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Node.js mssql return query result to ajax

I'm new to learning Node.js, so I'm still getting used to asynchronous programming and callbacks. I'm trying to insert a record into a MS SQL Server database and return the new row's ID to my view.
The mssql query is working correctly when printed to console.log. My problem is not knowing how to properly return the data.
Here is my mssql query - in addJob.js:
var config = require('../../db/config');
async function addJob(title) {
var sql = require('mssql');
const pool = new sql.ConnectionPool(config);
var conn = pool;
let sqlResult = '';
let jobID = '';
conn.connect().then(function () {
var req = new sql.Request(conn);
req.query(`INSERT INTO Jobs (Title, ActiveJD) VALUES ('${title}', 0) ; SELECT ##IDENTITY AS JobID`).then(function (result) {
jobID = result['recordset'][0]['JobID'];
conn.close();
//This prints the correct value
console.log('jobID: ' + jobID);
}).catch(function (err) {
console.log('Unable to add job: ' + err);
conn.close();
});
}).catch(function (err) {
console.log('Unable to connect to SQL: ' + err);
});
// This prints a blank
console.log('jobID second test: ' + jobID)
return jobID;
}
module.exports = addJob;
This is my front end where a modal box is taking in a string and passing it to the above query. I want it to then receive the query's returned value and redirect to another page.
// ADD NEW JOB
$("#navButton_new").on(ace.click_event, function() {
bootbox.prompt("New Job Title", function(result) {
if (result != null) {
var job = {};
job.title = result;
$.ajax({
type: 'POST',
data: JSON.stringify(job),
contentType: 'application/json',
url: 'jds/addJob',
success: function(data) {
// this just prints that data is an object. Is that because I'm returning a promise? How would I unpack that here?
console.log('in success:' + data);
// I want to use the returned value here for a page redirect
//window.location.href = "jds/edit/?jobID=" + data;
return false;
},
error: function(err){
console.log('Unable to add job: ' + err);
}
});
} else {
}
});
});
And finally here is the express router code calling the function:
const express = require('express');
//....
const app = express();
//....
app.post('/jds/addJob', function(req, res){
let dataJSON = JSON.stringify(req.body)
let parsedData = JSON.parse(dataJSON);
const addJob = require("../models/jds/addJob");
let statusResult = addJob(parsedData.title);
statusResult.then(result => {
res.send(req.body);
});
});
I've been reading up on promises and trying to figure out what needs to change here, but I'm having no luck. Can anyone provide any tips?

You need to actually return a value from your function for things to work. Due to having nested Promises you need a couple returns here. One of the core features of promises is if you return a Promise it participates in the calling Promise chain.
So change the following lines
jobID = result['recordset'][0]['JobID'];
to
return result['recordset'][0]['JobID']
and
req.query(`INSERT INTO Jobs (Title, ActiveJD) VALUES ('${title}', 0) ; SELECT ##IDENTITY AS JobID`).then(function (result) {
to
return req.query(`INSERT INTO Jobs (Title, ActiveJD) VALUES ('${title}', 0) ; SELECT ##IDENTITY AS JobID`).then(function (result) {
and
conn.connect().then(function () {
to
return conn.connect().then(function () {
You may need to move code around that is now after the return. You would also be well served moving conn.close() into a single .finally on the end of the connect chain.
I recommend writing a test that you can use to play around with things until you get it right.
const jobId = await addJob(...)
console.log(jobId)
Alternatively rewrite the code to use await instead of .then() calls.

How to return object to client when https request is fired in another file?

I'm trying to have the user be able to click a button, which sends a request to my node server and then with the data sent, it fires a function thats in another file. My problem isn't with the code, I'm just new to javascript so I'm not quite sure how i should be returning this object back to the client, i'm quite lost i'll explain more in the code below. I'm not sure if I should be doing something as simple as
return obj;
or If i should be using async/await, i've tried doing this but couldn't quite understand it.
http.createServer(function (req, res) {
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
res.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*");
res.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "X-Requested-With")
//res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
var data = []
if (req.method == "POST") {
res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
req.on('data', function (dat) {
data.push(dat)
})
req.on('end', function () {
var gamedata = Buffer.concat(data).toString();
var game = JSON.parse(gamedata)
games.getPing(game.placeId, 0)<--This is the function that gets fired in the other file
res.end(/*some how get games.gameservers here to send back to client*/)
})
}
}).listen(9999)
This is my node server that is in a file called server.js.
Now here is the function that gets fired. This function is in a file called api.js
games = {
gameservers: [],
getPing: function (id,index,callback) {
var keepAliveAgent = new https.Agent({ keepAlive: true })
var r = https.request(options, function (res) {
var data = []
res.on('data', function (d) {
data.push(d)
}).on('end', function () {
var buf = Buffer.concat(data)
var encodingheader = res.headers['content-encoding']
if (encodingheader == 'gzip') {
zlib.gunzip(buf, function (err, buffer) {
var o = JSON.parse(buffer.toString())
// o is what is returned
if (index < o.TotalCollectionSize) {
index = index + 10;
//console.log(index, o.TotalCollectionSize)
try {
let lowest = o.c.reduce((lowest, item) => item.x < lowest.x ? item : lowest)
if (lowest.q != lowest.p) {
// console.log(lowest)
games.gameservers.push(lowest)
}
games.getPing(id, index)
} catch (e) {
if (e) {
console.log(games.gameservers)
/*
This is where my function ends, I need to be able to send the games.gameservers array, back to the client in cloud.js
*/
}
}
}
})
}
})
})
r.end()
}
}
Inside the error of the try/catch, is where the function ends. Basically, the res.end() in server.js needs to have the games.gameservers object in it to go back to the client.
I'm pretty new to javascript as a whole, so i'm not sure if I should be using return, async/await, callbacks. I've been at this for awhile and cant seem to get it.

In Javascript, if you use function without "return" the function will return undefined. You can't do anything with that value.
Inside your method getPing. Use return to return your games.gameservers.
Inside your http.createServer . This part , you can write like this.
const result = [...games.getPing(game.placeId, 0)] (as you have return so this function will return your games.gameservers and assign it to result)
res.end(/some how get games.gameservers here to send back to client/)
Hope this help.

Javascript Promise().then to prevent re-calling the function before the first call be executed

In my node.js app, reading data from MSSQL using tedious, I'm calling the below every 1 second:
Fetch the data from the server (fetchStock function) and save it in temporary array
Send the data saved in the temporary array to the client using the Server-Sent Events (SSE) API.
It looks the 1 second is not enough to recall the fetchStock function before the previous call is completely executed, so I get execution errors from time to time.
I increased it to 5 seconds, but still get the same issue every once in a while.
How can I use Promise().then to be sure the fetchStock function is not re-called before the previouse call be completely executed?
var Request = require('tedious').Request;
var Connection = require('tedious').Connection;
var config = {
userName: 'sa',
password: 'pswd',
server: 'xx.xxx.xx.xxx',
options: {
database: 'DB',
rowCollectionOnRequestCompletion: 'true',
rowCollectionOnDone: 'true'
},
};
var sql = new Connection(config);
var addElem = (obj, elem)=> [].push.call(obj, elem);
var result = {}, tmpCol = {}, tmpRow = {};
module.exports = {
displayStock: function (es) {
var dloop = setInterval(function() {
if(result.error !== null)
if (es) es.send(JSON.stringify(result), {event: 'rmSoH', id: (new Date()).toLocaleTimeString()});
if(result.error === null)
if (es) es.send('connection is closed');
}, 1000);
},
fetchStock: function () {
request = new Request("SELECT ItemCode, WhsCode, OnHand FROM OITW where OnHand > 0 and (WhsCode ='RM' or WhsCode ='FG');", function(err, rowCount, rows) {
if (err) {
result = {'error': err};
console.log((new Date()).toLocaleTimeString()+' err : '+err);
}
if(rows)
rows.forEach(function(row){
row.forEach(function(column){
var colName = column.metadata.colName;
var value = column.value;
addElem(tmpCol, {colName: value})
});
addElem(tmpRow,{'item': tmpCol[0].colName, 'Whs': tmpCol[1].colName, 'Qty': tmpCol[2].colName});
tmpCol = {};
});
result = tmpRow;
tmpRow={}
});
sql.execSql(request);
}
}

I think what you need is a simple variable to check if there's already running request not Promise.
var latch = false;
// It will be called only if the previous call is completed
var doFetchStock = () => sql.execSql(new Request("SQL", (err, rowCount, rows) => {
// Your logic dealing with result
// Initializes the latch
latch = false;
});
module.exports = {
fetchStock: function () {
// Check if the previous request is completed or not
if (!latch) {
// Sets the latch
latch = true;
// Fetches stock
doFetchStock();
}
}
};
Actually I've used this kind of pattern a lot to allow some behavior only once.
https://github.com/cettia/cettia-javascript-client/blob/1.0.0-Beta1/cettia.js#L397-L413
https://github.com/cettia/cettia-javascript-client/blob/1.0.0-Beta1/cettia.js#L775-L797

Since javascript is mono-threaded a simple code like this should be enough on client-side
function () {
if(currentPromise != null){ // define in a closure outside
currentPromise = [..] // call to server which return a promise
currentPromise.then(function(){
currentPromise = null;
});
}
}

What's the best(right) way to write a polling method (with Typescript & AngularJS)?

I am trying to write a polling method that polls a server periodically to check whether a zip file has already been created or not.
What I want to accomplish are the following:
Calls(ajax) an API that creates a zip file on server
Calls(ajax) another API that checks if the zip file has already been created (polling method)
Some subsequent process
Here is my code snippet ↓
var success: boolean = false;
//1. requests a server to create a zip file
this.apiRequest.downloadRequest(params,ApiUrl.URL_FOR_DOWNLOAD_REQUEST)
.then((resObj) => {
var apiRes: IDownloadService = resObj.data;
if (apiRes.status[0].statusCode == "000") {
success = true;
} else {
//Error
}
}).then(() => {
if (success) {
//2. polls the server to check if the zip file is ready
<- Polling method↓ ->
this.polling(params).then((zipUrl) => {
console.log(zipUrl); //always logs zipUrl
//some subsequent process...
});
}
});
Could anyone give some examples of polling method that would work in this case?
Added:
private polling(params: any): ng.IPromise<any> {
var poller = () => this.apiRequest.polling(params, ApiUrl.URL_FOR_POLLING);
var continuation = () => poller().then((resObj) => {
var apiRes: IDownloadService = resObj.data;
if (apiRes.zipFilePath == "") {
return this.$timeout(continuation, 1000);
} else {
return apiRes.zipFilePath;
}
})
var result: ng.IPromise<any> = continuation();
return result;
}

Basically abstract the methods out as shown below:
let poll = () => this.apiRequest.downloadRequest(params,ApiUrl.URL_FOR_DOWNLOAD_REQUEST)
let continuation = () => poll().then((/*something*/)=> {
/*if still bad*/ return continuation();
/*else */ return good;
})
continuation().then((/*definitely good*/));
Update
As requested in the comment below:
return this.$timeout(continuation, 1000);
This is needed to get angular to kick off a digest cycle.

Unreliable behaviour in Node.js

I have a Node.js application that, upon initialisation, reads two tables from an SQL database and reconstructs their relationship in memory. They're used for synchronously looking up data that changes (very) infrequently.
Problem: Sometimes I can't access the data, even though the application reports successfully loading it.
Code:
constants.js
module.exports = {
ready: function () { return false; }
};
var log = sysLog('core', 'constants')
, Geo = require('../models/geo.js');
var _ready = false
, _countries = []
, _carriers = [];
function reload() {
_ready = false;
var index = Object.create(null);
return Geo.Country.find().map(function (country) {
var obj = country.toPlainObject()
, id = obj.id;
delete obj.id;
index[id] = obj;
return Object.freeze(obj);
}).then(function (countries) {
log.debug('Loaded ' + countries.length + ' countries');
_countries = countries;
return Geo.Carrier.Descriptor.find().map(function (carrier) {
var obj = carrier.toPlainObject();
if (obj.country) {
obj.country = index[obj.country];
}
return Object.freeze(obj);
}).then(function (carriers) {
log.debug('Loaded ' + carriers.length + ' carriers');
_carriers = carriers;
});
}).finally(function () {
_ready = true;
});
}
reload().catch(function (err) {
log.crit({ message: 'Could not load constants', reason: err });
process.exit(-42);
}).done();
module.exports = {
reload : reload,
ready : function () { return _ready; },
countries : function () { return _countries; },
carriers : function () { return _carriers; }
};
utils.js
var log = sysLog('core', 'utils')
, constants = require('./constants');
module.exports = {
getCountryByISO: function(iso) {
if (!iso) {
return;
}
if ('string' != typeof iso) {
throw new Error('getCountryByISO requires a string');
}
if (!constants.ready()) {
throw new UnavailableError('Try again in a few seconds');
}
switch (iso.length) {
case 2:
return _.findWhere(constants.countries(), { 'iso2' : iso.toUpperCase() });
case 3:
return _.findWhere(constants.countries(), { 'iso3' : iso.toUpperCase() });
default:
throw new Error('getCountryByISO requires a 2 or 3 letter ISO code');
}
},
getCarrierByCode: function(code) {
if (!code) {
return;
}
if ('string' != typeof code) {
throw new Error('getCarrierByCode requires a string');
}
if (!constants.ready()) {
throw new UnavailableError('Try again in a few seconds');
}
return _.findWhere(constants.carriers(), { 'code' : code });
},
getCarrierByHandle: function(handle) {
if (!handle) {
return;
}
if ('string' != typeof handle) {
throw new Error('getCarrierByHandle requires a string');
}
if (!constants.ready()) {
throw new UnavailableError('Try again in a few seconds');
}
return _.findWhere(constants.carriers(), { 'handle' : handle });
}
};
Use case
if (data.handle) {
carrier = utils.getCarrierByHandle(data.handle);
if (_.isEmpty(carrier)) {
throw new InternalError('Unknown carrier', { handle: data.handle });
}
}
What's going on: All errors are logged; as soon as I see an error (i.e. "Unknown carrier") in the logs, I check the SQL database to see if it should've been recognised. That has always been the case so far, so I check the debug log to see if data was loaded. I always see "Loaded X countries" and "Loaded Y carriers" with correct values and no sign of "Could not load constants" or any other kind of trouble.
This happens around 10% of the time I start the application and the problem persists (i.e. didn't seem to go away after 12+ hours) and seems to occur regardless of input, leading me to think that the data isn't referenced correctly.
Questions:
Is there something wrong in constants.js or am I doing something very obviously wrong? I've tried setting it up for cyclical loading (even though I am not aware of that happening in this case).
Why can't I (sometimes) access my data?
What can I do to figure out what's wrong?
Is there any way I can work around this? Is there anything else I could to achieve the desired behaviour? Hard-coding the data in constants.js is excluded.
Additional information:
constants.reload() is never actually called from outside of constants.js.
constants.js is required only in utils.js.
utils.js is required in app.js (application entry); all files required before it do not require it.
SQL access is done through an in-house library built on top of knex.js and bluebird; so far it's been very stable.
Versions:
Node.js v0.10.33
underscore 1.7.0
bluebird 2.3.11
knex 0.6.22

}).finally(function () {
_ready = true;
});
Code in a finally will always get called, regardless of if an error was thrown up the promise chain. Additionally, your reload().catch(/* ... */) clause will never be reached, because finally swallows the error.
Geo.Country.find() or Geo.Carrier.Descriptor.find() could throw an error, and _ready would still be set to true, and the problem of your countries and carriers not being set would persist.
This problem would not have occurred if you had designed your system without a ready call, as I described in my previous post. Hopefully this informs you that the issue here is really beyond finally swallowing a catch. The real issue is relying on side-effects; the modification of free variables results in brittle systems, especially when asynchrony is involved. I highly recommend against it.

Try this
var log = sysLog('core', 'constants');
var Geo = require('../models/geo.js');
var index;
var _countries;
var _carriers;
function reload() {
index = Object.create(null);
_countries = Geo.Country.find().map(function (country) {
var obj = country.toPlainObject();
var id = obj.id;
delete obj.id;
index[id] = obj;
return Object.freeze(obj);
});
_carriers = _countries.then(function(countries) {
return Geo.Carrier.Descriptor.find().map(function (carrier) {
var obj = carrier.toPlainObject();
if (obj.country) {
obj.country = index[obj.country];
}
return Object.freeze(obj);
});
});
return _carriers;
}
reload().done();
module.exports = {
reload : reload,
countries : function () { return _countries; },
carriers : function () { return _carriers; }
};

constants.reload() is never actually called from outside of
constants.js.
That's your issue. constants.reload() reads from a database, which is an aysnchronous process. Node's require() is a synchronous process. At the time constants.js is required in utils.js and the module.exports value is returned, your database query is still running. And at whatever point in time that app.js reaches the point where it calls a method from the utils module, that query could still be running, resulting in the error.
You could say that requiring utils.js has the side-effect of requiring constants.js, which has the side-effect of executing a database query, which has the side-effect of concurrently modifying the free variables _countries and _carriers.
Initialize _countries and _carriers as unresolved promises. Have reload() resolve them. Make the utils.js api async.
promises.js:
// ...
var Promise = require('bluebird');
var countriesResolve
, carriersResolve;
var _ready = false
, _countries = new Promise(function (resolve) {
countriesResolve = resolve;
})
, _carriers = new Promise(function (resolve) {
carriersResolve = resolve;
});
function reload() {
_ready = false;
var index = Object.create(null);
return Geo.Country.find().map(function (country) {
// ...
}).then(function (countries) {
log.debug('Loaded ' + countries.length + ' countries');
countriesResolve(countries);
return Geo.Carrier.Descriptor.find().map(function (carrier) {
// ...
}).then(function (carriers) {
log.debug('Loaded ' + carriers.length + ' carriers');
carriersResolve(carriers);
});
}).finally(function () {
_ready = true;
});
}
reload().catch(function (err) {
log.crit({ message: 'Could not load constants', reason: err });
process.exit(-42);
}).done();
module.exports = {
reload : reload,
ready : function () { return _ready; },
countries : function () { return _countries; },
carriers : function () { return _carriers; }
};
utils.js
getCarrierByHandle: function(handle) {
// ...
return constants.carriers().then(function (carriers) {
return _.findWhere(carriers, { 'handle' : handle });
});
}
Use case:
utils.getCarrierByHandle(data.handle).then(function (carrier) {
if (_.isEmpty(carrier)) {
throw new InternalError('Unknown carrier', { handle: data.handle });
}
}).then(function () {
// ... next step in application logic
});
This design will also eliminate the need for a ready method.
Alternatively, you could call constants.reload() on initialization and hang all possibly-dependent operations until it completes. This approach would also obsolete the ready method.
What can I do to figure out what's wrong?
You could have analyzed your logs and observed that "Loaded X countries" and "Loaded Y carriers" were sometimes written after "Unknown carrier", helping you realize that the success of utils.getCarrierByHandle() was a race condition.