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Can you await an async member function in another async member function?

I've got a class that does something like the following:
class Loader
{
async load()
{
let pending = [...];
return new Promise( (resolve, reject) =>
{
while(pending.length > 0)
{
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
resolve();
});
}
async _loadAsset(asset)
{
return new Promise( (resolve, reject) =>
{
// Loading logic goes here, eventually calling...
resolve();
});
}
}
(pending is an array of objects that I'm too lazy to list out here.)
The problem I'm having is that Chrome is giving me an Uncaught SyntaxError: await is only valid in async function error when I try to load my script. As far as I can tell, Loader's load and _loadAsset methods have both been declared async. What am I missing? Is the while loop complicating things?

The callback function is not declared async, so you could try adding async like:
return new Promise( async (resolve, reject) =>
{
while(pending.length > 0) {
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
resolve();
});
But an even better option for resolving a lot of pending promised is the Promise.all() function

You can simplify your load function to:
async load()
{
let pending = [...];
while(pending.length > 0)
{
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
}
Theres no need for the inner promise construction.
You could also do this:
load()
{
let pending = [...];
return Promise.all(pending.map(i => this._loadAsset(i)));
}

The problem is that the anonymous function you're passing to the Promise constructor uses await but is not declared async:
return new Promise( (resolve, reject) => // this function uses await but is not async
{
while(pending.length > 0)
{
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
resolve();
});
Generally you won't need to use the Promise constructor if you're not wrapping something that takes a callback. In this case, you don't need it at all, you can just have the while loop be part of load's body:
async load()
{
let pending = [/*...*/];
while(pending.length > 0)
{
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
}

You should not return a promise from an async function. That's because under the hood, any value returned from async functions will be wrapped into a promise:
// The following function
async function foo() {
await someAsyncFunction();
return "done";
}
// Is the same as
function bar() {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
someAsyncFunction().then(() => resolve("done"));
});
}
So your code should be rewritten to:
class Loader
{
async load()
{
let pending = [...];
while(pending.length > 0)
{
await this._loadAsset(pending.pop());
}
}
async _loadAsset(asset)
{
// Loading logic happens here, but instead of calling resolve(), just return. Remember to add await to any async operation.
}
}

How to implement Promise.race() with async/await

How can I implement Promise.race() method with async and await?
async function promiseRace(promises) {
const results = [];
for (const p of promises) {
await p;
results.push(p);
}
return results[0];
}
I've tried to implement it like above but this doesn't work.

You can't. When using await you halt execution onto one specific promise. To implement Promise.race manually, you have to fiddle with callbacks:
function race(promises) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
for(const promise of promises)
promise.then(resolve, reject);
});
}

You can't. Just like you cannot implement the Promise constructor using async/await. Remember that await is only syntactic sugar for then calls - and you cannot implement the basic promise combinators using only that.

You can by using a wrapper promise along with async await. In the wrapper promise, protect the resolve/reject so that only the first promise wins.
Promise.race example using async/await:
// Implements promise.race
const race = async (promises) => {
// Create a promise that resolves as soon as
// any of the promises passed in resolve or reject.
const raceResultPromise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
// Keep track of whether we've heard back from any promise yet.
let resolved = false;
// Protect the resolve call so that only the first
// promise can resolve the race.
const resolver = (promisedVal) => {
if (resolved) {
return;
}
resolved = true;
resolve(promisedVal);
};
// Protect the rejects too because they can end the race.
const rejector = (promisedErr) => {
if (resolved) {
return;
}
resolved = true;
reject(promisedErr);
};
// Place the promises in the race, each can
// call the resolver, but the resolver only
// allows the first to win.
promises.forEach(async (promise) => {
try {
const promisedVal = await promise;
resolver(promisedVal);
} catch (e) {
rejector(e);
}
});
});
return raceResultPromise;
};
// *************
// Test Methods
// *************
const fetch = async (millis) => {
await waitMillis(millis);
return 'Async result: ' + millis + ' millis.';
};
const waitMillis = (millis) => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
setTimeout(() => {
resolve();
}, millis);
});
};
const run = async () => {
let result;
result = await race([fetch(1), fetch(2), fetch(3)]);
console.log('Winner', result);
result = await race([fetch(3), fetch(2), fetch(1)]);
console.log('Winner', result);
result = await race([fetch(10), fetch(3), fetch(4)]);
console.log('Winner', result);
};
run();

Why not:
const race = async (promiseArr) => {
return Promise.race(promiseArr)
}
And inside your async function:
let dayAtTheRace = await race([
my.promiseFunc(),
my.wait(10)
])

function promiseRace(promises) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
promises.forEach(async (promise) => {
try {
const result = await promise;
resolve(result);
} catch (err) {
reject(err);
}
});
});

Here is my solution:
async function promiseRace(promises) {
const results = [];
for (const p of promises) {
results.push(await p);
}
return results[0];
}

Can I await 2 async actions with 1 await?

I have a node module that exports a promise and resolves a database connection. When it resolves I use the connection to query records which is another async operation. Can I do both of these async actions with 1 await?
In this case the querying async call is dependent on the async promise resolving to a db connection.
Module
module.exports = {
db: new Promise((acc, rej) => {
if (!db.authenticated) {
sequelize.authenticate()
.then((res) => {
db.authenticated = true;
acc(db);
})
.catch((err) => {
rej(err)
});
} else {
acc(db);
}
})
};
usage
const db = require('../db/db.js').db;
const existingUser = await db.Person.findOne({where : {email : body.email}});

In response to my comment using await Promise.all([first(), second()]);:
The promise.All() method will return a single promise that finally resolves when all the promises pass as an iterable or when the iterable does not contain any promises. It will reject with the reason of the first promise that rejects.
Example
async function one() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
resolve('One')
})
}
async function two() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
resolve('Two')
})
}
async function run() {
return await Promise.all([one(), two()]); // One await
}
run().then((response) => {
// Access Individually
console.log(response[0]); // One
console.log(response[1]); // Two
// Access Together
console.log(response);
})
And to respond to your recent comment. To pass the value from one promise to the other, if the second function is dependent on that parameter. We might do something like this.
Example 2
async function first() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
resolve('First') // Resolve 'first'
})
}
async function second(response) {
return new Promise(resolve => {
resolve(response); // first() ran, then we appended '& second', then resolve our second response
})
}
async function run() {
// Wait for first() response, then call second() with response + append 'second'
return await first().then((response) => second(response + ' & second'))
}
run().then((response) => {
// Output: first & second
console.log(response)
})
Documentation: promise.All() - MDN

Returning a promise when using async/await in Firebase Cloud Functions

So I've happily been using async/await since node 8 is supported on Firebase Cloud Functions. I am struggling with 1 thing though. When using callable functions, it is told that you have to return a promise in the function, otherwise it won't work correctly. When using raw promises, its clear to me how to use it:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall((data, context) => {
return promiseMethod().then((result) => {
return nextPromise(result);
}).then((result) => {
return result;
}).catch((err) => {
// handle err
})
});
But now, with async await, I'm not sure how to return this "chain of promises":
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
return res2;
// ??? Where to return the promise?
});
Does somebody know?

HTTP functions don't return a promise. They just send a result. You still have to use promises correctly in order to send the result, but a return value is not required. HTTP functions are terminated when the response is sent. See the documentation for more details:
Terminate HTTP functions with res.redirect(), res.send(), or res.end().

"await" is just syntax sugar for returning a Promise
When you write an async function, the code will actually exit the function and return a Promise at the first await it encounters. All code after the await will be converted to a then().
So for firebase writing code with async/await is perfectly save and in my experience even less error-prone, since I can more easily structure try&catch in my code!
Proof:
Just run this in your console:
async function iAmAsync() {
await new Promise(r => window.setTimeout(r, 1000))
return 'result'
}
let x = iAmAsync()
console.log(x)
Will print: Promise{<resolved>: "result"}
TL;DR: You don't need to change anything - if you write code with multiple awaits, this will be handled by firebase like a chain of promises and everything will just work.
And since my answer was downvoted, here is an authorative code-sample by the google firebase team itself:
https://github.com/firebase/functions-samples/blob/master/quickstarts/uppercase/functions/index.js
exports.addMessage = functions.https.onRequest(async (req, res) => {
// [END addMessageTrigger]
// Grab the text parameter.
const original = req.query.text;
// [START adminSdkPush]
// Push the new message into the Realtime Database using the Firebase Admin SDK.
const snapshot = await admin.database().ref('/messages').push({original: original});
// Redirect with 303 SEE OTHER to the URL of the pushed object in the Firebase console.
res.redirect(303, snapshot.ref.toString());
// [END adminSdkPush]
});

You nailed it with your example code.
Async/await is just a newer way of promise. They can be used interchangeable.
Here is an example promise and async/await of the same function.
This
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall((data, context) => {
return promiseMethod().then((result) => {
return nextPromise(result);
}).catch((err) => {
// handle error here
})
});
is equivalent to this:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
try {
const result = await promiseMethod();
return nextPromise(result); // You are returning a promise here
}catch(e) {
// handle error here
}
});
Note that in both cases, you are returning a promise at the end. The return value of this onCall function would be whatever nextPromise(result) is. Since you are returning nextPromsie(result), you don't need to await it.

To see the code solution to your question look at the answer of dshukertjr.
If you want to understand how to return a "chain of promises" with async/await, here is your answer:
You cant !
Why ? Because await is used to wait for a Promise to complete. Once await return a value their is no more Promise.
So if you absolutely want to return a promise using await, you can wait for one of the two functions that return promises but not both.
Here is two way to do that:
A :
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
try {
const result = await promiseMethod();
return nextPromise(result); // You are returning a promise here
}catch(e) {
// handle error here
}
});
B:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
return promiseMethod().then(async (result) => {
return await nextPromise(result);
}).catch((err) => {
// handle err
})
});
The only difference between A and B is that A waits for "PromiseMethod" to complete before returning a Promise. Whereas B returns a Promise right after being called.

Seems, we have to wait for several Promises in way like this:
const listOfAsyncJobs = [];
listOfAsyncJobs.push(createThumbnail(1, ...));
listOfAsyncJobs.push(createThumbnail(2, ...));
listOfAsyncJobs.push(createThumbnail(3, ...));
...
return Promise.all(listOfAsyncJobs); // This will ensure we wait for the end of the three aync tasks above.

From async method whatever you return it gets wrapped in promise automatically.
e.g
const myFun = async () => {return 5}
myFun();
// Output in the console
Promise {<fulfilled>: 5}
And you can chain with the returned result since it is a promise
Another example with enhancement as suggested in other answer
const myFun4 = async () => {
const myNum = await new Promise(r => window.setTimeout(() => r(5), 1000));
const myNum2 = await new Promise(r => window.setTimeout(() => r(5), 1000));
return myNum + myNum2;
}
myFun4().then((n) => console.log(n));
// Output
10

The return value of async-await function is Promise.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/async_function#return_value
So, what you did actually is returning a chain of promises.
const nextPromise = () => {
console.log('next promise!');
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
resolve('next promise result')
}, 3000)
});
}
const promiseMethod = () => {
console.log('promise!');
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(() => {
resolve('promise result');
}, 2000)
});
}
exports.createBankAccount = functions.https.onCall((data, context) => {
return promiseMethod().then((result) => {
return nextPromise(result);
}).then((result) => {
return result;
}).catch((err) => {
// handle err
console.log(err);
})
});
exports.createBankAccountAsync = functions.https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const result = await promiseMethod();
const res = await nextPromise(result);
return res;
});
I have created test project on firebase and both function calls give same logs.

A solution in that case is Promise.all().
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const promises = [];
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
promises.push(res1);
promises.push(res2);
// Here's the return of the promises
return Promise.all(promises).catch(error => console.error(error));
});
You may find more informations about promises in this article on freecodecamp.org/promise-all

Solution
For an alternative method, you can use Promise.allSettled(). It is the best way to wait for all promises in the function to complete as well as provide an easy way to modify the final return.
Excerpt from the documentation
The Promise.allSettled() method returns a promise that resolves after all of the given promises have either fulfilled or rejected, with an array of objects that each describes the outcome of each promise.
It is typically used when you have multiple asynchronous tasks that are not dependent on one another to complete successfully, or you'd always like to know the result of each promise.
Your updated code should be
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
return Promise.allSettled([res1, res2]).then((results) => results.forEach((result) => console.log(result.status)));
});
Additional Info
You should also look into Promise object, it has some nice methods for such a situation. Read more at documentation link

Since you need to return promise you can create the promise object and resolve/reject (return) your response from api after processing all the promises.
Option 1:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall((data, context) => {
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
try {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
// This will return response from api
resolve(res2);
}
catch (err) {
// Handle error here
// This will return error from api
reject(err)
}
})
});
Option 2:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall((data, context) => {
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
// This will return response from api
resolve(res2);
})
.then((val) => val)
.catch((err) => {
// Handle error here
// This will return error from api
return err
})
});

Just convert to a Promise if required.
I.e. If nextPromise returns a Promise:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
return nextPromise(res1);
});
On the other hand, if nextPromise is an async function, just convert it to a Promise:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
return Promise.resolve(nextPromise(res1));
});
you can also convert the result:
exports.createBankAccount = functions.region('europe-west1').https.onCall(async (data, context) => {
const res1 = await promiseMethod();
const res2 = await nextPromise(res1);
return Promise.resolve(res2);
});

How to .catch a Promise.reject

I have a helper function for using fetch with CouchDB which ends as:
...
return fetch(...)
.then(resp => resp.ok ? resp.json() : Promise.reject(resp))
.then(json => json.error ? Promise.reject(json) : json)
and when I use it elsewhere, I was under the impression that I could .catch those explicit rejections:
above_function(its_options)
.then(do_something)
.catch(err => do_something_with_the_json_error_rejection_or_resp_not_ok_rejection_or_the_above(err))
but alas, I can't seem to be able to get a hold of the rejections.
The specific error I'm after is a HTTP 401 response.
What gives?
(Please note that there are implicit ES6 return's in the .thens)

function test() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
return reject('rejected')
})
}
test().then(function() {
//here when you resolve
})
.catch(function(rej) {
//here when you reject the promise
console.log(rej);
});

Make sure every call to a then() returns a value.
For e.g.
var url = 'https://www.google.co.in';
var options = {};
var resolves = Promise.resolve();
resolves.then(() => {
console.log('Resolved first promise');
var fetchPromise = fetch(url, options);
fetchPromise.then(() => {
console.log('Completed fetch');
});
})
.catch(error => {
console.log('Error', error);
});
Notice the console shows an uncaught exception. However, if you returned the inner promise (or any other value, which ends up turning into a promise via resolve), you end up flattening the promise so exception bubble up.
var url = 'https://www.google.co.in';
var options = {};
var resolves = Promise.resolve();
resolves.then(() => {
console.log('Resolved first promise');
var fetchPromise = fetch(url, options);
return fetchPromise.then(() => {
console.log('Completed fetch');
});
})
.catch(error => {
console.log('Error', error);
});
Notice the exception bubbles up to the outer promise. Hope this clears up things a little bit.

Why not wrap it in a try / catch block
// define a failing promise
const test = ()=> new Promise((resolve, reject) => reject('rejected'));
// using an immediately executing function to call an async block
(async ()=> {
try {
await test(); // => this will throw an error
} catch (er) {
console.log(er); // 'rejected'
}
})();

Promise rejections fall to the second param of the then function.
function test() {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
return reject('rejected')
})
}
test().then(function() {
//here when you resolve
}, function(rej) {
//here when you reject the promise
console.log(rej)
})