Develop Reference

check if all asynchronous http requests are done

So I have multiple asynchronous HTTP requests in my pure JS app, but while they load they block the effective work with the app. I want to show a loading indicator for that, I have no idea how I can do it with asynchronous requests.
What I tried.
I checked how many requests I fired in an array while these are not done I showed a loading indicator, but because these are asynchronous after the first set was done there came in another set, because of dependencies to each other.
Is there something to solve this problem?

Lets assume you have code like so:
function doAjax(params, callback) {
// ...
callback(ajaxResponse, error);
}
function doRequests() {
doAjax(params, (success, error) => {
if(error) console.error(error);
console.log(success);
});
doAjax(params2, (success, error) => /* ... */);
// ...
}
You can easily rewrite that into Promises:
function doAjax(params) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
// ...
if(error) reject(error);
else resolve(ajaxResponse;
});
}
function doRequests() {
showLoader();
Promise.all(doAjax(params), doAjax(params2), /* ... */)
.then((results) => {
console.log(results);
hideLoader();
})
.catch(error => {
console.error(error);
hideLoader();
});
}

Wait for response from request before returning

I am trying to create a function with a GET request that returns a portion of the data from the GET request. However, it keeps returning before the data is retrieved, so I keep getting "undefined". How can I set this up so it actually waits for the data to be set before returning?
let getInfo = async () => {
const request = net.request({
url: URL
})
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { // Promise being here DOES work
request.on('response', (response) => {
response.on('data', (chunk) => {
//return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { //Promise being here does NOT work
let body = JSON.parse(chunk)
let info = body.data
if (info){
resolve(info);
}
reject();
//})
});
});
request.write('')
request.end()
}).then(data => {
console.log("From then: "+data)
return data
})
}
getInfo().then(data => {
console.log("From outside: "+data)
})
Edit: This is the updated version that still does not work. I am trying to use the native electron method and I don't see why this doesn't work. The "From then:" part displays the info correctly. But when run "From outside:" it prints undefined. Does the issue have anything to do with the response.on being nested inside the request.on?
Solution: As #NidhinDavid showed in his answer, the issue was that the promise was inside the 'response' listener. Moving the 'GET' request from start to finish inside the Promise fixed it to giving the correct output. I have updated my code to reflect that for future individuals.

let getInfo = () => {
let info;
const request = net.request({
url: URL
})
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
request.on('response', (response) => {
response.on('data', (chunk) => {
request.write('')
request.end()
let body = JSON.parse(chunk)
info = body.data
if (info) {
resolve(info)
} else {
reject('Something went wrong');
}
});
});
})
}
getInfo()
.then(data => {
// this will be your info object
console.log(data)
})
.catch(err => {
// this will log 'Something went wrong' in case of any error
console.log(err)
})
You need to return inside your, on type event handler. Read more about asynchronous code and synchronous code here

I couldn't find the net module and the one which is included with Nodejs do not have request method. So to get the similar concept of event emiters and promise I am using http module and doing a http request to fetch json and parse it
'use strict'
var https = require('https');
const getInfo = async () => {
// create a new promise chain
// remember it is a chain, if one return is omitted
// then the chain is broken
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
var options = {
host: 'support.oneskyapp.com',
path: '/hc/en-us/article_attachments/202761727/example_2.json'
};
// start the request
https.request(options, function (response) {
var str = '';
// data arrives in chunks
// chunks needs to be stitched together before parsing
response.on('data', function (chunk) {
str += chunk;
});
// response body obtained
// resolve (aka return) the result
// or parse it, or do whatever you want with it
response.on('end', function () {
resolve(str)
});
// errors are another event
// listen for errors and reject when they are encountered
response.on('error', function (err) {
reject(err)
})
}).end()
})
}
//*********************************************
// using async await
//*********************************************
// if this is the entry point into app
// then top-level async approach required
(async ()=>{
try{
let data = await getInfo()
console.log("From ASYNC AWAIT ")
console.log(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(data)))
}
catch (err) {
console.log("operation failed, error: ", err)
}
})();
//************************************************
// using promise chains
//************************************************
getInfo()
.then((data)=>{
console.log("FROM PROMISE CHAIN ")
console.log(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(data)))
})
.catch((err)=>{
console.log("operation failed, error: ", err)
})

Tyr this, it might works for you,
let info;
const getInfo = async (_url)=>{
const response = await fetch(_url);
const data = await response.json();
info = data;
} ;
const url = "some url";
getInfo(url);
console.log(info);
Async function always returns a promise, so either consume that promise or internally await the data and assign it to some variable.
Check for the valid data required in info by logging it to the console.

From where should I call module.exports to get a not null value?

Where should I call module.export, I assume, it's supposed to be a callback function.
But I'm confused as to where am I supposed to call the callback function.
I'm still confused with the solution, too complicated for me.
sql.connect(config, function(err) {
if (err)
console.log(err);
// create Request object
var request = new sql.Request();
// query to the database and get the records
request.query('select part_num,qty from CRM.CRM.Fishbowl_Inventory where not location = \'Shipping\'',
function(err, recordset) {
if (err)
console.log(err)
// send records as a response
var details = recordset;
});
});
module.exports = details;
Confusion:
Extremely sorry to bother you guys but I want to be sure that I'm doing no harm to our database by involving any database request through Javascript.
I'm testing directly with our production database, hence cautious
So as Max provided in his answer the following code
const connectToSql = require('./connectToSql');
connectToSql()
.then(details => {
console.log(details);
//Here I can do as much logic as I want
//And it won't affect my database or call multiple requests on my DB
})
.catch(err => {
console.log(err);
});
I can understand I'm asking super silly questions, very sorry about that.

You can't export the result of your function. You want to export a function that will return your value. Like this:
function connectToSql(config) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
sql.connect(config, function (err) {
if (err) {
console.log(err);
reject(err);
}
// create Request object
var request = new sql.Request();
// query to the database and get the records
request.query('select part_num,qty from CRM.CRM.Fishbowl_Inventory where not location = \'Shipping\'',
function (requestErr, recordset) {
if (err) {
console.log(requestErr);
reject(requestErr);
}
resolve(recordset);
});
});
});
}
module.exports = connectToSql;
Because your function is async, I returned a promise that will return your result. Also, your second error from your query is named the same as your first error from the connection. That would cause problems.
Example of how to use this:
const connectToSql = require('./connectToSql');
connectToSql()
.then(details => {
console.log(details);
})
.catch(err => {
console.log(err);
});

Handle Success/Error Responses from ssh2 using Promises

I'm building a node.js app which in production will act as a SSH client to many servers, some of which may be inaccessible at any given time. I'm trying to write a function which attempts to run a SSH command with each client in its config upon startup, and I'm not able to handle both successful sessions and those which end in error. I wrapped a ssh2 client in a promise. If I remove the third (trash) server and only successes result, this works fine! See the output:
STDOUT: Hello World
STDOUT: Hello World
Session closed
Session closed
Successful session: Hello World,Hello World
But if one of the connections times out, even though I handle the error, I don't get to keep any of my data. It looks like the error message overwrites all of the resolved promises
Successful session: Error: Timed out while waiting for handshake,Error:
Timed out while waiting for handshake,Error: Timed out while waiting
for handshake
Here's my code, forgive me if this is a bit scattered, as I've combined a few of my modules for the sake of this question. My goal is to keep the data from the successful session and gracefully handle the failure.
var Client = require('ssh2').Client;
const labs = {
"ny1": "192.168.1.2",
"ny2": "192.168.1.3",
"ny3": "1.1.1.1"
};
function checkLabs() {
let numLabs = Object.keys(labs).length;
let promises = [];
for(i=0;i<numLabs;i++){
let labName = Object.keys(labs)[i];
promises.push(asyncSSH("echo 'Hello World'", labs[labName]));
}
Promise.all(promises.map(p => p.catch(e => e)))
.then(results => console.log("Successful session: " + results))
.catch(e => console.log("Error! " + e));
}
var sendSSH = function (command, dest, callback) {
var conn = new Client();
conn.on('ready', function() {
return conn.exec(command, function(err, stream) {
if (err) throw err;
stream.on('data', function(data) {
callback(null, data);
console.log('STDOUT: ' + data);
}).stderr.on('data', function(data){
callback(err);
console.log('STDERR: ' + data);
}).on('close', function(err) {
if(err) {
console.log('Session closed due to error');
} else {
console.log('Session closed');
}
});
stream.end('ls -l\nexit\n');
});
}).on('error', function(err){
callback(err);
}).connect({
host: dest,
port: 22,
username: 'root',
readyTimeout: 10000,
privateKey: require('fs').readFileSync('link-to-my-key')
});
};
function asyncSSH(command, dest) {
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject){
sendSSH(command, dest, function(err,data) {
if (!err) {
resolve(data);
} else {
reject(err);
}
});
});
}
checklabs();
How can I better use this promise wrapper to handle whatever errors come from the ssh2 client? Any tips are appreciated.

To get best use from each connection, you can (and arguably should) promisify separately :
the instatiation of each Client() instance
each instance's conn.exec() method (and any other asynchronous methods as required)
This will allow each instance of Client() to be reused with different commands (though not required in this example).
You should also be sure to disconnect each socket when its job is done, by calling client_.end(). For this, a "disposer pattern" is recommended.
With those points in mind and with a few assumptions, here's what I ended up with :
var Client = require('ssh2').Client;
const labs = {
"ny1": "192.168.1.2",
"ny2": "192.168.1.3",
"ny3": "1.1.1.1"
};
function checkLabs() {
let promises = Object.keys(labs).map((key) => {
return withConn(labs[key], (conn) => {
return conn.execAsync("echo 'Hello World'")
.catch((e) => "Error: " + e.message); // catch in order to immunise the whole process against any single failure.
// and inject an error message into the success path.
});
});
Promise.all(promises)
.then(results => console.log("Successful session: " + results))
.catch(e => console.log("Error! " + e.message)); // with individual errors caught above, you should not end up here.
}
// disposer pattern, based on https://stackoverflow.com/a/28915678/3478010
function withConn(dest, work) {
var conn_;
return getConnection(dest).then((conn) => {
conn_ = conn;
return work(conn);
}).then(() => {
if(conn_) {
conn_.end(); // on success, disconnect the socket (ie dispose of conn_).
}
}, () => {
if(conn_) {
conn_.end(); // on error, disconnect the socket (ie dispose of conn_).
}
});
// Note: with Bluebird promises, simplify .then(fn,fn) to .finally(fn).
}
function getConnection(dest) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let conn = promisifyConnection(new Client());
conn.on('ready', () => {
resolve(conn);
})
.on('error', reject)
.connect({
host: dest,
port: 22,
username: 'root',
readyTimeout: 10000,
privateKey: require('fs').readFileSync('link-to-my-key')
});
});
}
function promisifyConnection(conn) {
conn.execAsync = (command) => { // promisify conn.exec()
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
conn.exec(command, (err, stream) => {
if(err) {
reject(err);
} else {
let streamSegments = []; // array in which to accumulate streamed data
stream.on('close', (err) => {
if(err) {
reject(err);
} else {
resolve(streamSegments.join('')); // or whatever is necessary to combine the accumulated stream segments
}
}).on('data', (data) => {
streamSegments.push(data);
}).stderr.on('data', function(data) {
reject(new Error(data)); // assuming `data` to be String
});
stream.end('ls -l\nexit\n'); // not sure what this does?
}
});
});
};
// ... promisify any further Client methods here ...
return conn;
}
NOTES:
the promisification of conn.exec() includes an assumption that data may be received in a series of segments (eg packets). If this assumption is not valid, then the need for the streamSegments array disappears.
getConnection() and promisifyConnection() could be written as one function but with separate function it's easier to see what's going on.
getConnection() and promisifyConnection() keep all the messy stuff well away from the application code.

How to properly chain Promises with nesting

My node project currently contains a sideway christmas tree of nested callbacks in order to fetch data and process them in the right order. Now I'm trying refactor that using Promises, but I'm unsure how to do it properly.
Let's say I'm fetching a list of offices, then for each office all their employees and then each employees' salary. In the end all entities (offices, employees and salaries) should be linked together and stored in a database.
Some pseudo-code illustrating my current code (error handling omitted):
fetch(officesEndpoint, function (data, response) {
parse(data, function (err, offices) {
offices.forEach(function (office) {
save(office);
fetch(employeesEndPoint, function (data, response) {
parse(data, function (err, employees) {
// link each employee to office
save(office);
save(employee);
employees.forEach(function () {
fetch(salaryEndpoint, function (data, response) {
parse(data, function (err, salaries) {
// link salary to employee
save(employee);
});
});
});
});
});
});
});
});
I tried solving this with promises, but I have a couple of problems:
kind of verbose?
each office needs to be linked to their respective employees, but in the saveEmployees function I only have access to the employees, not the office from further up in the chain:
var restClient = require('node-rest-client');
var client = new restClient.Client();
var xml2js = require('xml2js');
// some imaginary endpoints
var officesEndpoint = 'http://api/offices';
var employeesEndpoint = 'http://api/offices/employees';
var salaryEndpoint = 'http://api/employees/:id/salary';
function fetch (url) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
client.get(url, function (data, response) {
if (response.statusCode !== 200) {
reject(statusCode);
}
resolve(data);
});
});
}
function parse (data) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
xml2js.parseString(data, function (err, result) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
}
resolve(result);
});
});
}
function saveOffices (offices) {
var saveOffice = function (office) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
setTimeout(function () { // simulating async save()
console.log('saved office in mongodb');
resolve(office);
}, 500);
})
}
return Promise.all(offices.map(saveOffice));
}
function saveEmployees (employees) {
var saveEmployee = function (employee) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
setTimeout(function () { // simulating async save()
console.log('saved employee in mongodb');
resolve(office);
}, 500);
})
}
return Promise.all(offices.map(saveEmployee));
}
fetch(officesEndpoint)
.then(parse)
.then(saveOffices)
.then(function (savedOffices) {
console.log('all offices saved!', savedOffices);
return savedOffices;
})
.then(function (savedOffices) {
fetch(employeesEndPoint)
.then(parse)
.then(saveEmployees)
.then(function (savedEmployees) {
// repeat the chain for fetching salaries?
})
})
.catch(function (error) {
console.log('something went wrong:', error);
});

You don't necesseraly have to nest, this would work too:
fetch(officesEndpoint)
.then(parse)
.then(saveOffices)
.then(function(savedOffices) {
console.log('all offices saved!', savedOffices);
return savedOffices;
})
.then(function(savedOffices) {
// return a promise
return fetch(employeesEndPoint); // the returned promise can be more complex, like a Promise.all of fetchEmployeesOfThisOffice(officeId)
})
// so you can chain at this level
.then(parse)
.then(saveEmployees)
.then(function(savedEmployees) {
return fetch(salariesEndPoint);
})
.catch(function(error) {
console.log('something went wrong:', error);
});

Your promisified functions fetch, parse, saveOffices and saveEmployees are fine. With those, you can refactor your current code to use promises, chain instead of nest where applicable, and leave out a bunch of error handling boilerplate:
fetch(officesEndpoint)
.then(parse)
.then(function(offices) {
return Promise.all(offices.map(function(office) {
return save(office)
.then(function(){ return fetch(employeesEndPoint); })
.then(parse)
.then(function(employees) {
// link each employee to office
// throw in a Promise.all([save(office), save(employee)]) if needed here
return Promise.all(employees.map(function(employee) {
return fetch(salaryEndpoint)
.then(parse)
.then(function(salaries) {
return Promise.all(salaries.map(function(salary) {
// link salary to employee
return save(employee);
}));
});
}));
});
}));
});
In the innermost loop callback, you've got all of office, employee and salary available to interlink them to your liking. You cannot really avoid this kind of nesting.
You'll get back a promise for a huge array of arrays of arrays of save results, or for any error in the whole process.

It is good approach to change this
if (response.statusCode !== 200) {
reject(statusCode);
}
resolve(data);
to this
if (response.statusCode !== 200) {
return reject(statusCode);
}
resolve(data);
In your example, the result will be same, but if you are making more things (like doing something in database) the unexpected result may occure, because without return the whole method will be executed.
This example
var prom = new Promise((resolve,reject) => {
reject(new Error('error'));
console.log('What? It did not end');
resolve('Ok, promise will not be called twice');
});
prom.then(val => {
console.log(val);
}).catch(err => {
console.log(err.message);
});
is having this output
What? It did not end
error
To the question - if you need access to more than one returned value (i.e. offices AND employies), you have basically two options :
Nested promises - this is not generally bad, if it "makes sense". Altought promises are great to avoid huge callback nesting, it is ok to nest the promises, if the logic needs it.
Having "global" variables - you can define variable in the scope of the promise itself and save results to it, therefore the promises are using these variables as "global" (in their scope).