I am creating a function in node.js that loops through the files of a directory. It is supposed to add the file name to the returnData variable, then return the returnData. However, it keeps returning nothing. I've put a few console.log statements in the function to help me debug, but I can't figure out why it won't work.
function loopMusic (directory) {
var returnData = "";
fs.readdir (directory, function (err, files) {
if (err) {
console.log (err);
}
files.forEach (function (file, index) {
returnData += file;
console.log (returnData);
});
});
console.log (returnData);
return returnData;
}
The first console.log statement is able to print the files, but the one right before the return just prints a new line.
You can make the function return a promise:
function loopMusic (directory) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
fs.readdir (directory, function (err, files) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
return;
}
files.forEach (function (file, index) {
returnData += file;
console.log (returnData);
});
resolve(returnData);
});
}
You would use in that way:
loopMusic('...')
.then((data) => console.log(data))
.catch((err) => ...);
fs.readdir is asynchronous, meaning it does not return with the result when you call it. Instead the result is provided to the callback, which is called when the command finishes processing. It "calls-back" to the function you provided when it's done (hence the name).
If you wanted to do this synchronously you can do the following:
function loopMusic (directory) {
var returnData = "";
var files = fs.readdirSync(directory);
files.forEach (function (file, index) {
returnData += file;
console.log (returnData);
});
console.log(files);
return returnData;
}
That would return a string of mushed together file paths, as in your question.
However, blocking isn't usually a good idea and you should use the asynchronous version. I like to return a Promise in these situations. Here's an example that returns a promise filled with that string. This technically isn't necessary since the callback could just be used...but lets just pretend.
function loopMusic (directory) {
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
fs.readdir (directory, function (err, files) {
if (err) {
return reject(err);
}
let returnData = "";
files.forEach (function (file, index) {
returnData += file;
});
resolve(returnData);
});
});
}
Usage:
var musicPromise = loopMusic(dir);
musicPromise.then((musicStr) => console.log(musicStr)), (err) => console.log(err));
The asynchronous nature of this makes it a bit hard to follow since things don't happen in order, but when using Promises the then() is used to handle what happens on success (or failure) when it does complete later on.
Finally, if you're using ES2017+ (the newest version of Node) you can use the async/await pattern. Keep in mind my promise example above:
async function loopMusicAsync(directory) {
try{
return await loopMusic(directory); //promise returned
}
catch(error) {
console.log(error); //promise rejected
return null;
}
}
Related
I'm trying to execute functions one at a time, sequentially. Using promises, I believe it should work, but for me, it does not work. I've researched somewhat and found this question, and one of the answers explains to use Promises, that is what I've been trying to do.
Here's the functions:
async function loadCommands () {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let commands = 0;
readdir('./commands/', (error, files) => {
if (error) reject(error);
for (const file of files) {
if (!file.endsWith('.js')) return;
commands++;
}
}
resolve(commands); // this is in my code, I forgot to put it - sorry commenters
});
};
async function loadEvents () {
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
let events = 0;
readdir('./events/', (error, files) => {
if (error) reject (error);
for (const file of files) {
if (!file.endsWith('.js')) return;
events++
}
});
resolve(events);
});
};
I am then using await in an async function to try and make sure it each function resolves before going onto the next function:
console.log('started');
const events = await loadEvents();
console.log(events);
console.log('load commands');
const commands = await loadCommands();
console.log(commands);
console.log('end')
In the console, this is linked (keep in mind, I have no files in ./events/ and I have one file in ./commands/):
start
0 // expected
load commands
0 // not expected, it's supposed to be 1
end
What am I doing wrong? I want these functions to be run sequentially. I've tried making it so instead of functions, it's just the bare code in the one async function, but still came to the issue.
You never resolve() the promise that you create in loadCommands, and you resolve() the promise that you create in loadEvents before the readdir callback happened.
Also, don't do any logic in non-promise callbacks. Use the new Promise constructor only to promisify, and call only resolve/reject in the async callback:
function readdirPromise(path) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
readdir(path, (err, files) => {
if (err) reject(err);
else resolve(files);
});
});
});
or simply
import { promisify } from 'util';
const readdirPromise = promisify(readdir);
Then you can use that promise in your actual logic function:
async function countJsFiles(path) {
const files = await readdirPromise(path);
let count = 0;
for (const file of files) {
if (file.endsWith('.js'))
count++;
// I don't think you really wanted to `return` otherwise
}
return count;
}
function loadCommands() {
return countJsFiles('./commands/');
}
function loadEvents() {
return countJsFiles('./events/');
}
You're trying to use await outside async. You can await a promise only inside an async function. The functions returning promises ( here loadCommands & loadEvents ) don't need to be async. Make an async wrapper function like run and call the await statements inside it like this.
PS: Plus you also need to resolve loadCommands with commands in the callback itself. Same for loadEvents. Also, remove the return and simple increment the variable when true.
function loadCommands() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let commands = 0;
readdir('./commands/', (error, files) => {
if (error) reject(error);
for (const file of files) {
if (file.endsWith('.js')) commands++;
}
}
resolve(commands);
});
};
function loadEvents() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let events = 0;
readdir('./events/', (error, files) => {
if (error) reject(error);
for (const file of files) {
if (file.endsWith('.js')) events++
}
resolve(events);
});
});
};
async function run() {
console.log('started');
const events = await loadEvents();
console.log(events);
console.log('load commands');
const commands = await loadCommands();
console.log(commands);
console.log('end')
}
run();
Hope this helps !
I have a primary thread in my node application such as this:
function main_thread() {
console.log("Starting");
values = get_values(1);
console.log(values);
console.log("I expect to be after the values");
}
The get_values function calls the hgetall function using the node_redis package. This function provides a call back, but can be promisified:
function get_values(customer_id) {
// Uses a callback for result
new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
redis_client.hgetall(customer_id, function (err, result) {
if (err) console.log(err)
console.log("About to resolve");
resolve(result);
});
})
.then(({result}) => {
console.log(result);
});
}
This works great for promise chaining within the function, however not so well in my main thread, as I can't wait and return the value.
Here's how I'd do it in ruby, the main language I use:
def get_values(customer_id)
return #redis_client.hgetall(customer_id)
end
How can I create a promise within a reusable function and make the main thread wait until the function returns the response from the promise?
EDIT:
It's been suggested the promise can be returned with a then chained in the main thread. However this still means any code in the main thread after after the function call executes before the then block.
EDIT 2:
After lengthy discussion with some IRL JS developer friends, it looks like trying to create a synchronous script is against the ethos of modern JS. I'm going to go back to my application design and work on making it async.
Here is a working example with async/await. I've replaced the redis with a timeout and an array for the data.
async function main_thread() {
console.log("Starting");
values = await get_values(1);
console.log(`After await: ${values}`);
console.log("I expect to be after the values");
}
async function get_values(customer_id) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
const result = [1, 2, 3];
console.log(`Resolving: ${result}`);
resolve(result);
}, 300);
});
}
main_thread();
Further reading:
Using Promises
Promise Constructor
Return the promise in get_values
function get_values(customer_id) {
// Uses a callback for result
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
redis_client.hgetall(customer_id, function (err, result) {
if (err) console.log(err)
console.log("About to resolve");
resolve(result);
});
})
.then(({result}) => {
reject(result);
});
}
Now in your main thread, you could wait for it like:
function main_thread() {
console.log("Starting");
get_values(1).then(function(values) {
console.log(values);
}).catch(function(error) {
console.error(error);
});
}
Simple as returning the promise (chain) from your function
function get_values(customer_id) {
// Uses a callback for result
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
redis_client.hgetall(customer_id, function (err, result) {
if (err) console.log(err)
console.log("About to resolve");
resolve(result);
});
})
.then(({result}) => {
console.log(result);
});
}
And then in your main async function or function
let result = await get_values(); or get_values.then(function(result){})
function main_thread() {
console.log("Starting");
values = get_values(1).then(function(values){
console.log(values);
console.log("I expect to be after the values");
});
}
async function main_thread() {
console.log("Starting");
let values = await get_values(1);
console.log(values);
console.log("I expect to be after the values");
}
I'm banging my head against the wall to figure out how to push data that is being written on file asynchronously into an array. Writing the data synchronously (and checking if the item is the last on the list) takes too much time so I decided to make it run async. After doing some research, it seems that I could use a callback
I would prefer not to use an external library for doing this, since I'm pretty sure either a callback or a Promise should do the trick. Thanks!
//Iterate through list and make HTTP request to get data
dataDocument.map(function(item, index) {
request(item, function(err, res, html) {
if (err) throw err;
renderData(html, item);
});
});
//Renders data
function renderData(html, item) {
...some calculations here.
writeData(output, id, function() {
pushed(output);
});
};
//Writes the data on file
function writeData(output, id) {
fs.appendFile('./output.json', output);
//SHOULD I USE A CALLBACK HERE TO PUSH INTO AN ARRAY ONCE IT'S COMPLETE?
};
//NEED HELP HERE: Pushed the data into an array and eliminates last comma.
function pushed(data) {
var arr = [];
arr.push(data);
}
With promises it will look cleaner and leaner. Promisify all the involved functions, and use Promise.all to know when you have collected all data:
// Promisify all the involved callback-based functions:
function promiseRequest(item) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
request(item, function (err, res, html) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
} else {
resolve(html);
}
})
})
}
//Renders data
function promiseRenderData(html, item) {
//...some calculations here.
return promiseWriteData(output, id).then(function() {
return output;
});
};
//Writes the data on file
function promiseWriteData(output, id) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
fs.appendFile('./output.json', output, function (err) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
} else {
resolve();
}
});
});
}
//Iterate through list and make HTTP request to get data
Promise.all(dataDocument.map(function(item, index) {
return promiseRequest(item).then(function(html) {
return promiseRenderData(html, item);
};
})).then(function(arr) {
// Do something with `arr` here
});
Based on a code snippet found here on stackoverflow, I want to read all files in a directory and then proceed.
I've added a promise, but this somehow doesn't work.
My directory contains 2 files and the console log output is:
promise resolved
inside filenames
inside filenames
inside readFiles
inside readFiles
function readFiles(dirname, onFileContent, onError) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
fs.readdir(dirname, function(err, filenames) {
filenames.forEach(function(filename) {
console.log('inside filenames');
fs.readFile(dirname + filename, 'utf-8', function(err, content) {
onFileContent(filename, content);
});
});
});
});
}
var data = [];
readFiles('datadir/', function(filename, content) {
console.log('inside readFiles');
data.push(filename);
}).then(
console.log('promise resolved');
//proceed handling the data-array
);
The promise does not "resolve first". The call to console.log executes before your first file is read.
You're never calling resolve on your promise, so the then is never being called. However you're passing the result of console.log to the then. the result of console.log is void.
You can test this by correcting the problem:
readFiles('datadir/', function(filename, content) {
console.log('inside readFiles');
data.push(filename);
}).then(function(){ // NOTE: addition of function(){..}
console.log('promise resolved');
//proceed handling the data-array
});
And you'll notice the message is never written to the console.
So that's whats wrong - how to fix it. It takes some thinking to wrap your head round the totally async/promise based code in node.
I'm assuming that you want to wait for all the files to have the contents read before resolving your promise. This is a little tricky as you have 2 async calls (reading the list of files, and then individually reading their contents). It may well be easier to wrap the reading of the file into its own promise. Something like this:
function readFile(filePath){
return new Promise((resolve,reject) => {
fs.readFile(filePath, "utf-8", function(err,content) => {
if(err) reject(err)
else resolve({path:filePath, content:content})
});
});
}
Do the same for readdir so as to make that also chainable:
function readDirectory(dir){
return new Promise((resolve,reject) => {
fs.readdir(dirname, function(err, filenames) {
if(err) reject(err);
else{
resolve(filenames.map(fn => dir + fn));
}
});
});
}
The reason to do this is that you can then chain on a Promise.all to wait for all the file contents too.
function readFileContents(dirname) {
return readDirectory(dirname)
.then(files =>
Promise.all(files.map(file => readFile(file))
);
}
Usage:
readFileContents('datadir/').then(files => {
files.forEach(file => {
console.log(file.path, file.content.length);
});
});
I have a function that returns a Promise, that accesses the database and pulls a few lines out, assigning them to a Javascript variable.
The issue is that my '.then' clause is being triggered even though I know the Promise hasn't resolved:
app.post("/api/hashtag", function (req, res) {
FindPopularRumours().then(function (resolveVar) {
console.log(resolveVar);
console.log();
res.send(resolveVar);
}).catch(function () {
console.log("DB Error!");
res.send("DB Error!");
});
});
And the Promise function:
function FindPopularRumours() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
var hashtags = [];
var dbPromise;
db.collection(HASHTAGS).find().forEach(function (doc) {
hashtags.push(doc.hashtag);
console.log(hashtags);
});
resolve(hashtags);
});
}
The result output is:
[ ]
['#test1']
['#test1', '#test2']
['#test1', '#test2', '#test3']
As you can see, the first line ('[ ]') should ONLY be executed AFTER the hashtags have been output. But for some reason my code seems to think the Promise has been resolved before it actually has.
EDIT1
As per Ankit's suggestion, I have amended my function to:
function FindPopularRumours() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
var hashtags = [];
db.collection(HASHTAGS).find({}, function (err, doc) {
if (!err) {
doc.forEach(function (arg) {
hashtags.push(arg.hashtag);
console.log(hashtags);
});
resolve(hashtags);
} else {
return reject(err);
}
});
});
}
This still returns the same output response as before (e.g the 'then' clause is running before the promise itself).
My POST function is still the same as before.
The db.collection.find() function is async, so you have to resolve the promise inside the callback for that, something like
function FindPopularRumours() {
return db.collection(HASHTAGS).find().toArray().then( (items) => {
return items.map( doc => doc.hashtag);
});
}
takes advantage of the Mongo toArray() method, that returns a promise directly
Please note that db.collection(HASHTAGS).find() is an asynchronous call. So, your promise is resolved before database query returns. To solve this problem, you need to re-write your database query as follows:
function FindPopularRumours() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
var hashtags = [];
var dbPromise;
db.collection(HASHTAGS).find({}, function(err, doc){
if(!err){
doc.forEach(function (arg) {
hashtags.push(arg.hashtag);
console.log(hashtags);
});
resolve(hashtags);
}else{
return reject(err);
}
});
});
}
Hope the answer helps you!