Develop Reference

How to send fs.stat details in JSON format to front end AngularJS as a response?

I want output that gets the listing of path and gets each file name with the associated file size. I get this output in the command prompt, but I want
node to store this record and send response to the controller.js file.
My folder structure is:
node_modules
public
->controllers
- controller.js
->index.html
server.js
Code of server.js i.e backend code Node.js:
var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var http = require('http');
var fs = require('fs');
app.use(express.static(__dirname + "/public"));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
var dir ='';
var result = [];
app.post('/filelist', function (req,res){
console.log(req.body);
dir = req.body.name;
res.end();
});
app.get('/filelist', function (req, res) {
console.log("I received a GET request")
fs.exists(dir, (exists) => {
if (exists) {
console.log("file exist " + dir);
fs.readdir(dir,function(err, items){
if (err) {
return console.error(err);
}
for (var i=0; i<items.length; i++) {
var file = dir + '/' + items[i];
console.log(file);
fs.stat(file, generate_callback(file));
}
});
}
else {
console.error('myfile does not exist');
res.json({message: 'Requested "'+dir+'" file or folder does not exist!'
});
}
});
function generate_callback(file) {
return function(err, stats) {
result = ({name:file.substring(6),Size:stats["size"]});
console.log(result);
res.json(result);
}
};
});
app.listen(3000);
console.log("Server running on port 3000");
controller.js
function AppCtrl($scope, $http){
console.log("Hello world from controller");
var refresh = function() {
$http.get('/filelist').success(function(response){
console.log("I got the data I requested");
$scope.filelist = response;
$scope.list = "";
$scope.msg = response.message;
});
};
$scope.searchPath = function() {
console.log($scope.contact);
$http.post('/filelist', $scope.list).success(function(response){
console.log(response);
refresh();
});
};
}

In the NodeJS code, don't call res.json() until processing each file. One way to do this is to pass the number of files in the directory to the callback function -
for (var i=0; i<items.length; i++) {
var file = dir + '/' + items[i];
console.log(file);
// pass the number of items in the directory to the callback here
fs.stat(file, generate_callback(file,items.length));
}
Then in the callback, add the results of each file to an array (e.g. var results) and when the length property of that array is equal to the number of items in the directory, call res.json():
var results = [];
function generate_callback(file,numberOfItems) {
return function(err, stats) {
result = ({name:file.substring(0,6),Size:stats["size"]});
results.push(result);//add the result for the current file to the list of results
//when we have reached the last file, send the results in JSON format
if (results.length == numberOfItems){
res.json(results);
}
}
};
I have this running on codeenv.com - see the angular page utilizing the nodeJS filelist endpoint here - if that stops working, you should be able to open the environment, click the Launch button in the upper right corner of the screen, and then in the terminal run node server.js to start the server.

How to use node modules correctly

I am a CS student with a strong Java background, and javascript is resulting to be a challenging but fun experience so far, that is until I ran into the situation where I tried to use my own modules to return values that require the program to wait for the completion of some procedure before returning.So far no-one from any forum that I have posted this question on has been able to give an actual code fix to the problem, they have referred me to read further material that is not related to the problem at hand. Would anyone please read the code and provide a working correct standard solution to the problem I am facing?
Here is the code, a simple nodes server application, app.js and a weather module, weatherApp.js that uses an user provided zip code and returns a weather forecast in the area.
here is the code:
weatherApp.js
// The required modules.
var http = require("http");
var https = require("https");
//result object
var resultSet = {
googleRequestUrl:"",
forecastIOrequest:"",
latitude :"",
longitude:"",
localInfo:"",
weather:"",
humidity:"",
pressure:"",
time:""
};
//print out error messages
function printError(error){
console.error(error.message);
}
//Forecast API required information:
//key for the forecast IO app
var forecast_IO_Key = "bb9aac7c57877f8f5fab339e3b55669a";
var forecast_IO_Web_Adress = "https://api.forecast.io/forecast/";
//Create Forecast request string function
function createForecastRequest(latitude, longitude){
var request = forecast_IO_Web_Adress + forecast_IO_Key + "/"
+ latitude +"," + longitude;
return request;
}
//Google GEO API required information:
//Create Google Geo Request
var google_GEO_Web_Adress = "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=";
function createGoogleGeoMapRequest(zipCode){
var request = google_GEO_Web_Adress+zipCode + "&sensor=false";
return request;
}
// 1- Need to request google for geo locations using a given zip
function connectToGoogleGEO(zipCode, afterCallback){
var googleRequest = https.get(createGoogleGeoMapRequest(zipCode), function(response){
//saving the Google request URL
resultSet.googleRequestUrl = createGoogleGeoMapRequest(zipCode);
var body = "";
var status = response.statusCode;
//a- Read the data.
response.on("data", function(chunk){
body+=chunk;
});
//b- Parse the data.
response.on("end", function(){
if(status === 200){
try{
var googleReport = JSON.parse(body);
resultSet.latitude = googleReport.results[0].geometry.location.lat;
resultSet.longitude = googleReport.results[0].geometry.location.lng;
resultSet.localInfo = googleReport.results[0].address_components[0].long_name + ", " +
googleReport.results[0].address_components[1].long_name + ", " +
googleReport.results[0].address_components[2].long_name + ", " +
googleReport.results[0].address_components[3].long_name + ". ";
// callback to forecast IO.
afterCallback(resultSet.latitude, resultSet.longitude);
}catch(error){
printError(error.message);
}finally{
// nothing here
}
}else{
printError({message: "Error with GEO API"+http.STATUS_CODES[response.statusCode]})
}
});
});
}
function connectToForecastIO(latitude,longitude){
var forecastRequest = https.get(createForecastRequest(latitude,longitude),function(response){
resultSet.forecastIOrequest = createForecastRequest(latitude,longitude);
var body = "";
var status = response.statusCode;
//read the data
response.on("data", function(chunk){
body+=chunk;
});
//parse the data
response.on("end", function(){
try{
var weatherReport = JSON.parse(body);
resultSet.weather = weatherReport.currently.summary;
resultSet.humidity = weatherReport.currently.humidity;
resultSet.temperature = weatherReport.currently.temperature;
resultSet.pressure = weatherReport.currently.pressure;
resultSet.time = weatherReport.currently.time;
}catch(error){
printError(error.message);
}finally{
console.log(resultSet);
}
});
});
}
function get(zipCode){
var results = connectToGoogleGEO(zipCode, connectToForecastIO);
return results;
}
//define the name of the outer module.
module.exports.get = get;
And here is the server code:
app.js
var express = require("express");
var weatherApp = require("./weatherApp.js");
var path = require("path");
var http = require("http");
var app = express();
//creating routes
//The home
app.get("/", function(req, res){
res.redirect("/weather");
});
app.get("/weather", function(req, res){
res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname + "/index.html"));
});
//------------------------------------------------------
//The resources, css, web js files, images etc.
app.get("/StyleSheets/style.css", function(req, res){
res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname + "/StyleSheets/style.css"));
});
app.get("/webScripts/app.js", function(req, res){
res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname + "/webScripts/app.js"));
});
app.get("/webImages/swirl_pattern.png", function(req, res){
res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname + "/webImages/swirl_pattern.png"));
});
//-------------------------------------------------------
//other requests
app.get("/zipcode.do", function(req, res){
var zipcode = req.query["zipcode"];
var response = "No report Available";
function getReport(zipCode, callback){
response = weatherApp.get(req.query["zipcode"]);
}
getReport(zipcode, ()=>{
res.send("<p>" + response+ "</p>");
});
});
//any other entry thats not listed as a valid to request
app.get("/:title", function(req,res){
var title = req.param.title;
if(title === undefined){
var status = res.status(503);
res.send("This page does not exists" + '"' + http.STATUS_CODES[503] + '"');
}else{
res.send(title);
}
});
app.listen(3000, function(){
console.log("Server running at port: 3000")
});
The main issue I am having right now is:
The program is not returning anything from the module even when final console.log in the weather module prints the right resultSet object.
The server is not waiting for the module to return, and continues to print no data.
Can someone provide a working fix to any of these problems I would be really grateful, This has really hindered my progress and broken down my morale a little :(

Your problem is that you are using asynchronous functions as if they were synchronous.
It might not be the only issue here, but this function is particularly problematic:
function get(zipCode){
var results = connectToGoogleGEO(zipCode, connectToForecastIO);
return results;
}
connectToGoogleGEO() calls the asynchronous https.get() function and does not return the data that is retrieved from Google. You need to rewrite your code so that it does not expect the data to be returned by the function. Instead, you need to pass a callback that will handle the data.
Take care to know when you are calling asynchronous functions and how their callbacks work. It is fundamental when working with Node.js

avoiding while loop when checking if file exists

I have a node application that reads an uploaded file like so:
router.route('/moduleUpload')
.post(function (request, response) {
request.files.file.originalname = request.files.file.originalname.replace(/ +?/g, '');
var media = new Media(request.files.file, './user_resources/module/' + request.body.module_id + '/');
if (!fs.existsSync(media.targetDir)) {
fs.mkdirSync(media.targetDir, 0777, function (err) {
if (err) {
console.log(err);
response.send("ERROR! Can't make the directory! \n"); // echo the result back
}
});
fs.chmodSync(media.targetDir, 0777);
}
moveFile(media);
var token = jwt.encode({
mediaObject: media
}, require('../secret')());
response.status(200).json(token);
});
Now when this file is uploaded and status code 200 is recieved my system then calls the following route:
router.route('/resourcePath/:encodedString')
.all(function (req, res) {
var decoded = jwt.decode(req.params.encodedString, require('../secret')());
var mediaObject = decoded.mediaObject;
var ext = mediaObject.file.originalname.substr(mediaObject.file.originalname.lastIndexOf('.'));
var path = 'app_server' + mediaObject.targetDir.substring(1) + mediaObject.fileName + ext;
var fileExist = false;
res.status(200).send(path)
});
Now for some reason this call is being called before the file is correctly in place which results in that sometimes my users cannot see the content.
To make sure the file was in the folder i thought of the following code to add:
var fileExist = false;
while (!fileExist) {
if (fs.existsSync('/var/www/learningbankapp/'+path)) {
fileExist = true;
}
}
However im not sure that this a good solution namly because it goes against node.js nature. So my question is, is there a better way to do it?

Node.js http.get as a function

I am trying to make a function that returns the content of the webpage and this is what I have so far
var get_contents = function() {
var httpRequestParams =
{
host: "google.com",
port: 80,
path: "/?"
};
var req = http.get(httpRequestParams, function(res)
{
var data = '';
res.on('data', function(chunk) {
data += chunk.toString();
});
//console.log(data);
}).end();
return req;
}
This when I run this code, I see the html contents when the console logging is turned on but when I try to return the output, it just never works.
I can't figure out a way to return get_contents() anywhere. On the console, it just doesnt respond.
Thanks

Something like that: (dont forget to handle error and timeout)
var on_contents = function(cb) {
var httpRequestParams =
{
host: "google.com",
port: 80,
path: "/?"
};
var req = http.get(httpRequestParams, function(res)
{
var data = '';
res.on('data', function(chunk) {
data += chunk.toString();
});
res.on('end', function(){
cb(data);
});
//console.log(data);
}).end();
}
function onFinish(data) {
console.log(data);
}
on_contents(onFinish)

The short answer is: You can't return the data from that function. http.get is asynchronous, so it doesn't actually start running the callback until after your function ends. You'll need to have your get_contents function take a callback itself, check in the http.get handler whether you're done loading and, if you are, call the get_contents callback.

There is an awesome module [request][1] available in node.js.
var request = require('request'),
url = require('url');
var server = http.createServer(function (request, response) {
getPage("http://isohunt.com/torrents/?iht=-1&ihq=life+is+beautiful", function (body) {
console.log(body);
})
});
server.listen(3000);
More information can be found on http://www.catonmat.net/blog/nodejs-modules-request/

Nodejs output -Domain name not found

Technically this is my first try in nodejs and frankly I am not sure if I am doing it right. I am creating a local server that will stream the output from a distant server. However, when I run my code and I enter a URL in the browser, the program fails with the following message:
events.js:45
throw arguments[1]; // Unhandled 'error' event
^
Error: ENOTFOUND, Domain name not found
at IOWatcher.callback (dns.js:74:15)
The URL I used was: 127.0.0.1:9000/http://www.yahoo.fr. And in the browser I had the following message:
No data received
Unable to load the webpage because the server sent no data.
Here are some suggestions:
Reload this web page later.
Error 324 (net::ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE): The server closed the connection without sending any data.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Here is the code:
var base, dest, node_client,
count = 0,
url = require('url'),
util = require('util'),
http = require('http'),
http_client = require('http'),
request = require('request'),
events = require('events'),
httpProxy = require('./lib/node-http-proxy'),
data_emitter = new events.EventEmitter();
httpProxy.createServer(9000, 'localhost').listen(8000);
http.createServer(function (req, res) {
if(!count)
{
base = url.parse(req.url).pathname;
node_client = http_client.createClient(80, base);
count++;
} else {
dest = req.url.substr(1, req.url.length -1);
}
request = node_client.request("GET", dest, {"host": base});
request.addListener("response", function (response) {
var body = "";
response.addListener("data", function (data) {
body +=data;
});
response.addListener("end", function () {
var out = JSON.parse(body);
if(out.length > 0) {
data_emitter.emit("out", out);
}
});
});
// request.close();
var listener = data_emitter.addListener("data", function(out) {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/html'});
res.write(JSON.stringify(out));
res.close();
});
}).listen(9000);

Wild guess : your browser automatically requests 127.0.0.1:9000/favicon.ico and your program then tries to resolve favicon.ico which obviously fails and makes your program crash before it can send any data for the real request.

Why such tangled code?
This is a scenario where it makes sense to avoid nested callbacks, and use named functions. If you refactor the code, then people are more likely to be help you.

Can you do console.log(out) in your listener callback? Let us know if Node.js has any response data to return.

Well, for any newbie like me in this area, here is how I solved it. It's not clean and can be implemented in better way. Feel free to change, give suggestions.
Code:
var url = require('url'),
http = require('http'),
request = require('request'),
httpProxy = require('./lib/node-http-proxy'),
des = '',
util = require('util'),
colors = require('colors'),
is_host = true;
httpProxy.createServer(9000, 'localhost').listen(8000);
var server = http.createServer(function (req, res) {
var pathname = '';
if(is_host) {
dest = req.url.substr(0, req.url.length -1);
pathname = dest;
is_host = false;
} else {
pathname = req.url.substr(0, req.url.length);
if(pathname.charAt(0) == "/") {
console.log('new request');
console.log(pathname);
pathname = dest + pathname;
}
}
console.log(pathname);
request.get({uri: pathname}, function (err, response, html) {
res.end(html);
});
console.log('fetched from ' + pathname);
});
server.listen(9000);