = ?,";
}
if(columns != ''){
columns = columns.substring(0,columns.length-1);
let sqlQuery = 'UPDATE someTable SET '+columns
+' WHERE id = "' + item.id + '"';
conn.query(sqlQuery, sqlData, function (err, result) {
if (err) {
return callback(err, false);
}
})
}
else{
return callback(null, false);
}
columns = "";
sqlData = [];
},
function(err, results) {
//Code never reaches here, don't know why
if (err) {
return callback(err, false);
}
else{
return callback(null, true);
}
});
} // END

During your database query call, on a successful query your callback is not called, therefore causing your code to never reach the final callback.
You will want to add another return statement after your if (err) { return callback(err); } to let async know your database query is finished.
And another thing, according to the docs, the async each method's final callback does not invoke with results in its callback.
A callback which is called when all iteratee functions have finished, or an error occurs. Invoked with (err).
Therefore, it is not required for you to pass a value into the callback statement within your iteratee function.
Modify your code to do this and it will work.
conn.query(sqlQuery, sqlData, function (err, result) {
if (err) {
return callback(err);
}
return callback(null);
})
Hope this helps.

conn.query(sqlQuery, sqlData, async function (err, result) {
if (err) {
return await callback(err, false);
}
})
Something like this.. so the function callback is async here and we gave await which actually waits until the return call is finished..

Terminate mysql connection after multiple queries have executed

I have some node.js code which fetches data from an API in a loop and runs mutliple mysql queries to update some rows.
The issue I have is that the script keeps running until I terminate the mysql connection with connection.end(). I am a newbie in asynchronous code. Where do I call the termination function so that it executes when all the queries have finished executing? What's the right design pattern for this? Would waterfall be any good?
This is a snippet from the code I have at the moment (error handling removed for simplicity):
var connection = mysql.createConnection({ host, user, etc... });
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
var url = "http://api.com?i="+i;
request(url, function(error, response, body) {
var data = JSON.parse(body);
for (el in data) {
connection.query(
"UPDATE table SET col = ? WHERE symbol = ?",
[
data[el].col,
el
]
);
}
});
}
// this will run before all queries have executed
// resulting in an error
connection.end();

So, the problem here is that you are cycling in a synchronized way through the data here:
var data = JSON.parse(body);
for (el in data) {
connection.query(
"UPDATE table SET col = ? WHERE symbol = ?",
[
data[el].col,
el
]
);
}
while the mysql module handles the query in a callback style:
connection.query(query, function(error, rows, fields) {
if (error) {
return callback(error);
} else {
return callback(null,rows);
}
});
where callback has the signature callback(error,rows), so that you can handle the results in this way supposed to have a reusable function:
var executeQuery = function(query,callback) {
var self=this;
this.connection.query(query, function(error, rows, fields) {
if (error) {
return callback(error);
} else {
return callback(null,rows);
}
});
}
and you can call in your code like
executeQuery(statement, function(error,rows) {
//...
})
That said, you must consider that you are doing multiple queries to your database and it is not recommended to do this in for loop cycle. You should consider to use a better solution that could be a waterfall as you say or a promise all using the Promise paradigma.
Suppose that to have this nice function:
var promiseAllP = function(items, block) {
var promises = [];
items.forEach(function(item,index) {
promises.push( function(item,i) {
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
return block.apply(this,[item,index,resolve,reject]);
});
}(item,index))
});
return Promise.all(promises);
}
that takes as input an array of items and a execution function that is function(item,index,resolve,reject) that has a resolve and reject functions of a Promise, so let's turn your executeQuery function in a Promise as well:
var executeQueryP = function(query) {
var self=this;
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
self.connection.query(query, function(error, rows, fields) {
if (error) {
return reject(error);
} else {
return resolve(null,rows);
}
});
}
Now you can process your data in a totally async way promisyfied:
promiseAllP(data,(item,index,resolve,reject) => {
var query= "UPDATE table SET col = %s WHERE symbol = %s";
// example: prepare the query from item in the data
query = replaceInString(query,item.col,item);
executeQueryP(query)
.then(result => resolve(result))
.catch(error => reject(error))
})
.then(results => { // all execution completed
console.log(results)
})
.catch(error => { // some error occurred while executing
console.error(error)
})
where the replaceInString will help you to prepare the statement
var replaceInString = function() {
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
var rep= args.slice(1, args.length);
var i=0;
var output = args[0].replace(/%s|%d|%f|%#/g, function(match,idx) {
var subst=rep.slice(i, ++i);
return( subst );
});
return(output);
},//replace,
This is what we have done here:
Used native Promise only
Turned your mysql query in a promise
Called the statements against your data in a completely asynchronous way
Used a Promise and Promise all paradigma, that let you collect the results of the Promise and return to the caller when all the functions are completed.
Catched errors in all the statements execution
Added a simply way to fulfill statements with parameters
Also notice the arrow function syntax (param1, param2) => that simplify the way to write a function, that can help a lot with the Promise paradigma.

For anyone interested, I ended up solving it by a mixture of promises and counting the queries, something along the lines of this (not sure if this code actually works but the idea is there):
function fetchFromAPI() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject)=>{
var urls = [];
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
urls.push("http://api.com?i="+i);
}
var data = [];
var requestedUrls=0;
urls.forEach(url=>{
request(url, (err, response, body) {
if(err) reject(err);
data.push(JSON.parse(body));
requestedUrls++;
if(requestedUrls==urls.length) resolve(data);
};
});
}
}
fetchFromAPI().then(data=>{
mysql.createConnection({ user, hostname, etc... });
var processedKeys=0;
data.forEach(el=> {
mysql.query("UPDATE table SET name = ? WHERE id = ?", [el.name, el.id], (err, rows, fields) => {
processedKeys++;
if(processedKeys==data.length) {
connection.end();
}
});
}
}).catch(err=>{
console.error(err);
});

How to call a function after an asynchronous for loop of Object values finished executing

I want to call a function after an asynchronous for loop iterating through values of an Javascript object finishes executing. I have the following code
for (course in courses) {
var url = '...' + courses[course];
request(url, (function (course) {
return function (err, resp, body) {
$ = cheerio.load(body);
//Some code for which I use object values
};
})(course));
}

This can be done in vanilla JS, but I recommend the async module, which is the most popular library for handling async code in Node.js. For example, with async.each:
var async = require('async');
var courseIds = Object.keys(courses);
// Function for handling each course.
function perCourse(courseId, callback) {
var course = courses[courseId];
// do something with each course.
callback();
}
async.each(courseIds, perCourse, function (err) {
// Executed after each course has been processed.
});
If you want to use a result from each iteration, then async.map is similar, but passes an array of results to the second argument of the callback.
If you prefer vanilla JS, then this will work in place of async.each:
function each(list, func, callback) {
// Avoid emptying the original list.
var listCopy = list.slice(0);
// Consumes the list an element at a time from the left.
// If you are concerned with overhead in using the shift
// you can accomplish the same with an iterator.
function doOne(err) {
if (err) {
return callback(err);
}
if (listCopy.length === 0) {
return callback();
}
var thisElem = listCopy.shift();
func(thisElem, doOne);
}
doOne();
}
(taken from a gist I wrote a while back)
I strongly suggest that you use the async library however. Async is fiddly to write, and functions like async.auto are brilliant.

A possible simple JS solution would be to do something like this.
var courses = {
lorum: 'fee',
ipsum: 'fy',
selum: 'foe'
};
var keys = Object.keys(courses);
var waiting = keys.length;
function completedAll() {
console.log('completed all');
}
function callOnCourseComplete(course, func) {
console.log('completed', course);
waiting -= 1;
if (!waiting) {
func();
}
}
var delay = 10000;
keys.forEach(function(course) {
var url = '...' + courses[course];
console.log('request', url);
setTimeout((function(closureCourse) {
return function( /* err, resp, body */ ) {
// Some code for which I use object values
callOnCourseComplete(closureCourse, completedAll);
};
}(course)), (delay /= 2));
});
Update: Probably a better Javascript solution would be to use Promises
const courses = {
lorum: 'fee',
ipsum: 'fy',
selum: 'foe',
};
function completedAll() {
console.log('completed all');
}
function callOnCourseComplete(courseName) {
console.log('completed', courseName);
}
let delay = 10000;
const arrayOfPromises = Object.keys(courses).map(courseName => (
new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const url = `...${courses[courseName]}`;
console.log('request', url);
setTimeout((err, resp, body) => {
if (err) {
reject(err);
}
// Some code for which I use object values
resolve(courseName);
}, (delay /= 2));
}))
.then(callOnCourseComplete));
Promise.all(arrayOfPromises)
.then(completedAll)
.catch(console.error);