Develop Reference

Can I resolve a Promise inside another resolved Promise?

I'm writing a method to iterate through a series of items to find either the next incomplete or the last one that returns a promise.
The item status is fetched by another method that also returns a promise and I'm trying to resolve/reject within the resolve callback of this method.
Simplified version of my attempt below:
export const findNextEntry = (i) => {
let length = entries.length
let entry = entries[i]
entry.isLastEntry = i + 1 >= length
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
getEntryStatus(i).then(() => {
if (entry.status.complete) {
if ((i + 1) < length) {
findNextEntry(i + 1)
} else {
reject('no more entries')
}
} else {
resolve('entry set')
}
})
})
And then I call the method:
findNextEntry(entry.number).then((resolve) => {
console.log(resolve)
}, (reject) => {
console.log(reject)
})
The resolve/reject callbacks don't seem to be firing, and I get an error Uncaught (in promise) no more entries.

Probebly you must call reject/resolve for nested iterations
export const findNextEntry = (i) => {
let length = entries.length
let entry = entries[i]
entry.isLastEntry = i + 1 >= length
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
getEntryStatus(i).then(() => {
if (entry.status.complete) {
if ((i + 1) < length) {
findNextEntry(i + 1).then(resolve).catch(reject)
} else {
reject('no more entries')
}
} else {
resolve('entry set')
}
})
})
Similar but more simple code
function test(i = 0) {
console.log(i);
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
if (i < 10) test(i + 1).then(resolve).catch(reject);
else resolve('done');
});
}
test();

Why is this async function failing to return any data?

So, a quick overview, this function is part of a larger app that ingests JSON data and prepares it to be rendered by Handlebars, which is then used for generating a PDF. This particular function has been giving me grief, as from my understanding of how async/await works, the data should be returned by the return returnArray at the bottom of the function. This however does not happen, and instead the empty array is returned. Could anyone offer insight as to why this is? (N.B. I've checked the data is present in iarr when it gets pushed, it's as though the return statement gets fired before the for loop has started.)
async function getPackageItem(item) {
try {
let returnArray = []
if (fs.existsSync(__dirname + "/../json/" + item.sku + ".json")) {
var file = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + "/../json/" + item.sku + ".json")
} else {
var file = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + "/../json/box.json")
}
const tb = JSON.parse(file);
for (var a = 0; a < item.quantity; a++) {
let iarr = [];
if (tb) {
tb.forEach(function(entry) {
ShopifyAuth.get('/admin/products/' + entry.product_id + '.json', (err, productData) => {
if (!err) {
ShopifyAuth.get('/admin/products/' + entry.product_id + '/metafields.json', (err, metafieldData) => {
if (!err) {
var itemObject = {};
var metaCounter = 0;
metafieldData.metafields.forEach(function(metadata) {
switch(metadata.key) {
case "notes": {
itemObject.wm_notes = metadata.value;
metaCounter++
break;
}
case "title": {
itemObject.title = metadata.value;
metaCounter++
break;
}
case "vintage": {
itemObject.year = metadata.value;
metaCounter++;
break;
}
case "shelfid": {
itemObject.shelf_id = metadata.value;
metaCounter++;
break;
}
case "bottleprice": {
itemObject.bottle_price = metadata.value;
metaCounter++;
break;
}
default: {
metaCounter++;
break;
}
}
if(metaCounter === metafieldData.metafields.length) {
itemObject.vendor = productData.product.vendor;
if (itemObject.title == undefined) {
itemObject.title = productData.product.title
}
if (itemObject.wm_notes == undefined) {
itemObject.wm_notes = " "
}
if (itemObject.year == undefined) {
itemObject.year = "Unspecified"
}
if (itemObject.shelf_id == undefined) {
itemObject.shelf_id = "N/A"
}
if (productData.product.images[1] == undefined) {
if (productData.product.images[0]) {
itemObject.logo = productData.product.images[0].src;
} else {
itemObject.logo = '';
};
} else {
itemObject.logo = productData.product.images[1].src;
}
itemObject.quantity = item.quantity;
iarr.push(itemObject)
if(iarr.length == tb.length) {
returnArray.push(iarr);
}
}
});
} else {
throw Error('Error retrieving product metadata');
}
})
} else {
throw Error('Error retrieving product data');
}
})
})
} else {
throw Error('Error loading JSON for specified box');
}
}
return returnArray;
} catch (e) {
console.log(e)
}
}
Edit: That's what I get for writing code at 3am, not sure how I missed that. Thanks for your feedback.

You marked your function async but you're not using await anywhere inside of it so you're not getting any of the benefits of using async. It doesn't make your function magically synchronous, you still have to manage asynchronicity carefully.
If ShopifyAuth.get supports returning a promise then await on the result instead of passing callbacks and your code will work, otherwise construct a Promise, do the async stuff in the promise, and return the promise from the function.
async function getPackageItem(item) {
let result = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
// all your ShopifyAuth stuff here
if (err) {
reject(err);
}
resolve(returnArray);
});
return result;
}

Chaining Promises Cross Function Javascript

I suspect I've fundementally misunderstood Javascript promises, any ideas?
I have a pretty function that queries a database containing music that looks like this:
function searchDatabaseForTrack(query,loadedResults){
loadedResults = loadedResults || [];
desiredResults = 100;
if (loadedResults.length < desiredResults) {
try {
databaseApi.searchTracks(query, {"offset":loadedResults.length, "limit":"50", }).then(function(data){
i=0
if (data.tracks.items.length == 0) {
console.log(`Already loaded all ${loadedResults.length} tracks!`)
console.log(loadedResults)
return loadedResults;
}
else {
for (thing in data.tracks.items){
loadedResults.push(data.tracks.items[i]);
i=i+1;
}
console.log(loadedResults.length, " tracks collected");
searchDatabaseForTrack(query,loadedResults)
}
});
} catch(err) {
console.log("ERROR!", err)
console.log(loadedResults)
return loadedResults;
}
} else {
console.log(loadedResults)
return loadedResults;
}
}
And then a bit later, I try to call and use the data retrieved.
function getArtistTracks(artistName){
searchDatabaseForTrack(artistName).then(function(data){
console.log(songs);
songs.sort(function(a,b){
var c = new Date(a.track.album.release_date);
var d = new Date(b.track.album.release_date);
return d-c;
});
console.log("songs", songs);
var newsongs=[];
i=0
for (song in songs) {
newsongs.push(songs[i].track.uri);
i++
};
return newsongs;
});
}
What I'm trying to do is get the second function "getArtistTracks" to wait for the completion of the query in the first function. Now I could just call the databaseApi.searchTracks directly, but there's a limit of 50 tracks returned per result — which kind of screws me over.

searchDatabaseForTrack().then(...) shouldn't work since searchDatabaseForTrack() doesn't return a promise, so you can either return a promise or use an async function.
instead of a recursive function, you could simply call databaseApi in a for loop,
the desiredResult should be an argument and not hardcoded in the function,
async function searchDatabaseForTrack(query, desiredResults){
let loadedResults = [], data, currOffset = 0;
const iterations = Math.ceil(desiredResults / 50);
for(let n = 0 ; n < iterations; n++){
cuurOffset = n * 50;
data = await databaseApi.searchTracks(query, {"offset":currOffset, "limit":"50", });
if (data.tracks.items.length == 0) {
console.log(`Already loaded all ${loadedResults.length} tracks!`)
console.log(loadedResults)
return loadedResults;
}
else {
loadedResults = loadedResults.concat(data.tracks.items);
console.log(loadedResults.length, " tracks collected");
}
}
return loadedResults;
}
the rest should be fine as long as you add .catch() to handle errors ( as mentionned in previous answer ) which are thrown automatically without the need of the try/catch block :
function getArtistTracks(artistName, 100){
searchDatabaseForTrack(artistName).then((songs) => {
// your previous code
})
.catch((err) => {
// handle error
});
});

Have searchDatabaseForTrack use Promise.all to return the loadedResults after all results have been gotten. Also, make sure not to implicitly create global variables as you're doing with thing. For example, try something like this:
async function searchDatabaseForTrack(query) {
const desiredResults = 100;
const trackPromises = Array.from(
({ length: Math.ceil(desiredResults / 50) }),
(_, i) => {
const offset = i * 50;
return databaseApi.searchTracks(query, { offset, limit: 50 });
}
);
const itemChunks = await Promise.all(trackPromises);
const loadedResults = itemChunks.reduce((a, { tracks: { items }}) => (
[...a, ...items]
), []);
return loadedResults;
};
and
searchDatabaseForTrack(artistName).then((loadedResults) => {
// do stuff with loadedResults
})
.catch((err) => {
console.log("ERROR!", err)
// handle error
});

How do I assign a variable defined in a synchronous scope in an async function?

I am trying to write a GUI frontend that uses a service to get data about the system. I am using a net.Socket for the client end of this. I want to be able to access certain variables assigned in the data event handlers in other modules but the assignment does not stay after that callback function finishes.
Problematic code:
client.on('data', (data) => {
var array = [...data];
array.splice(0,2);
for (var i=0;i<array.length;i++) {
dataInBuffer = dataInBuffer + String.fromCharCode(array[i]);
}
console.log(dataInBuffer);
if (dataInBuffer.startsWith('batStat')) {
let lastBatteryJSON = JSON.parse(dataInBuffer.split(';')[1]);
module.exports.hasBattery = lastBatteryJSON.hasBattery == 'true';
module.exports.isCharging = lastBatteryJSON.isCharging == 'true';
module.exports.lastBatteryReading = parseFloat(lastBatteryJSON.batteryLife);
}
dataInBuffer = '';
});
Those three exported variable assignments don't actually work, the variables always either stay undefined or their default values outside of the function. I tried using a Promise to solve this problem but got the same result. I'm at a loss and I can't find any other questions or forum posts that solve this problem.
EDIT
I do not have the option of moving the code that depends on those variables into the callback. In order to do that I would have to wait for the data every frame and flood the server as a result.

As apple commented; you can export an object and mutate it every time you receive data:
const data = {};
client.on('data', (data) => {
var array = [...data];
array.splice(0, 2);
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
dataInBuffer = dataInBuffer + String.fromCharCode(array[i]);
}
console.log(dataInBuffer);
if (dataInBuffer.startsWith('batStat')) {
let lastBatteryJSON = JSON.parse(dataInBuffer.split(';')[1]);
//mutate the data object
data.hasBattery = lastBatteryJSON.hasBattery == 'true';
data.isCharging = lastBatteryJSON.isCharging == 'true';
data.lastBatteryReading = parseFloat(lastBatteryJSON.batteryLife);
}
dataInBuffer = '';
});
//export the data object
module.exports.batteryData = data;
Or as CertainPerformance answered you can have the caller decide when to ask for the information and provide a promise.
Here is an extended version of CertainPerformance answer that listens to error as well so a promise can be rejected and cleans up the event listeners when promise is resolved or rejected:
//wrapper for client.on to add and remove event listeners
const listeners = (function(){
var listenerCounter = -1;
const listeners = [];
const triggerEvent = event => data =>{
listeners.filter(
listener=>listener[2] === event
).forEach(
listener=>listener[1](data)
);
};
client.on('data', triggerEvent("data"));
client.on('error', triggerEvent("error"));//assuming you have an error event
return {
add:(event,fn)=>{
listenerCounter = listenerCounter + 1;
if(listenerCounter>1000000){
listenerCounter=0;
}
listeners.push([listenerCounter,fn,event]);
return listenerCounter;
},
remove:num=>{
listeners = listeners.filter(
listener=>{
num !== listener[0];
}
)
}
}
}());
//convert data to object or false
const getObjectFromData = data => {
var array = [...data];
var dataInBuffer="";
array.splice(0,2);
for (var i=0;i<array.length;i++) {
dataInBuffer = dataInBuffer + String.fromCharCode(array[i]);
}
console.log(dataInBuffer);
if (dataInBuffer.startsWith('batStat')) {
let lastBatteryJSON = JSON.parse(dataInBuffer.split(';')[1]);
return {
hasBattery : lastBatteryJSON.hasBattery == 'true',
isCharging : lastBatteryJSON.isCharging == 'true',
lastBatteryReading : parseFloat(lastBatteryJSON.batteryLife)
};
}
return false;
}
//export this function
const getBatteryData = () =>
new Promise((resolve,reject) => {
const removeListeners = ()=>{
listeners.remove(okId);
listeners.remove(errorId);
}
const okId = listeners.add(
"data",
data=>{
const resultObject = getObjectFromData(data);
if(resultObject){
resolve(data);
removeListeners();//clean up listeners
}else{
//not sure of on data is triggered multiple times by client.on.data
// if it is then at what point do we need to reject the returned promise?
}
}
)
const errorId = listeners.add(
"error",
error=>{
reject(error);
removeListeners();//clean up listeners
}
)
});
//you can call getBatteryData like so:
//getBatteryData()
// .then(batteryData=>console.log(batteryData))
// .catch(error=>console.warn("an error getting battery data:",error))

Your module should export a function that returns a promise that returns the desired values. Also, use const and not var when possible:
let resolveObj;
const haveData = new Promise((resolve) => {
let resolved = false;
client.on('data', (data) => {
const array = [...data];
array.splice(0, 2);
for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
dataInBuffer = dataInBuffer + String.fromCharCode(array[i]);
}
console.log(dataInBuffer);
if (dataInBuffer.startsWith('batStat')) {
const {
hasBattery,
isCharging,
batteryLife,
} = JSON.parse(dataInBuffer.split(';')[1]);
resolveObj = {
hasBattery: hasBattery === 'true',
isCharging: isCharging === 'true',
lastBatteryReading: Number(batteryLife),
};
if (!resolved) resolve();
resolved = true;
}
dataInBuffer = '';
});
});
const getData = () => haveData.then(() => resolveObj);
module.exports = getData;
Then consume with
moduleFunction().then(({ hasBattery, isCharging, lastBatteryReading }) => {
// do something with results
});
If called before resolveObj is populated, the promise will wait until the first client.on('data' to resolve. After that, the function will return a promise that resolves immediately to the current value of resolveObj (which will be properly updated on client.on('data')

Node js return function does not return data

Hi so i just made this function and I'm trying to make return the data but for some reason it does not return the data but the function is called as i tried console logging it when the function is executed it works fine but it just does return the data when i want to use the function
As you can see I'm using the function trying to put the returned data in a array
Thank you all.
a.push(methods.UserInfo(id));
Here's all the code I'm using
methods.UserDatas = ((client, json)=> {
let a = [];
if (json.Params.length > 0) {
json.Params.forEach((id)=>{
if (id) {
a.push(methods.UserInfo(id));
}
});
let cmd = {
'Cmd': 'GetUserInfo',
'userinfo': a
};
packet.send(client, JSON.stringify(cmd));
}
});
methods.UserInfo = ((id)=> {
sql.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE ?',[{id:id}], (err, row)=>{
if (err) {
throw err;
} else {
if (row.length > 0) {
let playerData = {};
playerData.userid = row[0].id;
playerData.strGender = row[0].Gender;
playerData.Username = row[0].Username;
let items = {};
sql.query('SELECT * FROM users_items WHERE ? AND equipped=1',[{userid:id}],(err,rows) => {
if (err) {
throw err;
} else {
if (rows.length > 0) {
for (var i =0; i< rows.length; i++) {
let item = DBData.items.get(parseInt(rows[i].itemid));
items[rows[i].equipment] = {
'ItemID': item.id,
'File':item.File,
};
}
}
playerData["equipment"] = items;
return playerData;
}
});
}
}
});
});

An async function (like for example
sql.query('SQL', [{PARAM:VALUE}], (ERR, RESULT) => { CODE }
) does not return as a regular function: you could use promises, for example (see here).
And note, too, that a sync function calling an async function, does not synchronously return values coming from that async function...