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AWS Lambda function global variables

I am writing an AWS Lambda function in JavaScript (Node.js) that interacts with CodeCommit through the AWS SDK.
The communication between the services works as expected, I am getting data within the CodeCommit function, but the issue I am facing appears when I want to use this data outside of the function.
I have tried two approaches:
1. Global Variable
Code:
var aws = require('aws-sdk');
var codecommit = new aws.CodeCommit({ apiVersion: '2015-04-13' });
var repoName = ''; // Declared my global variable here
exports.handler = function(event, context) {
var commitId = "69a5f8eeba340d71ba41b8f20d77cc20b301ff52"
var repository = "my-repository"
var params = {
repositoryName: repository
};
codecommit.getRepository(params, function(err, data) {
if (err) {
console.log(err);
var message = "Error getting repository metadata for repository " + repository;
console.log(message);
context.fail(message);
} else {
console.log('Repository Name:', data.repositoryMetadata.repositoryName); // Shown with data
repoName = data.repositoryMetadata.repositoryName; // Setting the variable
console.log('Account Id:', data.repositoryMetadata.accountId); // Shown with data
}
});
console.log(repoName); // Shown as blank in the output
};
Output:
The last written "console.log" is the first to print in the execution results, but shows blank. The two other console.log (within the functions) are then printed, and they show the data.
2. Function
Code:
var aws = require('aws-sdk');
var codecommit = new aws.CodeCommit({ apiVersion: '2015-04-13' });
exports.handler = function(event, context) {
var commitId = "69a5f8eeba340d71ba41b8f20d77cc20b301ff52"
var repository = "my-repository"
var repoData = getRepository(repository)
console.log('Repository Name:', repoData.repositoryName);
console.log('Account Id:', repoData.accountId);
};
function getRepository(repository) {
var params = {
repositoryName: repository
};
codecommit.getRepository(params, function(err, data) {
if (err) {
console.log(err);
var message = "Error getting repository metadata for repository " + repository;
console.log(message);
context.fail(message);
} else {
var repoData = {};
repoData.repositoryName = data.repositoryMetadata.repositoryName;
repoData.accountId = data.repositoryMetadata.accountId;
console.log(repoData); // Shows output in execution results when lines 11 & 12 are commented
return repoData;
}
});
}
Output:
{
"errorType": "TypeError",
"errorMessage": "Cannot read property 'repositoryName' of undefined",
"trace": [
"TypeError: Cannot read property 'repositoryName' of undefined",
" at Runtime.exports.handler (/var/task/index.js:57:46)",
" at Runtime.handleOnce (/var/runtime/Runtime.js:66:25)"
]
}
Conclusion
None of those approaches worked. The data is always visible within the function but never outside of it. I suspect that the code outside of the function executes before the function itself, and I wonder if I could make the code to wait that the function has been executed before doing the console.log (and other actions after it). Or maybe I am wrong on another level?

You are using a callback model, in which case the console.log in the first example is being hit before the code in the callback. A better option would be to use async/await.
var aws = require('aws-sdk');
var codecommit = new aws.CodeCommit({ apiVersion: '2015-04-13' });
var repoName = ''; // Declared my global variable here
exports.handler = async function(event, context) {
var commitId = "69a5f8eeba340d71ba41b8f20d77cc20b301ff52"
var repository = "my-repository"
var params = {
repositoryName: repository
};
var data = await codecommit.getRepository(params).promise();
console.log('Repository Name:', data.repositoryMetadata.repositoryName); // Shown with data
repoName = data.repositoryMetadata.repositoryName; // Setting the variable
console.log('Account Id:', data.repositoryMetadata.accountId); // Shown with data
console.log(repoName);
};
Notice that I'm not catching the error here, but if you wanted to you can use a try/catch block. Just be sure you throw a new error in that case if you want the function to fail.

Javascript Await Changes Local Variables? [closed]

Closed. This question is not reproducible or was caused by typos. It is not currently accepting answers.
This question was caused by a typo or a problem that can no longer be reproduced. While similar questions may be on-topic here, this one was resolved in a way less likely to help future readers.
Closed 3 years ago.
Improve this question
Anyone able to explain what I'm doing wrong with my use of asynchronous functions in Javascript?
Basically, I must use an asynchronous in my Node.js code to grab an open port for me to use. There is a local variable that is being set outside of the asynchronous call that I can access/use just fine until I await for the asynchronous function to return. After that, the local variable is undefined.
(async () => {
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC1: " + csvFilePath);
// First, grab a valid open port
var port;
while (!port || portsInProcess.indexOf(port) >= 0) {
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC2: " + csvFilePath);
port = await getPort();
console.log(port);
}
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC3: " + csvFilePath);
portsInProcess.push(port);
// ... more code below...
Checks #1 and 2 are fine for the csvFilePath variable, but check #3 shows that it's undefined. The port number, however, is fine. This leads me to believe that there's some weirdness with asynchronous function calls in Javascript that ONLY affects local variables; the global variables I use further down are just fine. Unfortunately here, I cannot make the csvFilePath variable global since that will introduce race conditions on that variable too (which I'm preventing elsewhere; the while loop is to help prevent race conditions on the port number, which is basically unused in my simple tests on localhost).
Just in case it's helpful, here's the output I'm getting:
CHECK AFTER ASYNC1: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
CHECK AFTER ASYNC2: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
58562
CHECK AFTER ASYNC3: null
It might also be worth mentioning it's really only those first few lines of code to dynamically grab an open port that are the lines of code I added. The code that I had before which used a fixed port number worked just fine (including this csvFilePath variable remaining stable).
My understanding of the await functionality was that it makes the asynchronous function act more or less synchronously, which is what seems to be happening here; the code I have farther down that uses the port number is not running until after the port number is set. (But even if that wasn't the case, why is the csvFilePath variable being unset since I'm not altering it or using it in any way here?)
EDIT: Here's some more code to provide additional context
var spawn = require('child_process').spawn;
var fs = require("fs");
var async = require('async');
var zmq = require('zmq');
var readline = require('readline');
const getPort = require('get-port');
/* Export the Nebula class */
module.exports = Nebula;
/* Location of the data for the Crescent dataset */
var textDataPath = "data/text/";
var crescentRawDataPath = textDataPath + "crescent_raw";
var crescentTFIDF = textDataPath + "crescent tfidf.csv";
var crescentTopicModel = textDataPath + "crescent_topics.csv";
/* Location of the data for the UK Health dataset */
var ukHealthRawDataPath = textDataPath + "uk_health_raw";
var ukHealthTFIDF = textDataPath + "uk_health.csv";
/* Map CSV files for text data to raw text location */
var textRawDataMappings = {};
textRawDataMappings[crescentTFIDF] = crescentRawDataPath;
textRawDataMappings[crescentTopicModel] = crescentRawDataPath;
textRawDataMappings[ukHealthTFIDF] = ukHealthRawDataPath;
textRawDataMappings[textDataPath + "uk_health_sm.csv"] = ukHealthRawDataPath;
/* The pipelines available to use */
var flatTextUIs = ["cosmos", "composite", "sirius", "centaurus"];
var pipelines = {
andromeda: {
file: "pipelines/andromeda.py",
defaultData: "data/highD/Animal_Data_study.csv"
},
cosmos: {
file: "pipelines/cosmos.py",
defaultData: textDataPath + "crescent tfidf.csv"
},
sirius: {
file: "pipelines/sirius.py",
defaultData: "data/highD/Animal_Data_paper.csv"
},
centaurus: {
file: "pipelines/centaurus.py",
defaultData: "data/highD/Animal_Data_paper.csv"
},
twitter: {
file: "pipelines/twitter.py",
},
composite: {
file: "pipelines/composite.py",
defaultData: textDataPath + "crescent tfidf.csv"
},
elasticsearch: {
file: "pipelines/espipeline.py",
args: []
}
};
/* The locations of the different types of datasets on the server */
var textDataFolder = "data/text/";
var highDDataFolder = "data/highD/";
var customCSVFolder = "data/customCSV/";
var sirius_prototype = 2;
// An array to track the ports being processed to eliminate race conditions
// as much as possible
var portsInProcess = [];
var nextSessionNumber = 0;
var usedSessionNumbers = [];
/* Nebula class constructor */
function Nebula(io, pipelineAddr) {
/* This allows you to use "Nebula(obj)" as well as "new Nebula(obj)" */
if (!(this instanceof Nebula)) {
return new Nebula(io);
}
/* The group of rooms currently active, each with a string identifier
* Each room represents an instance of a visualization that can be shared
* among clients.
*/
this.rooms = {};
this.io = io;
/* For proper use in callback functions */
var self = this;
/* Accept new WebSocket clients */
io.on('connection', function(socket) {
// Skipped some irrelevant Socket.io callbacks
**// Use the csvFilePath to store the name of a user-defined CSV file
var csvFilePath = null;**
/* Helper function to tell the client that the CSV file is now ready for them
* to use. They are also sent a copy of the data
*/
var csvFileReady = function(csvFilePath) {
// Let the client know that the CSV file is now ready to be used on
// the server
socket.emit("csvDataReady");
// Prepare to parse the CSV file
var csvData = [];
const rl = readline.createInterface({
input: fs.createReadStream(csvFilePath),
crlfDelay: Infinity
});
// Print any error messages we encounter
rl.on('error', function (err) {
console.log("Error while parsing CSV file: " + csvFilePath);
console.log(err);
});
// Read each line of the CSV file one at a time and parse it
var columnHeaders = [];
var firstColumnName;
rl.on('line', function (data) {
var dataColumns = data.split(",");
// If we haven't saved any column names yet, do so first
if (columnHeaders.length == 0) {
columnHeaders = dataColumns;
firstColumnName = columnHeaders[0];
}
// Process each individual line of data in the CSV file
else {
var dataObj = {};
var i;
for (i = 0; i < dataColumns.length; i++) {
var key = columnHeaders[i];
var value = dataColumns[i];
dataObj[key] = value
}
csvData.push(dataObj);
}
});
// All lines are read, file is closed now.
rl.on('close', function () {
// On certain OSs, like Windows, an extra, blank line may be read
// Check for this and remove it if it exists
var lastObservation = csvData[csvData.length-1];
var lastObservationKeys = Object.keys(lastObservation);
if (lastObservationKeys.length = 1 && lastObservation[lastObservationKeys[0]] == "") {
csvData.pop();
}
// Provide the CSV data to the client
socket.emit("csvDataReadComplete", csvData, firstColumnName);
});
};
**/* Allows the client to specify a CSV file already on the server to use */
socket.on("setCSV", function(csvName) {
console.log("setCSV CALLED");
csvFilePath = "data/" + csvName;
csvFileReady(csvFilePath);
console.log("CSV FILE SET: " + csvFilePath);
});**
// Skipped some more irrelevant callbacks
/* a client/ a room. If the room doesn't next exist yet,
* initiate it and send the new room to the client. Otherwise, send
* the client the current state of the room.
*/
socket.on('join', function(roomName, user, pipeline, args) {
console.log("Join called for " + pipeline + " pipeline; room " + roomName);
socket.roomName = roomName;
socket.user = user;
socket.join(roomName);
console.log("CSV FILE PATH: " + csvFilePath);
var pipelineArgsCopy = [];
if (!self.rooms[roomName]) {
var room = {};
room.name = roomName;
room.count = 1;
room.points = new Map();
room.similarity_weights = new Map();
if (pipeline == "sirius" || pipeline == "centaurus") {
room.attribute_points = new Map();
room.attribute_similarity_weights = new Map();
room.observation_data = [];
room.attribute_data = [];
}
/* Create a pipeline client for this room */
console.log("CHECK BEFORE ASYNC: " + csvFilePath);
**// Here's the code snippet I provided above**
**(async () => {
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC1: " + csvFilePath);
// First, grab a valid open port
var port;
while (!port || portsInProcess.indexOf(port) >= 0) {
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC2: " + csvFilePath);
port = await getPort();
console.log(port);
}
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC3: " + csvFilePath);**
portsInProcess.push(port);
console.log("CHECK AFTER ASYNC4: " + csvFilePath);
if (!pipelineAddr) {
var pythonArgs = ["-u"];
if (pipeline in pipelines) {
// A CSV file path should have already been set. This
// file path should be used to indicate where to find
// the desired file
console.log("LAST CHECK: " + csvFilePath);
if (!csvFilePath) {
csvFilePath = pipelines[pipeline].defaultData;
}
console.log("FINAL CSV FILE: " + csvFilePath);
pipelineArgsCopy.push(csvFilePath);
// If the UI supports reading flat text files, tell the
// pipeline where to find the files
if (flatTextUIs.indexOf(pipeline) >= 0) {
pipelineArgsCopy.push(textRawDataMappings[csvFilePath]);
}
// Set the remaining pipeline args
pythonArgs.push(pipelines[pipeline].file);
pythonArgs.push(port.toString());
if (pipeline != "twitter" && pipeline != "elasticsearch") {
pythonArgs = pythonArgs.concat(pipelineArgsCopy);
}
}
else {
pythonArgs.push(pipelines.cosmos.file);
pythonArgs.push(port.toString());
pythonArgs.push(pipelines.cosmos.defaultData);
pythonArgs.push(crescentRawDataPath);
}
// used in case of CosmosRadar
for (var key in args) {
if (args.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
pythonArgs.push("--" + key);
pythonArgs.push(args[key]);
}
}
// Dynamically determine which distance function should be
// used
if (pythonArgs.indexOf("--dist_func") < 0) {
if (pipeline === "twitter" || pipeline === "elasticsearch" ||
csvFilePath.startsWith(textDataPath)) {
pythonArgs.push("--dist_func", "cosine");
}
else {
pythonArgs.push("--dist_func", "euclidean");
}
}
console.log(pythonArgs);
console.log("");
var pipelineInstance = spawn("python2.7", pythonArgs, {stdout: "inherit"});
pipelineInstance.on("error", function(err) {
console.log("python2.7.exe not found. Trying python.exe");
pipelineInstance = spawn("python", pythonArgs,{stdout: "inherit"});
pipelineInstance.stdout.on("data", function(data) {
console.log("Pipeline: " + data.toString());
});
pipelineInstance.stderr.on("data", function(data) {
console.log("Pipeline error: " + data.toString());
});
});
/* Data received by node app from python process,
* ouptut this data to output stream(on 'data'),
* we want to convert that received data into a string and
* append it to the overall data String
*/
pipelineInstance.stdout.on("data", function(data) {
console.log("Pipeline STDOUT: " + data.toString());
});
pipelineInstance.stderr.on("data", function(data) {
console.log("Pipeline error: " + data.toString());
});
room.pipelineInstance = pipelineInstance;
}
/* Connect to the pipeline */
pipelineAddr = pipelineAddr || "tcp://127.0.0.1:" + port.toString();
room.pipelineSocket = zmq.socket('pair');
room.pipelineSocket.connect(pipelineAddr);
pipelineAddr = null;
portsInProcess.splice(portsInProcess.indexOf(port), 1);
/* Listens for messages from the pipeline */
room.pipelineSocket.on('message', function (msg) {
self.handleMessage(room, msg);
});
self.rooms[roomName] = socket.room = room;
invoke(room.pipelineSocket, "reset");
})();
}
else {
socket.room = self.rooms[roomName];
socket.room.count += 1;
if (pipeline == "sirius" || pipeline == "centaurus") {
socket.emit('update', sendRoom(socket.room, true), true);
socket.emit('update', sendRoom(socket.room, false), false);
}
else {
socket.emit('update', sendRoom(socket.room));
}
}
// Reset the csvFilePath to null for future UIs...
// I don't think this is actually necessary since
// csvFilePath is local to the "connections" message,
// which is called for every individual room
csvFilePath = null;
});
// Skipped the rest of the code; it's irrelevant
});
}
Full printouts:
setCSV CALLED
CSV FILE SET: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
Join called for sirius pipeline; room sirius0
CSV FILE PATH: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
CHECK BEFORE ASYNC: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
CHECK AFTER ASYNC1: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
CHECK AFTER ASYNC2: data/text/crescent_topics.csv
58562
CHECK AFTER ASYNC3: null
CHECK AFTER ASYNC4: null
LAST CHECK: null
FINAL CSV FILE: data/highD/Animal_Data_paper.csv
[ '-u',
'pipelines/sirius.py',
'58562',
'data/highD/Animal_Data_paper.csv',
undefined,
'--dist_func',
'euclidean' ]
Since bolding of code doesn't work, just search for the "**" to find the relevant pieces I've marked.
TL;DR There's a lot of communication happening between the client and server to establish an individualized communication that is directly linked to a specific dataset. The user has the ability to upload a custom CSV file to the system, but the code I'm working with right now is just trying to select an existing CSV file on the server, so I omitted the callbacks for the custom CSV file. Once the file has been selected, the client asks to "join" a room/session. The case I'm working with right now assumes that this is a new room/session as opposed to trying to do some shared room/session with another client. (Yes, I know, the code is messy for sharing rooms/sessions, but it works for the most part for now and is not my main concern.) Again, all this code worked just fine before the asynchronous code was added (and using a static port variable), so I don't know what changed so much by adding it.

Since you now included the whole code context, we can see that the issue is that the code after your async IIFE is what is causing the problem.
An async function returns a promise as soon as it hits an await. And, while that await is waiting for its asynchronous operation, the code following the call to the async function runs. In your case, you're essentially doing this:
var csvFilePath = someGoodValue;
(async () => {
port = await getPort();
console.log(csvFilePath); // this will be null
})();
csvFilePath = null; // this runs as soon as the above code hits the await
So, as soon as you hit your first await, the async function returns a promise and the code following it continues to run, hitting the line of code that resets your csvFilePath.
There are probably cleaner ways to restructure your code, but a simple thing you could do is this:
var csvFilePath = someGoodValue;
(async () => {
port = await getPort();
console.log(csvFilePath); // this will be null
})().finally(() => {
csvFilePath = null;
});
Note: .finally() is supported in node v10+. If you're using an older version, you can reset the path in both .then() and .catch().
Or, as your comment says, maybe you can just remove the resetting of the csvFilePath entirely.

I realized after some silly tests I tried that I'm resetting csvFilePath to null outside the asynchronous call, which is what is causing the error... Oops!

Running node-rdkafka code in server

I'm running the below node-rdkafka code in Eclipse as Node.js application. This is the sample code from https://blizzard.github.io/node-rdkafka/current/tutorial-producer_.html
I want to run this in a test server and call from iOS Mobile application.
I knew about running node.js app in AWS.
Question I: Is there any other options to run in a free test server environment like Tomcat?
Question II: Even If I am able to run this node.js app in a server, how do i call from a mobile application? Do I need to call producer.on('ready', function(arg) (or) What function i need to call from Mobile app?
var Kafka = require('node-rdkafka');
//console.log(Kafka.features);
//console.log(Kafka.librdkafkaVersion);
var producer = new Kafka.Producer({
'metadata.broker.list': 'localhost:9092',
'dr_cb': true
});
var topicName = 'MyTest';
//logging debug messages, if debug is enabled
producer.on('event.log', function(log) {
console.log(log);
});
//logging all errors
producer.on('event.error', function(err) {
console.error('Error from producer');
console.error(err);
});
//counter to stop this sample after maxMessages are sent
var counter = 0;
var maxMessages = 10;
producer.on('delivery-report', function(err, report) {
console.log('delivery-report: ' + JSON.stringify(report));
counter++;
});
//Wait for the ready event before producing
producer.on('ready', function(arg) {
console.log('producer ready.' + JSON.stringify(arg));
for (var i = 0; i < maxMessages; i++) {
var value = new Buffer('MyProducerTest - value-' +i);
var key = "key-"+i;
// if partition is set to -1, librdkafka will use the default partitioner
var partition = -1;
producer.produce(topicName, partition, value, key);
}
//need to keep polling for a while to ensure the delivery reports are received
var pollLoop = setInterval(function() {
producer.poll();
if (counter === maxMessages) {
clearInterval(pollLoop);
producer.disconnect();
}
}, 1000);
});
/*
producer.on('disconnected', function(arg) {
console.log('producer disconnected. ' + JSON.stringify(arg));
});*/
//starting the producer
producer.connect();

First of all, you need an HTTP server. ExpressJS can be used. Then, just tack on the Express code basically at the end, but move the producer loop into the request route.
So, start with what you had
var Kafka = require('node-rdkafka');
//console.log(Kafka.features);
//console.log(Kafka.librdkafkaVersion);
var producer = new Kafka.Producer({
'metadata.broker.list': 'localhost:9092',
'dr_cb': true
});
var topicName = 'MyTest';
//logging debug messages, if debug is enabled
producer.on('event.log', function(log) {
console.log(log);
});
//logging all errors
producer.on('event.error', function(err) {
console.error('Error from producer');
console.error(err);
});
producer.on('delivery-report', function(err, report) {
console.log('delivery-report: ' + JSON.stringify(report));
counter++;
});
//Wait for the ready event before producing
producer.on('ready', function(arg) {
console.log('producer ready.' + JSON.stringify(arg));
});
producer.on('disconnected', function(arg) {
console.log('producer disconnected. ' + JSON.stringify(arg));
});
//starting the producer
producer.connect();
Then, you can add this in the same file.
var express = require('express')
var app = express()
app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Ready to send messages!'))
app.post('/:maxMessages', function (req, res) {
if (req.params.maxMessages) {
var maxMessages = parseInt(req.params.maxMessages);
for (var i = 0; i < maxMessages; i++) {
var value = new Buffer('MyProducerTest - value-' +i);
var key = "key-"+i;
// if partition is set to -1, librdkafka will use the default partitioner
var partition = -1;
producer.produce(topicName, partition, value, key);
} // end for
} // end if
}); // end app.post()
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Example app listening on port 3000!'))
I don't think the poll loop is necessary since you don't care about the counter anymore.
Now, connect your mobile app to http://<your server IP>:3000/ and send test messages with a POST request to http://<your server IP>:3000/10, for example, and adjust to change the number of messages to send

I might be late on this but this is how I did using promises and found it better than have a time out etc.
const postMessageToPublisher = (req, res) => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
producer.connect();
producer.setPollInterval(globalConfigs.producerPollingTime);
const actualBody = requestBody.data;
const requestBody = req.body;
const topicName = req.body.topicName;
const key = requestBody.key || uuid();
const partition = requestBody.partition || undefined;
const data = Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(udpatedBody));
/**
* Actual messages are sent here when the producer is ready
*/
producer.on(kafkaEvents.READY, () => {
try {
producer.produce(
topic,
partition,
message,
key // setting key user provided or UUID
);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
// Register listener for debug information; only invoked if debug option set in driver_options
producer.on(kafkaEvents.LOG, log => {
logger.info('Producer event log notification for debugging:', log);
});
// Register error listener
producer.on(kafkaEvents.ERROR, err => {
logger.error('Error from producer:' + JSON.stringify(err));
reject(err);
});
// Register delivery report listener
producer.on(kafkaEvents.PUBLISH_ACKNOWLEDGMENT, (err, ackMessage) => {
if (err) {
logger.error(
'Delivery report: Failed sending message ' + ackMessage.value
);
logger.error('and the error is :', err);
reject({ value: ackMessage.value, error: err });
} else {
resolve({
teamName: globalConfigs.TeamNameService,
topicName: ackMessage.topic,
key: ackMessage.key.toString()
});
}
});
});
};
Please note that kafkaEvents contains my constants for the events we listen to and it is just a reference such as kafkaEvents.LOG is same as event.log
and also the calling function is expecting this to a promise and accordingly we user .then(data => 'send your response to user from here') and .catch(error => 'send error response to user
this is how I achieved it using promises

Error logging to file not working in javascript windows store app

I am trying to write console log to a file. I tried this way and a log file is created but no contents are appended to it.Calling it at the start of the app. Am i doing something wrong.
function startFileLog() {
// choose where the file will be stored:
var fileDestination = Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.current.localFolder;
var logger = new WinJS.Promise(function (complete) {
var logfilename = new Date().toISOString().replace(/[:-]/g, "");
logfilename = "log-" + logfilename + ".log";
fileDestination.createFileAsync(logfilename,
Windows.Storage.CreationCollisionOption.generateUniqueName)
.done(function (file) {
complete(file);
});
});
var actionFn = function (message, tag, type) {
logger.then(function (file) {
var m = WinJS.Utilities.formatLog(message, tag, type);
Windows.Storage.FileIO.appendTextAsync(file, m).done();
});
};
WinJS.Utilities.startLog({ action: actionFn });
}

Mocha test is failing but implementation works

I am trying to write a newer watch module that uses the fs.watch method instead of the watchFile approach.
So far, it works beautifully, but only when I run it outside of mocha. I can't figure out why my unit test is throwing a tantrum, maybe someone here can?
Here is my class code:
/**
* requirements
*/
var fs, path, events;
fs = require('fs');
path = require('path');
events = require('events');
/**
* private
*/
var Monitor = function(directory, options) {
this.directory = directory;
this.options = options || {};
(this.options.lazy && this.empty()) || this.walk(this.directory);
this.watch(this.directory);
};
Monitor.prototype = new events.EventEmitter();
Monitor.prototype.watch = function(directory, stats) {
var stats = stats || {};
if (!this.directories[directory]) {
var w = fs.watch(directory, this.options, this.justlookatit.bind(this));
}
this.directories[directory] = { 'stats': stats, 'w': w };
};
Monitor.prototype.directories = function() {
if (!Object.keys(this.directories).length) {
this.walk(this.directory);
}
return this.directories;
};
Monitor.prototype.files = function() {
if (!Object.keys(this.files).length) {
this.walk(this.directory);
}
return this.files;
};
Monitor.prototype.unwatch = function() {
if (!Object.keys(this.directories).length) {
for (var dir in this.directories) {
dir.w.close();
}
}
};
Monitor.prototype.empty = function() {
this.unwatch();
this.files = {};
this.directories = {};
};
Monitor.prototype.walk = function(directory) {
var monitor = this;
this.empty();
fs.readdir(directory, function(err, files) {
if (err) return;
for (var file in files) {
var fullname = path.resolve(files[file]);
if (!monitor.options.filter || monitor.options.filter(fullname)) {
fs.stat(fullname, function(err, stats) {
if (err) return;
if (stats.isDirectory()) {
monitor.walk(fullname);
monitor.watch(fullname, stats);
} else {
monitor.files[fullname] = stats;
}
});
}
}
});
};
Monitor.prototype.justlookatit = function(action, file) {
var monitor = this;
var fullname = path.resolve(file);
if (this.options.filter && !this.options.filer(fullname)) return;
fs.exists(fullname, function(exists) {
if (exists) {
fs.stat(fullname, function(err, stats) {
if (stats.isDirectory()) {
monitor.watch(fullname, stats);
} else {
if (monitor.files[fullname]) {
if (stats.mtime.getTime() > monitor.files[fullname].mtime.getTime()) {
monitor.emit('modified', fullname, stats);
}
} else {
monitor.emit('added', fullname, stats);
}
monitor.files[fullname] = stats;
}
});
} else {
if (monitor.files[fullname]) {
delete monitor.files[fullname];
monitor.emit('deleted', fullname);
} else if (monitor.directories[fullname]) {
monitor.directories[fullname].w.close();
delete monitor.directories[fullname];
}
}
});
};
/**
* exports
*/
exports.start = function(directory, options) {
return new Monitor(directory, options);
};
Here is my Working external test code:
var watch = require("./watch.js");
var fs = require('fs');
monitor = watch.start(__dirname);
monitor.on('added', function(file, stats) {
console.log("Caught Added: " + file);
});
monitor.on('modified', function(file, stats) {
console.log("Caught Modified: " + file);
});
monitor.on('deleted', function(file) {
console.log("Caught deleted: " + file);
});
// try creating a file immediately
fs.openSync('v.md', 'w');
The first test file runs perfectly fine, and I've tried both openSync and open. Finally, here is a version of the same test code, wrapped in a mocha unit test which is timing out:
/**
* requirements
*/
var watch, Q, fs, path, mocha, chai, assert;
watch = require('../lib/watch.js');
Q = require('q');
fs = require('fs');
path = require('path');
mocha = require('mocha');
chai = require('chai');
assert = chai.assert;
/**
* variables
*/
var watch_directory = path.join(__dirname, './watch');
/**
* tests
*/
describe('test watch', function() {
it('should create a monitor and run callbacks after fs changes', function(done) {
// I had planned to implement promises that chained the three callbacks
// but couldn't get one of them working in general
var added = function(file, stats) {
console.log("added");
done();
};
var modified = function(file, stats) {
console.log("modified");
};
var deleted = function(file, stats) {
console.log("deleted");
};
// create our service
var monitor = watch.start(watch_directory);
// assert it is defined
assert.isDefined(monitor);
// establish a listener
monitor.on('added', added);
monitor.on('modified', modified);
monitor.on('deleted', deleted);
// here is a file name using the current date to prevent duplication during tests
var file = path.join(watch_directory, (new Date()).getTime() + '.md');
// let's create the file, then delete it
fs.open(file, 'w+', function(err, fileDescriptor) {
// this prints before console output from the watch.js's `justlookatit` method
console.log(err);
console.log("writing to file");
// we probably don't want to try closing the fileDescriptor if the open failed
if (err) return;
// close the file descriptor
fs.close(fileDescriptor, function() {
// delete the file we just created
// fs.unlink(file, function() { /* not a big deal */ });
});
});
// modify a known-existing test file
fs.open('test.md', 'w+', function() {/* we don't care about this */});
})
});
I checked with console.log(fullname) inside the justlookatit method on the watch code, and it spits out the correct file name, matching the one generated by the unit test.
However, it then proceeds to return false when I run fs.exists. As I undestand it, that means the file system is notifying me that a file exists before it exists, which doesn't make sense really. So I tried adding an additional delay by wrapping my fs.exists method in a setTimeout, and that didn't change the results. I have also tried using both openSync and existsSync, and that made no difference.
I'm stumped, does anyone have any ideas why the mocha code isn't working?

So, the solution was to go for a walk. I came back, looked at the code again and figured out the cause of the problem with mocha, and also identified many other bugs.
The problem was the lack of context. The justlookatit method does not have a context, and in the test.js scenario it is watching the current directory, while the mocha test is watching a sub-directory.
The path.resolve was receiving only the file name, not the directory, and therefore merged it with the default (executables) directory, so the level of test.js, or watch_test.js for mocha. It proceeded to fail to locate any of the files in the mocha test case because they were all one level below the executable.
I won't go into detail about all the other bugs, but I may come back and post the repository link when I get to a point that I want to push it online.

You're missing the callback return(done); at the end of your test. Unless you call that callback, Mocha will time out every time.