Develop Reference

Problem while fetching a route from another route

I have a route to check if a user is logged in. It works well, but I don't understand what is the problem if I create a second route just below that calls it just to do the same thing. It seems like I can't access the cookie anymore in the second route, but I don't know why. Thanks for your help !
// This route works :
router.get('/loggedin', async (req, res) => {
try {
const token = req.cookies.jwt;
console.log("token : " + token) // Token is correct here in loggedin route, but is undefined if I use the route below
const decodedToken = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
if (decodedToken) {
res.send(true);
}
else {
res.send(false);
}
}
catch (err) {
res.status(500).send(false);
}
});
// This route calls the route above and doesn't work
router.get('/loggedinbyanotherway', async (req, res) => {
const checking = await fetch(`${process.env.API_URL}:${process.env.PORT || 3000}/loggedin`)
console.log(checking.ok) // Returns false
const data = await checking.json()
console.log(data) // Returns false
res.send(data)
});

Your fetch request isn't providing any cookies, so how could the code handling the request read any cookies?
More to the point... This entire operation is unnecessary. Why make an HTTP request to the application you're already using? Instead, extract the functionality you want into a common function and just call that function from both routes. For example:
const isLoggedIn = (req) => {
const token = req.cookies.jwt;
const decodedToken = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
if (decodedToken) {
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
};
router.get('/loggedin', async (req, res) => {
try {
res.send(isLoggedIn(req));
}
catch (err) {
res.status(500).send(false);
}
});
router.get('/loggedinbyanotherway', async (req, res) => {
const checking = isLoggedIn(req);
res.send(checking);
});
In the example it's not really clear why you need the second route or what else it offers, but I can only assume it's just a placeholder for some additional functionality you plan to add.
Either way, the point is that the application doesn't need to make an entire HTTP request to itself, since you're already in that application and have access to the same logic.

How to wait for a variable to be populated by an api request before passing it to a webpage as an argument?

I'm new to JavaScript and cannot seem to make this work , the topic of quiz depends on the user input... when the user presses next , I get the topic (this also takes user to the main quiz page), then i have to fetch data from the api with the topic as a parameter... I have to process the result of the fetch operation.. Then I have to pass that info to to the main quiz page... but the variable that is supposed to be populated by the fetch request is still undefined when i pass is to the main quiz page
var Allquestions;
var sheetdb = require('sheetdb-node');
// create a config file
var config = {
address: 'https://sheetdb.io/api/v1/9djmf8ydc7hwy',
};
//sheetdb
// Create new client
var client = sheetdb(config);
function downloadquestions(topic) {
console.log(topic);
client.read({ limit: 2, sheet: topic }).then(function(data) {
console.log(data + " in client.read func")
processQuestions(data);
}, function(err){
console.log(err);
});
}
async function processQuestions(data) {
console.log(data + "data in process");
Allquestions = JSON.parse(data);
console.log(Allquestions[0].Question + " This is defined");
}
app.get("/", (req, res) => {
res.render("pages/index", { title: "Home"});
});
// app.post("/" , urlencodedParser ,(req , res) => {
// console.log(req.body.topic);
// })
app.get("/questions", urlencodedParser , (req , res) => {
downloadquestions(req.body.topic);
console.log(Allquestions + " this is undefined");
res.render("/pages/quizpage" , {Allquestions})
})

There are a few issues with your code, you have a broken promise chain, client.read( is a promise, and that promise is going nowhere. You either return it, or await it. To be able to await your will need to also mark your route (req, res) as async too.
Your code is a little mixed up, you have Allquestions as a global var, this isn't great for multi-user, as the last topic is going to override this each time.
Also try and avoid swallowing exceptions in utility functions, try and keep your exception handling at the top level, eg. in your case inside your req/res handler.
So with all this in mind, your refactored code could look something like ->
const sheetdb = require('sheetdb-node');
// create a config file
const config = {
address: 'https://sheetdb.io/api/v1/9djmf8ydc7hwy',
};
//sheetdb
// Create new client
const client = sheetdb(config);
async function downloadquestions(topic) {
const data = await client.read({ limit: 2, sheet: topic });
return processQuestions(data);
}
function processQuestions(data) {
return JSON.parse(data);
}
app.get("/", (req, res) => {
res.render("pages/index", { title: "Home"});
});
app.get("/questions", urlencodedParser , async (req , res) => {
try {
const allQuestions = await downloadquestions(req.body.topic);
res.render("/pages/quizpage" , {Allquestions});
} catch (e) {
console.error(e);
res.end('There was an error');
}
})

Middleware authentification with a condition not working Express. Node.js

I am currently developing a website with an API that I built with node.js, express and MongoDb for the database.
I am curretly learning node and express and cant find my way to create a middleware to verify that the USER ID matches the POSTED BY ID from a COMMENT. That way the USER can only delete his own comments.
My middleware looks like this
verifyUserIdPostedBy.js
const Comment = require('../models/Comment');
var userId
var postedById
module.exports = {
verfyUserIdPostedBy: function (req, res, next) {
userId = req.header('userId')
postedById = Comment.findOne({ _id: req.params.commentId}).populate('postedBy') .exec( function (error, body) {
if (error) throw new Error(error);
req.postedById = body.postedBy._id // assign the ID to the req object
console.log(req.postedById);
});
console.log(userId);
if(userId !== req.postedById)
return res.status(500).json({message: 'Stopped'})
return next();
},
}
My console.log() in the middleware show me exactly the 2 values that I want to compare but I get the error 'Stopped' and my verification never happens. I tried accesing the route with the comment owner and also with not the comment owner and none works
and my route looks like this
comments.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const Comment = require('../models/Comment');
const verify = require('./verifyToken');
const {verfyUserIdPostedBy} = require('./verfyUserIdPostedBy')
// DELETE COMMENT
router.delete('/:commentId', verify, verfyUserIdPostedBy, async (req, res) => {
try {
const removedComment = await Comment.deleteOne({ _id: req.params.commentId });
res.json(removedComment);
} catch(err){
res.json({message:err});
}
})
Like I said I am new at this but cant find a way to do it properly.
Appretiate in advance any help and advice.
Mario

I add comments in your code to explain how it works :
verfyUserIdPostedBy: function (req, res, next) {
userId = req.header('userId')
postedById = Comment.findOne({ _id: req.params.commentId}).populate('postedBy') .exec( function (error, body) {
/* -----this is a callback function------ */
/* the code inside the callback function is executed only when findOne finish and **after** the code outside */
if (error) throw new Error(error);
req.postedById = body.postedBy._id // assign the ID to the req object
console.log(req.postedById);
});
/* this code is executed before the code inside the callback function */
console.log(req.postedById); // undefined, you can check
console.log(userId);
if(userId !== req.postedById) // this is always true
return res.status(500).json({message: 'Stopped'}) // and this line always executes
return next(); // and this line never execute
},
The concept is callback. I strongly advise you to research this keyword, callback is used massively in NodeJS. Nowadays, there are Promise and async/await that allow developers to write asynchronous code in a "synchronous way", but callback is the base.
In order for your code works, 1 simple solution (there are many solutions!) is put comparison code into the callback block, something like :
const Comment = require('../models/Comment');
var userId
var postedById
module.exports = {
verfyUserIdPostedBy: function (req, res, next) {
userId = req.header('userId')
postedById = Comment.findOne({ _id: req.params.commentId}).populate('postedBy') .exec( function (error, body) {
if (error) throw new Error(error);
req.postedById = body.postedBy._id // assign the ID to the req object
console.log(req.postedById);
console.log(userId);
if(userId !== req.postedById)
return res.status(500).json({message: 'Stopped'})
return next();
});
},
}

Node.js / Koa: wait for API call before response

I have only basic JS knowledge (mainly jQuery), so this might be a really simple one.
And do realise performance-wise it might not be the best solution, but for now this is just proof of concept.
I have this simple Koa app. All I'm trying to do is to call an external API (Airtable) when the /callapi route is accessed and add some data from the API response to ctx.body.
However, I get a 404 Not Found when going to http://localhost:3000/callapi
I understand this is probably because the API call is asynchronous, so Node.js / Koa don't wait for it to finish and continue the execution, but there is no code setting the response body elsewhere, so it results in 404.
How can I achieve that?
Happy to use other routing middleware or additional middleware if needed.
I believe the Promises with async/await is the new way to go, which Koa embraces, so if I can somehow add / wrap this, it would be the best I guess.
const KoaRoute = require('koa-route');
const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();
var Airtable = require('airtable');
var base = new Airtable({apiKey: 'keyI6rZxwsXXXXXXX'}).base('appXXXXXX');
app.use(KoaRoute.get('/callapi', async function (ctx) {
await base('Couples').find('reclnxjiMeSljrzP0', function(err, record) {
console.log('Retrieved', record.id);
ctx.body = "Record ID from API: " + record.id;
});
}));
app.listen(3000);
console.log('listening on port 3000');

Looks like await is wrong. Please try this.
...
app.use(KoaRoute.get('/callapi', async function (ctx) {
/* please check return value if it returns correct value. */
try {
const record = await getBase();
console.log('Retrieved', record.id);
ctx.body = "Record ID from API: " + record.id;
} catch (err) {
// handle exception
}
}));
...
EDITED: Please add the following function and try again above thing.
function getBase() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
base('Couples').find('reclnxjiMeSljrzP0', function(err, record) {
console.log('Retrieved', record.id);
if (err) {
reject(err)
} else {
resolve(record);
}
});
});
}

Node JS, make HTTPS request synchronously from two links

I want to make a HTTPS request to an external link through Node JS. On my first call, I need to fetch user id by looping through several users. On my second call, I need to input that user id in the URL link and fetch user properties. Keep repeating this process till I go through all users. The end goal is to store data of every user in a JSON format. There is no front-end involved. Any direction/advice is much appreciated.
I can't share the actual link due to api keys. But here is the hypothetical scenario. I only show 2 users here. I have about 10,000 users in my actual data set.
Link 1
https://www.google.com/all_users
JSON Output
{
"name": "joe",
"uri": "/id/UserObject/User/1234-1234",
},
{
"name": "matt",
"uri": "/id/UserObject/User/5678-5678",
}
Link 2
https://www.google.com//id/UserObject/User/1234-1234
JSON Output
{
"name": "joe",
"uri": "/id/UserObject/User/1234-1234",
"Property Values": {
"height": "2",
"location": "canada"
},
"Other Values": {
"work": "google",
"occupation": "developer"
}
}
Nested JSON
{
"PropertySetClassChildrenResponse": {
"PropertySetClassChildren": {
"PropertySetInstances": {
"totalCount": "1",
"Elements": [
{
"name": "SystemObject",
"uri": "/type/PropertySetClasses/SystemObject"
}
]
}
}
}
}

Not tested, but this should point you in the right direction. It uses Promises and assumes that run in an ES6 environment:
const rp = require('request-promise');
const Promise = require('bluebird');
fetchAllUsers()
.then(extractUserUris)
.then(extractUserIds)
.then(buildUserDetailRequests)
.then(Promise.all) // run all the user detail requests in parallel
.then(allUserData => {
// allUserData is an array of all users' data
});
function fetchAllUsers() {
return rp('https://api.whatever.com/all_users');
}
function extractUserUris(users) {
return users.map(user => user.uri);
}
function extractUserIds(userUris) {
return userUris.map(userUri => userUri.split('/').pop());
}
function buildUserDetailRequests(userIds) {
return userIds.map(userId => rp("https://api.whatever.com/user/" + userId));
}

I'd suggest using the request package to make your HTTP requests easier.
> npm install request
Then you would obtain a list of all users with something like this:
var request = require('request');
request.get({url: "https://example.org/all_users"}, handleUsersResponse);
You'd handle the request response like this:
function(err, response, body) {
if (!err && response.statusCode == 200) {
// parse json (assuming array of users)
var users = JSON.parse(body);
// iterate through each user and obtain user info
for(var i = 0; i < users.length; i++) {
var userUri = users[i].uri;
obtainUserInfo(userUri)
}
}
}
obtainUserInfo function would be similar to the above code.
One important thing to keep in mind is that since the HTTP requests are being made asynchronously, when you make the requests in a loop, the next iteration of the loop does not wait until the work is finished before moving to the next iteration and starting the next request. So in effect, your loop would start all the HTTP requests nearly in parallel. This can easily overwhelm both your client and the server. One way to get around this is to use a worker queue to enqueue the work and ensure that only a maximum number of HTTP requests are being executed at any given time.

You don't want to do synchronous calls, it defeats the purpose of using Node. So by the Node powers invested in me by the State of Texas I hereby cast that synchronous way I thinking out of you!
Just kidding :), but let's do this the Node way.
Install these two libraries:
sudo npm install Promise
sudo npm install request
And set your code to look like:
var Promise = require('promise');
var request = require('request');
//Get your user data, and print the data in JSON:
getUserData()
.then(function(userData) {
console.log(JSON.stringify(userData));
}).catch(function(err) {
console.log('Error: ' +err);
});
/**
* Prepares an Object containing data for all users.
* #return Promise - Contains object with all user data.
*/
function getUserData() {
return new Promise(function(fulfill, reject) {
// Make the first request to get the user IDs:
var url1 = 'https://www.google.com/all_users';
get(url1)
.then(function(res) {
res = JSON.parse(res);
// Loop through the object to get what you need:
// Set a counter though so we know once we are done.
var counter = 0;
for (x=0; x<res.users.length; x++) {
var url2 = 'https://www.google.com//id/UserObject/User/';
url2 = url2 + res.users.id; //Wherever the individual ID is stored.
var returnDataArr = [];
get(url2)
.then(function(res2) {
// Get what you need from the response from the 2nd URL.
returnDataArr.push(res2);
counter++;
if (counter === res.users.length) {
fulfill({data: returnDataArr}); //Return/Fulfill an object containing an array of the user data.
}
}).catch(function(err) {
// Catch any errors from the 2nd HTTPS request:
reject('Error: ' +err);
});
}).catch(function(err) {
// Catch any errors from the 1st HTTPS request:
reject('Error: ' +err);
});
}
/**
* Your HTTPS GET Request Function
* #param url - The url to GET
* #return Promise - Promise containing the JSON response.
*/
function get(url) {
return new Promise(function(fulfill, reject) {
var options = {
url: url,
headers: {
'Header Name': 'Header Value',
'Accept': 'application/json',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
};
request(options, function(err, res, body) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
} else {
fulfill(body);
}
});
});
}
So what this Promise does, is that it returns the value once we actually have it. In the code above, we are first getting that list of users, and then as we parse through it, we are making a new asynchronous HTTP request to get the additional data on it. Once we get the user data, we push it to an array.
Finally, once our counter hits its endpoint, we know that we have gotten all the user data, and so we call fulfill which essentially means return, and it returns an object containing an array of the user data.
Let me know if this makes sense.

The answers above helped me go further with my solution and get the desired outcome. However, I spent a lot of time trying to understand node, promises in node, making an API call, etc. Hopefully, this will help to a beginner level node developer.
NODE
Node.js® is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient. Node.js' package ecosystem, npm, is the largest ecosystem of open source libraries in the world.
If you are a JavaScript developer, you would prefer to use Node as you wouldn't have to spend time learning a new language like Java or Python.
GOAL
Make a HTTPS call to an external link to fetch all server URIs. Pass in the URI as a param to create a second link to fetch all server properties. Loop through to all server uris and properties. Refer the original post on the top for the data structure. The external link also required basic auth and headers.
CODE
Install NPM modules request (https call), bluebird (promises) and lodash(utility) and express(node framework).
/
********************** MODULES/DEPENDENCIES **********************/
var express = require('express');
var request = require('request');
var Promise = require('bluebird');
var _ = require("lodash");
/********************** INITIATE APP **********************/
var app = express();
console.log("Starting node server...");
/**
* Your HTTPS GET Request Function
* #param url - The url to GET
* #return Promise - Promise containing the JSON response.
*/
function get(url) {
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
// var auth = "Basic " + new Buffer(username + ':' + password).toString("base64");
var options = {
url: url,
headers: {
// 'Authorization': auth,
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Accept': 'application/json'
}
};
console.log("Calling GET: ", url);
if ('development' == app.get('env')) {
console.log("Rejecting node tls");
process.env.NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED = "0";
}
request(options, function(error, response, body) {
if (error) {
reject(error);
} else {
// console.log("THIS IS BODY: ", body);
resolve(body);
}
});
});
}
/********************** GET DATA FUNCTION **********************/
function getServerData() {
/********************** URI VARIABLES **********************/
var username = 'username',
password = 'password',
role = 'Read-Only',
url_host = 'https://link.com:10843';
/********************** URL 1 **********************/
var url1 = url_host + '/type/PropertySetClasses/SystemObject/Server/?maxResults=1000&username=' + username + '&password=' + password + '&role=' + role;
console.log("Getting server data...", url1);
/********************** GET REQUEST 1 **********************/
return get(url1)
.then(function(res) {
console.log("Got response!");
res = JSON.parse(res);
res = res.PropertySetClassChildrenResponse.PropertySetClassChildren.PropertySetInstances.Elements;
// console.log("THIS IS RES: ", res);
/********************** FETCH URI FROM RES NESTED OBJECT **********************/
var server_ids = _.map(res, function(server) {
return server.uri;
});
console.log("Calling server urls", server_ids);
// Loop through the object to get what you need:
// Set a counter though so we know once we are done.
return Promise.map(server_ids, function (id) {
var url2 = url_host + id + '?username=' + username + '&password=' + password + '&role=' + role;
console.log("Calling URL", url2);
return get(url2)
.then(function(res2) {
res2 = JSON.parse(res2);
var elements = res2.PropertySetInstanceResponse.PropertySetInstance.PropertyValues.Elements;
console.log("Got second response", res2, elements);
return elements;
});
})
.then(function (allUrls) {
console.log("Got all URLS", allUrls);
return allUrls;
});
})
.catch(function(err) {
console.error(err);
throw err;
});
};
app.listen(8080, function() {
console.log("Server listening and booted on: " + 8080);
app.get("/serverInfo", function (req, res) {
console.log("Calling server info");
return getServerData()
.then(function(userData) {
var userData = JSON.stringify(userData, null, "\t");
console.log("This is USERDATA Data: ", userData);
res.send(userData);
})
.catch(function(err) {
console.error(err);
res.send({
__error: err,
message: err.message
});
});
});
});