Develop Reference

Is $.when() or $.when.apply() the correct call for getting a promise out of a forEach?

I have a function processing an array, calling a function for each entry within the array with a Promise returned, and then finally returning that it's done.
var dealCardSelectableAI = function () {
var deferred = $.Deferred();
var deferredQueue = [];
_.forEach(model.galaxy.systems(), function (system, starIndex) {
if (model.canSelect(starIndex) && system.star.ai()) {
deferredQueue.push(
chooseCards({
inventory: inventory,
count: 1,
star: system.star,
galaxy: game.galaxy(),
addSlot: false,
}).then(function (result) {
system.star.cardList(result);
})
);
}
});
$.when.apply($, deferredQueue).then(function () {
deferred.resolve();
});
return deferred.promise();
};
dealCardSelectableAI().then( /* other stuff */ )
Most stuff I find on promises is to do with ES6 and Promises.all(), but I'm working in ES5 so am using jQuery.
My understanding is that due to deferredQueue being of unknown length $.when.apply() is the correct call here rather than $.when(), but regardless of which I use everything seems to operate as expected.
Have I set this up correctly? Is $.when.apply() the correct call and am I using it right?

Synchronous way of handling asynchronous function, two level deep

I am looping over an array to update its values using returned value from called function which internally calls an asynchronous function.
I need to handle asynchronous function in synchronous way which is not being directly called. This is replication of scenario.
function condition(){
// Code of this function is not accessible to me.
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject){
setTimeout(function(){
if(parseInt(Math.random() * 100) % 2){
resolve(true);
}
else{
reject(false)
}
}, 1000)
});
}
async function delayIncrease(value){
var choice = await condition();
if(choice) { return ++value; }
else { return --value; }
}
// Start calling functions
dataArr = [1,2,3,4,5];
for(var i in dataArr){
dataArr[i] = delayIncrease(dataArr[i]);
}
If possible, I would like to have the solution in above structure mentioned.
I have achieved the desired result by adding other function and passing "index" + "new_value" as parameters. This function directly modifies original array and produces desired result. Working example.
function condition(){
// Code of this function is not accessible to me.
return new Promise(function(resolve, reject){
setTimeout(function(){
if(parseInt(Math.random() * 100) % 2){
resolve(true);
}
else{
reject(false)
}
}, 1000)
});
}
function delayIncrease(value, index){
condition().then(
function(){ updateData(++value, index) },
function(){ updateData(--value, index) }
)
}
function updateData(value, index){
dataArr[index] = value;
}
dataArr = [1,2,3,4,5];
for(var i in dataArr){
dataArr[i] = delayIncrease(dataArr[i], i);
}
Please provide solution for this requirement in best possible way. Possible solution in Angular 4 way is also appriciated. I thought of writing it in normal JavaScript form as Observables behave nearly same.
I followed this Medium page and http://exploringjs.com

Your condition function does not really fulfill the promise with either true or false, it does randomly fulfill or reject the promise. Instead of branching on a boolean, you will need to catch that "error":
async function delayIncrease(value) {
try {
await condition();
return ++value;
} catch(e) {
return --value;
}
}

You could do something like this:
var condition = async () =>
(parseInt(Math.random() * 100) % 2)
? true
: false
var delayIncrease = async (value) =>
(await condition())
? ++value
: --value
var dataArr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
// Start calling functions
Promise.all(
dataArr.map(
delayIncrease
)
)
.then(
resolve => console.log("results:",resolve)
,reject => console.warn("rejected:",reject)
)
Once something is async you have to make the entire call stack prior to that function async. If a function calls an async function that that function returns an async value and so does the one calling it and calling it and calling it ...
More info on javascript async and why can be found here.
Since the example provided doesn't have any async api's in there you don't need to do it async:
var condition = () =>
(parseInt(Math.random() * 100) % 2)
? true
: false
var delayIncrease = (value) =>
(condition())
? ++value
: --value
var dataArr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
// Start calling functions
dataArr.map(
delayIncrease
)
[update]
When you mutate an array of objects and cosole.log it you may not see the values as they actually were when you log it but you see the values as they are right now (this is a "bug" in console.log).
Consider the following:
var i = -1,arr=[];
while(++i<1){
arr[i]={};
arr[i]["name"+i]=i
}
var process = (index) =>
arr[index]["name"+index]++;
arr.forEach(
(item,index) =>
Promise.resolve(index)
.then(process)
);
console.log("obj at the moment you are looking at it:",arr)
console.log("obj at the moment it is logged:",JSON.stringify(arr))
When you expand obj at the moment you are looking at it you see that name0 property of the first element changed to 1.
However; look at obj at the moment it is logged: and see the actual value of the first element in the array. It has name0 of 0.
You may think that the that code runs asynchronous functions in a synchronous way by mutating the object(s) in an array, but you actually experience a "bug" in console.log

Best Practices to wait for multiple calls

I have this code as a starting point.
// $ = jQuery
// groupAdata and groupBdata are arrays
function funcA(elem) {
for (f = 0; f < groupAdata.length ; f++) {
// this is an example on how this function calls other functions asynchronously.
elem.children('.partyA').each( function() {
this.innerHTML = "been here" + groupAdata[f];
});
}
}
function funcB(elem) {
// another function that fires more calls
for (f = 0; f < groupAdata.length ; f++) {
$.post(url, somedata, function(data) {
elem.children('.partyB').each( function() {
this.innerHTML = "will be there" + groupBdata[f] + data;
});
}
}
}
$(document).ready(function() {
$('.groupA').each(function () {
funcA(this);
});
$('.groupB').each(function (){
funcB(this);
});
});
function endofitall() {
// call this after all instances of funcA and funcB are done.
}
When running endofitall(), I'd like to be sure that all calls of funcA and funcB are done.
I take that Promises and jQuery.Deferred() would be a good/preferred approach but was not able to map the answers I found to this specific scenario. (It is part of a templating tool that fires multiple dom manipulators func[AB] for multiple DOM elements.)

You can use $.when().
Your goal should be to get to:
// call funcA, call funcB
$.when( funcA(), funcB() )
// when everything is done go on with the callback
.done(endofitall);
In the case of funcA (synchronous function there's no problem and it will work as is).
In the case of funcB (asynchronous) there are some things to consider. If it would be just one ajax call your code should be something like:
// This function returns a promise.
// When it's fulfilled the callback (in your case '.done(endofitall)')
// will be called.
function funcB(somedata){
return $.post(url, somedata);
}
As you are actually making more requests you have to return a resolved promise only when all calls have been fulfilled.
// an *Asynchronous* function, returns an array of promises
function funcB(elem, groupAdata) {
var allCalls = [];
// for each element in the array call the relative async
// function. While you're calling it push it to the array.
groupAdata.forEach(data, function(data){
allCalls.push( $.post(url, data) );
});
// allCalls is now an array of promises.
// why .apply(undefined)? read here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/14352218/1446845
return $.when.apply(undefined, allCalls);
}
At this point you can go for a flat and clear:
$.when( funcA(), funcB() ).done(endofitall);
As a rule of thumb: if you are making async requests try to always return a promise from them, this will help flatten out your code (will post some link later on if you want) and to leverage the power of callbacks.
The above code can surely be refactored further (also, I haven't used a lot of jQuery in the last few years, but the concept applies to any Js library or even when using no library at all) but I hope it will help as a starting point.
References:
$.when
A similar answer here on SO

Call endofitall() inside each iteration for funcA and funcB. Keep a counter and perform the actual work once the counter reaches the number signifying all the tasks are complete.
function funcA(elem) {
for (f = 0; f < groupAdata.length ; f++) {
// these calls are not async
elem.children('.partyA').each( function() {
this.innerHTML = "been here" + groupAdata[f];
});
endofitall();
}
}
function funcB(elem) {
// another function that fires more calls
for (f = 0; f < groupBdata.length ; f++) {
$.post(url, somedata, function(data) {
elem.children('.partyB').each( function() {
this.innerHTML = "will be there" + groupBdata[f] + data;
});
endofitall();
}
}
}
$(document).ready(function() {
$('.groupA').each(function () {
funcA(this);
});
$('.groupB').each(function (){
funcB(this);
});
});
var counter=0;
function endofitall() {
if(++counter==groupAdata.length + groupBdata.length){
//do stuff
}

Make angular.forEach wait for promise after going to next object

I have a list of objects. The objects are passed to a deferred function. I want to call the function with the next object only after the previous call is resolved. Is there any way I can do this?
angular.forEach(objects, function (object) {
// wait for this to resolve and after that move to next object
doSomething(object);
});

Before ES2017 and async/await (see below for an option in ES2017), you can't use .forEach() if you want to wait for a promise because promises are not blocking. Javascript and promises just don't work that way.
You can chain multiple promises and make the promise infrastructure sequence them.
You can iterate manually and advance the iteration only when the previous promise finishes.
You can use a library like async or Bluebird that will sequence them for you.
There are lots of different alternatives, but .forEach() will not do it for you.
Here's an example of sequencing using chaining of promises with angular promises (assuming objects is an array):
objects.reduce(function(p, val) {
return p.then(function() {
return doSomething(val);
});
}, $q.when(true)).then(function(finalResult) {
// done here
}, function(err) {
// error here
});
And, using standard ES6 promises, this would be:
objects.reduce(function(p, val) {
return p.then(function() {
return doSomething(val);
});
}, Promise.resolve()).then(function(finalResult) {
// done here
}, function(err) {
// error here
});
Here's an example of manually sequencing (assuming objects is an array), though this does not report back completion or errors like the above option does:
function run(objects) {
var cntr = 0;
function next() {
if (cntr < objects.length) {
doSomething(objects[cntr++]).then(next);
}
}
next();
}
ES2017
In ES2017, the async/wait feature does allow you to "wait" for a promise to fulfill before continuing the loop iteration when using non-function based loops such as for or while:
async function someFunc() {
for (object of objects) {
// wait for this to resolve and after that move to next object
let result = await doSomething(object);
}
}
The code has to be contained inside an async function and then you can use await to tell the interpreter to wait for the promise to resolve before continuing the loop. Note, while this appears to be "blocking" type behavior, it is not blocking the event loop. Other events in the event loop can still be processed during the await.

Yes you can use angular.forEach to achieve this.
Here is an example (assuming objects is an array):
// Define the initial promise
var sequence = $q.defer();
sequence.resolve();
sequence = sequence.promise;
angular.forEach(objects, function(val,key){
sequence = sequence.then(function() {
return doSomething(val);
});
});
Here is how this can be done using array.reduce, similar to #friend00's answer (assuming objects is an array):
objects.reduce(function(p, val) {
// The initial promise object
if(p.then === undefined) {
p.resolve();
p = p.promise;
}
return p.then(function() {
return doSomething(val);
});
}, $q.defer());

check $q on angular:
function outerFunction() {
var defer = $q.defer();
var promises = [];
function lastTask(){
writeSome('finish').then( function(){
defer.resolve();
});
}
angular.forEach( $scope.testArray, function(value){
promises.push(writeSome(value));
});
$q.all(promises).then(lastTask);
return defer;
}

The easiest way is to create a function and manually iterate over all the objects in the array after each promise is resolved.
var delayedFORLoop = function (array) {
var defer = $q.defer();
var loop = function (count) {
var item = array[count];
// Example of a promise to wait for
myService.DoCalculation(item).then(function (response) {
}).finally(function () {
// Resolve or continue with loop
if (count === array.length) {
defer.resolve();
} else {
loop(++count);
}
});
}
loop(0); // Start loop
return defer.promise;
}
// To use:
delayedFORLoop(array).then(function(response) {
// Do something
});
Example is also available on my GitHub:
https://github.com/pietervw/Deferred-Angular-FOR-Loop-Example

I use a simple solution for a connection to a printer that wait till the promise is over to go to the next.
angular.forEach(object, function(data){
yourFunction(data)
.then(function (){
return;
})
})

It might help someone as I tried several of above solution before coming up with my own that actually worked for me (the other ones didn't)
var sequence;
objects.forEach(function(item) {
if(sequence === undefined){
sequence = doSomethingThatReturnsAPromise(item)
}else{
sequence = sequence.then(function(){
return doSomethingThatReturnsAPromise(item)
});
}
});

It worked for me like this. I don't know if it is a right approach but could help to reduce lines
function myFun(){
var deffer = $q.defer();
angular.forEach(array,function(a,i) {
Service.method(a.id).then(function(res) {
console.log(res);
if(i == array.length-1) {
deffer.resolve(res);
}
});
});
return deffer.promise;
}
myFun().then(function(res){
//res here
});

Execute a function after the recursive asynchronous ajax calls

I need to execute a function after the recursive asynchronous ajax calls.
I have:
var tree = [1, 2 ,3, 4];
recursion(0);
function recursion(i) {
$.ajax('http://example.com/' + tree[i])
.done(function (data) {
// data is array
++i;
if (tree[i] !==undefined) {
$.each(data, function () {
recursion(i);
});
}
});
}
And I want after all calls when they are done to do:
recursion(0).done(function () {alert('All calls are done!')});
I know, I should use $.Deferred of JQuery, but ajax call return promise too.
I'm trying to use $.Deferred but I encountered a problem with loop in this place:
$.each(data, function () {
recursion(i);
});
Please, help me.

I'm trying to use $.Deferred
Good!
but I encountered a problem with loop in this place: $.each(data, recursion)
Each of the recursion(i) calls returns a promise, so when we have kicked them off we're left with a collection of promises. Now, we can use $.when to wait for all of them, and get back a promise for all of their results.
Now, we use then to chain this looped execution after the ajax call, so that we can return a promise for the eventual result of this recursion step.
function recursion(i, x) {
return $.ajax('http://example.com/' + tree[i] + x).then(function (data) {
if (++i < tree.length)
// get an array of promises and compose all of them
return $.when.apply($, $.map(data, function(d) {
return recursion(i, d);
}));
else // at the innermost level
return data; // get the actual results
}); // and return a promise for that
}

You would need to do something like this:
function recursion(i) {
return $.ajax('http://example.com/' + tree[i])
.then(function (data) {
// data is array
++i;
if (tree[i] !==undefined) {
// get an array of promises
var promises = $.map(data, function () {
return recursion(i);
});
// return the `when` promise from the `then` handler
// so the outer promise is resolved when the `when` promise is
return $.when.apply($, promises);
} else {
// no subsequent calls, resolve the deferred
}
});
}
Currently untested, but it at least gives you the idea. Basically you only resolve the deferred once all of the subsequent calls are resolved.

To make it simple, you could just run a function in your .done that checks the value of i and if it's equal to the length of tree (minus 1), then run your function.
Sorry, that doesn't cover the asynchronous nature...instead...create a variable that tracks the number of completed and compare to the number in the array. When equal, run your function.

Edit , jquery deferred , promise not actually needed to achieve requirement . See comment and link by Bergi , below.
Try (this pattern ; without jquery.deferred or promise's)
(function recursion() {
var tree = [1, 2 ,3, 4]
, results = []
, dfd = function(res) {
alert('All calls are done!');
console.log(res)
};
$.each(tree, function(k, v) {
$.ajax("http://example.com/" + v)
.done(function (data, status, jqxhr) {
// data is array
results.push([data, status, jqxhr.state()]);
if (results.length === tree.length) {
dfd(results);
}
});
});
}());
jsfiddle http://jsfiddle.net/guest271314/nvs0jb6m/