How to assign object values using asynchronous functions in javascript - javascript

I am building a javascript object where some of the values are defined by asynchronous functions. My problem is the object gets defined faster than the asynchronous functions can return values:
const array = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
const myArrayObj = [];
function returnKey1 () {
// make async call then store it in the return key1val:
return key1val
}
function returnKey2 () {
// make async call then store it in the return key2val:
return key2val
}
function returnKey3 () {
// make async call then store it in the return key3val:
return key3val
}
_.forEach( array, function ( arr ) {
myArrayObj.push({
key1: returnKey1(), // returns undefined
key2: returnKey2(), // returns undefined
key3: returnKey3(), // returns undefined
});
});
Does anyone know the correct way I should be doing this? Thanks in advance!

The nature of asynchronicity is that you must wait for an async process to finish if you want to access its end result.
In your case, you could achieve this using promises with not a lot of code.:
// promise that resolves after 2 seconds
const timeoutPromise = (str) => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(() => resolve(str), 2000));
// functions that return promises that will eventually resolve to appropriate key values
function returnKey1() {
return timeoutPromise('key3');
}
function returnKey2() {
return timeoutPromise('key2');
}
function returnKey3() {
return timeoutPromise('key3');
}
// helper function that returns a promise which will resolve with all the keys when all key-returning promises resolve
function getKeys() {
return Promise.all([
returnKey1(),
returnKey2(),
returnKey3()
])
}
// usage
getKeys().then((keys) => {
console.log(
keys[0],
keys[1],
keys[2]
);
});
The old-school approach would be to use callbacks instead of promises, which have larger browser support but are much cruder and primitive.
Note: With modern transpilers and/or promise libraries you can obtain wide browser support for promises as well.
// function that calls its callback after 2 seconds
const timeoutCallback = (cb, key) => setTimeout(() => cb(key), 2000);
// functions that eventually call their callbacks with appropriate key values
function returnKey1(cb) {
return timeoutCallback(cb, 'key1');
}
function returnKey2(cb) {
return timeoutCallback(cb, 'key2');
}
function returnKey3(cb) {
return timeoutCallback(cb, 'key3');
}
// helper function that calls its callback when all the keys are obtained
function getKeys(cb) {
let keys = [undefined, undefined, undefined];
let hasAllKeys = () => keys.every(key => typeof key === 'string');
function makeReturnKeyCallback(idx) {
return (key) => {
keys[idx] = key;
if (hasAllKeys()) {
cb(keys);
}
};
}
returnKey1(makeReturnKeyCallback(0));
returnKey2(makeReturnKeyCallback(1));
returnKey3(makeReturnKeyCallback(2));
}
// usage
getKeys((keys) => {
console.log(
keys[0],
keys[1],
keys[2]
);
});

Whatever you do will end up using promises. You can use Promise.all directly, or if you are willing to spend a bit more time you could write your own version of Promise.all for objects; finally, you could do this using async functions, which are a way to write promise-based code in a way which looks sort of synchronous.
Using Promise.all:
// Just examples for testing purposes.
function returnKey1() { return promise(); }
function returnKey2() { return promise(); }
function returnKey3() { return promise(); }
// Make a promise returning a random value after random time.
function promise() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
const random = Math.random() * 1000;
setTimeout(() => resolve(random), random);
});
}
// Wait for all promises to finish, then construct result.
Promise.all([returnKey1(), returnKey2(), returnKey3()])
.then(([key1, key2, key3]) => ({key1, key2, key3}))
.then(console.log);
Writing your own version of Promise.all for objects
We could also create an analog to Promise.all for objects. Some libraries have such a routine. We will call it promiseAllKeys. We will pass it an object each of whose property values in a promise; it returns a promise for an object with all the values filled in. This saves us the trouble of converting an array coming back from Promise.all into the desired object.
function returnKey1() { return promise(); }
function returnKey2() { return promise(); }
function returnKey3() { return promise(); }
function promise() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
const random = Math.random() * 1000;
setTimeout(() => resolve(random), random);
});
}
// Convenience routine to construct an object from arrays of keys and values.
function objectFromKeysAndValues(keys, values) {
const result = {};
for (const i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) result[keys[i]] = values[i];
return result;
}
function promiseAllKeys(promises) {
return Promise.all(Object.values(promises))
.then(values => objectFromKeysAndValues(Object.keys(promises), values));
}
promiseAllKeys({key1: returnKey1(), key2: returnKey2(), key3: returnKey3()})
.then(console.log);
Using async/await
You could simplify your code using async functions. However, this code as written will wait until each promise completes before running the next one.
function returnKey1() { return promise(); }
function returnKey2() { return promise(); }
function returnKey3() { return promise(); }
function promise() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
const random = Math.random() * 1000;
setTimeout(() => resolve(random), random);
});
}
async function makeObject() {
return {key1: await returnKey1(), key2: await returnKey2(), key3: await returnKey3()};
}
makeObject().then(console.log);

Simple but messy:
const array = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
const myArrayObj = [];
function returnKey1 (cb) {
// make async call then store it in the return key1val:
cb ("key1val");
}
function returnKey2 (cb) {
// make async call then store it in the return key2val:
cb("key2val");
}
function returnKey3 (cb) {
// make async call then store it in the return key3val:
cb("key3val");
}
_.forEach( array, function ( arr ) {
var o ={};
returnKey1(function(key){
o.key1=key;
returnKey2(function(key){
o.key2=key;
returnKey3(function(key){
o.key3=key
myArrayObj.push(obj);
})
})
})
});
});

Related

Return a promise with async/await inside then

Im quite familiar with javascript but I'm a bit confuse with Promise, Async/Await
How do I add async/await to modify a promise data and return the original Promise
e.g.
this working fine
function test() {
const data = {
sample: 1,
test: 2
}
const prom = Promise.resolve(data)
prom.then( data => {
data.sample = 5
})
return prom
}
test().then( data => {
console.log( data )
})
//output: {sample: 5, test: 2}
but if I do async/await to modify the promise data, the original data seems to output before the promise is modified
e.g.
function test() {
const data = {
sample: 1,
test: 2
}
const prom = Promise.resolve(data)
prom.then( async data => {
data.sample = await 5
})
return prom
}
test().then( data => {
console.log( data )
})
//output: {sample: 1, test: 2}
this working fine
Not when the promise rejects, no. When using then, you should return the new promise for further chaining, and resolve it with the modified value; you should not mutate values in a promise. So instead of
prom.then( data => {
data.sample = 5
})
return prom
better write
return prom.then(data => {
data.sample = 5
return data
})
If you carried over this pattern to the async version, it would just work as well - but really, when using async/await, there is no reason to use .then()! Better write
const data = await prom;
data.sample = await something;
return data;
and mark the test function itself as async.

Use async iterator triggered by a custom function in main scope

What I want to do is to create an iterator, which is only triggered when an external function is called, say an external event.
An iterator that simply waits for custom events.
function createIteratorWithFunction() {
var thingThatResolves;
var asyncIterable = {
thingThatResolves,
[Symbol.asyncIterator]() {
return {
next() {
return (new Promise((resolve, reject) => asyncIterable.thingThatResolves = (resolve))).then(_ => ({
value: _,
done: false
}));
},
return () {
return {
done: true
}
}
};
}
};
return asyncIterable;
}
iter = createIteratorWithFunction();
(async function() {
for await (let val of iter) {
console.log(val);
}
})()
<button onclick="iter.thingThatResolves('execute');iter.thingThatResolves(3)">execute next!</button>
As you can see, it only resolves 'execute', but not 3, of course because promises can't be resolved more than once, and it only is updated asynchronously, I understand this, but since the iterator is async, how would I create a queue, so that any values that could've synchronously been triggered are retrieved by next(), as well?
I have this feeling that there's a more elegant solution involving promise chains, but it's escaping me at the moment. :-) See inline comments:
function createIteratorWithFunction() {
// Our pending promise, if any
let promise = null;
// The `resolve` function for our `pending` promise
let resolve = null;
// The values in the queue
const values = [];
// The async iterable
const asyncIterable = {
add(value) {
// Add a value to the queue; if there's a pending promise, fulfill it
values.push(value);
const r = resolve;
resolve = pending = null;
r?.();
},
[Symbol.asyncIterator]() {
return {
async next() {
// If we don't have a value...
while (!values.length) {
// ...we need to wait for one; make sure we have something
// to wait for
if (!resolve) {
pending = new Promise(r => { resolve = r; });
}
await pending;
}
// Get the value we waited for and return it
const value = values.shift();
return {
value,
done: false,
};
},
return() {
return {
done: true,
};
}
};
}
};
return asyncIterable;
}
const iter = createIteratorWithFunction();
(async function() {
for await (let val of iter) {
console.log(val);
}
})();
document.getElementById("execute").addEventListener("click", () => {
iter.add("execute");
iter.add(3);
});
<button id="execute">execute next!</button>
One of the key things here is that an async iterable can have overlapping iterations, and it has to not get confused by that. This implementation avoids that by creating the promise it'll wait on synchronously if it needs one.
function createIteratorWithFunction() {
// Our pending promise, if any
let promise = null;
// The `resolve` function for our `pending` promise
let resolve = null;
// The values in the queue
const values = [];
// The async iterable
const asyncIterable = {
add(value) {
// Add a value to the queue; if there's a pending promise, fulfill it
values.push(value);
const r = resolve;
resolve = pending = null;
r?.();
},
[Symbol.asyncIterator]() {
return {
async next() {
// If we don't have a value...
while (!values.length) {
// ...we need to wait for one; make sure we have something
// to wait for
if (!resolve) {
pending = new Promise(r => { resolve = r; });
}
await pending;
}
// Get the value we waited for and return it
const value = values.shift();
return {
value,
done: false,
};
},
return() {
return {
done: true,
};
}
};
}
};
return asyncIterable;
}
const iter = createIteratorWithFunction();
(async function() {
for await (let val of iter) {
console.log("first:", val);
}
})();
(async function() {
for await (let val of iter) {
console.log("second:", val);
}
})();
document.getElementById("execute").addEventListener("click", () => {
iter.add("execute");
iter.add(3);
});
<button id="execute">execute next!</button>
I'm never happy when I have to make the promise's resolve function accessible outside the promise executor function (the function you pass new Promise), but as I say, the elegant solution with promise chains is escaping me. I sense strongly that it's there...somewhere... :-)
Another idea & way of doing this, you could use custom events, one advantage is that the code is much easier to reason with.
Below I've knocked up a simple example, it also allows you to cancel the iterator & handle errors. makeIter simple gives you 4 functions,
add = use this to add an item to the itterator.
iter = this is the iterator you can for await on.
done = if were done, you can call this and let the GC do it's thing.
error = allows you to put an error into the iterator, you can test this by un-commenting the last line.
To prevent any race conditions I've simply used a stack..
function makeIter() {
const obj = new EventTarget();
const evName = 'my-iter';
const stack = [];
obj.addEventListener(evName, e => {
stack.push(e.detail);
resolve();
});
async function *iter() {
while (true) {
await new Promise(r => resolve = r);
while (stack.length) {
const s = stack.shift();
if (s.resolve) yield(s.resolve);
if (s.reject) throw s.reject;
if (s.cancel) return;
}
}
}
function ev(p) {
obj.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(evName, {detail:p}));
}
return {
error: (e) => ev({reject: e}),
done: () => ev({cancel: true}),
add: item => ev({resolve: item}),
iter: iter()
}
}
///testing...
const test = makeIter();
(async function () {
try {
for await (const item of test.iter) {
console.log(item);
}
} finally {
console.log('iter done');
}
}());
test.add('hello');
setTimeout(() => test.add('there'), 100);
setTimeout(() => {test.add('1'); test.add('2'); test.add('3'); }, 200);
setTimeout(() => test.add('4'), 400);
setTimeout(() => test.done(), 1000);
//setTimeout(() => test.error(new Error('oops')), 1000);

Combine async and sync function results properly

I try to combine two function values (from a() and b()), but the code is not waiting on the await-statement in function test as expected. Instead the result value prints directly the wrong result.
function resData(status, message) {
return { ok: status, message: message };
}
function a() {
return resData(true, 'A');
}
async function b() {
// simulate some long async task (e.g. db call) and then return the boolean result
function sleep(ms) {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
setTimeout(resolve, ms);
}); }
await sleep(2500);
return resData(true, 'B');
}
async function isValid() {
const promises = [a, b].map(async (fnc) => { return await fnc().ok; });
const results = await Promise.all(promises);
// combine the results to one boolean value
return results.every(Boolean);
}
async function test() {
// not waiting here
const res = await isValid();
// prints directly - wrong result false
console.log('result', res);
}
test();
After the wrong result output it waits 2.5 seconds. I think it has to do with the function call of resData, but I couldn't figure it out by myself, where my async / await misunderstanding is. Thanks in advance.
Instead of awaiting for the function to be resolved, You are awaiting on value return by function.
async function isValid() {
const promises = [a, b].map(async (fnc) => {
//return await fnc().ok;
// You have to await first function then call `.ok` value
return (await fnc()).ok;
});
const results = await Promise.all(promises);
// combine the results to one boolean value
return results.every(Boolean);
}
Just to simplify the problem, Please check the below code.
async function test() {
return { ok: true };
}
async function main() {
// trying to await on undefined.. test().ok == undefined
console.log(await test().ok); // undefined
// first await function.. then return ok
console.log((await test()).ok); // true
}
main();
I'd say there is 2 1 problem with your code
a was not returning a promise, so you cant treat it as one - ignore turns out you can, who knew!
You cant await a boolean, so await fnc().ok made no sense.
I would suggest you
Make a return a promise even if its just a resolved promise
Execute just the methods in the map
Read the value of ok within the every call to determine if all promises resolved with this value set to true
With these changes, it works how I suspect you expected with a 2.5 second wait before writing to the console.
function resData(status, message) {
return { ok: status, message: message };
}
function a() {
return resData(true, 'A');
}
async function b() {
// simulate some long async task (e.g. db call) and then return the boolean result
function sleep(ms) {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
setTimeout(resolve, ms);
}); }
await sleep(2500);
return resData(true, 'B');
}
async function isValid() {
const promises = [a, b].map(fnc => fnc());
const results = await Promise.all(promises);
// combine the results to one boolean value
return results.every(x => x.ok);
}
async function test() {
// not waiting here
const res = await isValid();
// prints directly - wrong result false
console.log('result', res);
}
test();
Async functions implicitly return a promise that will ultimately be resolved to the final value returned when the function execution ends.
So, you just need to call your functions inside your map callback to collect the promises. The array of results will be an array of resData objects. So, you finally check for each ok property to match your requirements.
function sleep(ms) {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
setTimeout(resolve, ms);
});
}
function resData(status, message) {
return {ok: status, message: message};
}
function a() {
return resData(true, 'A');
}
async function b() {
await sleep(2500);
return resData(true, 'B');
}
async function isValid() {
const promises = [a, b].map((fnc) => fnc());
const results = await Promise.all(promises);
return results.every((result) => result.ok);
}
async function test() {
const res = await isValid();
console.log('result', res);
}
test();

What does Promise.all actually do under the hood?

I am trying to understand Promise.all here.
What I did here was to covert below code using Promise.all to achieve the same result.
I understand that Promise all combine the data1, data2.
My question here is that how does Promise.All work without resolve method?
Does Promise resolve those data within the method itself?
Please advise.
const readAllUsersChaining = () => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
let result = [];
getDataFromFilePromise(user1Path)
.then((data) => {
result.push(JSON.parse(data)); // what are you doing? he's gone mad...
return getDataFromFilePromise(user2Path);
})
.then((data) => {
result.push(JSON.parse(data));
result ? resolve(result) : reject(result);
});
});
};
const readAllUsers = () => {
const data1 = getDataFromFilePromise(user1Path);
const data2 = getDataFromFilePromise(user2Path);
console.log(data1, data2);
return Promise.all([data1, data2]).then((data) => {
return data.map((el) => JSON.parse(el));
});
};
My question here is that how does Promise.All work without resolve method?
Not quite sure what you mean. Promise.all simply creates a new promise internally that is resolved when all other promises are resolved.
Here is a simple implementation of Promise.all for the case that arguments are always promises:
function all(promises) {
if (promises.length === 0) {
return Promise.resolve([]);
}
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const results = [];
let resolved = 0;
promises.forEach((promise, i) => {
promise.then(
result => {
results[i] = result;
resolved++;
if (resolved === promised.length) {
resolve(results);
}
},
error => reject(error)
);
});
}
Promise.all allows to wait until all promise passed as arguments to be fullfilled before the then method attach to be execute.
The real use case would be when you have to perform five call to an API, an you want to perform some treatement only when you have get the data from all the API call. you can rely on the Promise.all function which will wait all passed promised to be fullfilled for it to be fullfiled on it turn.
Bellow I provide an example of a Promise.all call. which has two Promises passed as argument. the first one has a timer which fullfilled it after 5 second and the second if fullfiled immediately but. the Promise.all will be fullfilled only when both of the promise passed as argument ar fullfilled
const firstPromise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(()=> {
return resolve({
name: "First Promise"
});
}, 5000);
});
const secondPromise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
return resolve({
name: "Second Promise"
});
})
const all = Promise.all([firstPromise, secondPromise]).then((response) => {
console.log(response);
});

How to make run nested asynchronous methods synchronously?

How do I wrap this routine inside a Promise so that I only resolve when I get all the data?
var accounts = [];
getAccounts(userId, accs => {
accs.forEach(acc => {
getAccountTx(acc.id, tx => {
accounts.push({
'id': acc.id,
'tx': tx
});
});
})
});
EDIT: Any issues if I do it like this?
function getAccountsAllAtOnce() {
var accounts = [];
var required = 0;
var done = 0;
getAccounts(userId, accs => {
required = accs.length;
accs.forEach(acc => {
getAccountTx(acc.id, tx => {
accounts.push({
'id': acc.id,
'tx': tx
});
done = done + 1;
});
})
});
while(done < required) {
// wait
}
return accounts;
}
Let's put this routine into a separate function, so it is easier to re-use it later. This function should return a promise, which will be resolved with array of accounts (also I'll modify your code as small as possible):
function getAccountsWithTx(userId) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
var accounts = [];
getAccounts(userId, accs => {
accs.forEach(acc => {
getAccountTx(acc.id, tx => {
accounts.push({
'id': acc.id,
'tx': tx
});
// resolve after we fetched all accounts
if (accs.length === accounts.length) {
resolve(accounts);
}
});
});
});
});
}
The single difference is just returning a promise and resolving after all accounts were fetched. However, callbacks tend your codebase to have this "callback hell" style, when you have a lot of nested callbacks, and it makes it hard to reason about it. You can workaround it using good discipline, but you can simplify it greatly switching to returning promises from all async functions. For example your func will look like the following:
function getAccountsWithTx(userId) {
getAccounts(userId)
.then(accs => {
const transformTx = acc => getAccountTx(acc.id)
.then(tx => ({ tx, id: acc.id }));
return Promise.all(accs.map(transformTx));
});
}
Both of them are absolutely equivalent, and there are plently of libraries to "promisify" your current callback-style functions (for example, bluebird or even native Node util.promisify). Also, with new async/await syntax it becomes even easier, because it allows to think in sync flow:
async function getAccountsWithTx(userId) {
const accs = await getUserAccounts(userId);
const transformTx = async (acc) => {
const tx = getAccountTx(acc.id);
return { tx, id: acc.id };
};
return Promise.all(accs.map(transformTx));
}
As you can see, we eliminate any nesting! It makes reasoning about code much easier, because you can read code as it will be actually executed. However, all these three options are equivalent, so it is up to you, what makes the most sense in your project and environment.
I'd split every step into its own function, and return a promise or promise array from each one. For example, getAccounts becomes:
function getAccountsAndReturnPromise(userId) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
getAccounts(userId, accounts => {
return resolve(accounts);
});
});
};
And getAccountTx resolves to an array of { id, tx } objects:
function getAccountTransactionsAndReturnPromise(accountId) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
getAccountTx(account.id, (transactions) => {
var accountWithTransactions = {
id: account.id,
transactions
};
return resolve(accountWithTransactions);
});
});
};
Then you can use Promise.all() and map() to resolve the last step to an array of values in the format you desire:
function getDataForUser(userId) {
return getAccountsAndReturnPromise(userId)
.then(accounts=>{
var accountTransactionPromises = accounts.map(account =>
getAccountTransactionsAndReturnPromise(account.id)
);
return Promise.all(accountTransactionPromises);
})
.then(allAccountsWithTransactions => {
return allAccountsWithTransactions.map(account =>{
return {
id: account.id,
tx: tx
}
});
});
}

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