I've spent so much time trying to find the answer to this on here and come up with nothing. Hoping someone can enlighten me..
I have code which is making an async call to a database and returning data in a callback function (in my case I'm using MongoClient, which returns a Promise). However, I can't work out how to use the resulting data to actually set function-level variables - whenever I try to do it the resulting value that I log is either undefined or a pending Promise object.
There's lots of posts on this subject but I can't find any methods that work when I try to apply them. Any and all help gratefully received!
function lookupOneDbEntry(key, value) {
var responseData = "initial data"
// search for the entry in the database
db.collection("my_collection").findOne({key: value}, function(err, result) {
if (err) {
//if database throws an error
responseData = "db error";
}
else {
// if the entry is found, return the data
responseData = result;
}
});
return responseData;
}
EDIT: I am aware of other posts on this (like this one here and, while exhaustive documentation is useful to an extent, I;m having trouble using this information practically in a real-life implementation like the one above. Hence my question here.
Async calls happens outside of the call stack that you are on. you can't return it onto the current stack.
So we use the promises to hook into the results of our call.
function lookupOneDbEntry(key, value) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
// search for the entry in the database
db.collection("my_collection").findOne({key: value}, function(err, result) {
if (err) {
//if database throws an error
reject(err);
}
else {
// if the entry is found, return the data
resolve(result);
}
});
});
}
lockupOneDbEntry('myKey', 'myValue').then(function (result) {
console.log('result', result);
}, function (err) {
console.log("error!", err);
});
After a long while of experimenting I've finally managed to do it - I didn't need any fancy callbacks or additional Promises in the end, I just removed the optional callback in the database request and instead processed the returned promise separately.
function lookupOneDbEntry(key, value) {
var responseData = "initial data";
var solution = db.collection("accounting_module").findOne({key: value});
solution.then(function (result) {
// validation of result here
responseData = result;
});
return responseData;
}
Related
I'm new to NodeJS and Jade/PUG so I know this can be a really simple question for many of you but for me I can't understeand any of the answers a get from the internet because the term 'Promise' and how it works is a little "confusing" for me.
I am querying a postgre database to get several values from a table (really simple query). If I do this without using a promise everything works fine, console prints the result and everyone is happy, but when I try to store this result into a variable and pass it as a parameter to a Jade template things change.
I have read that, in order to do that, I need to use promises because it is more likely that when the variable is being accessed, the value might not be resolved yet and that's what Promises are for. So here I have my code:
hero.js:
getHeroes: function()
{
//Initialize array
var elem = [];
console.log('Querying heroes');
return new Promise((resolve, reject) =>
{
pg.connect(conString, function (err, client, done)
{
if (err)
{
return console.error('error fetching client from pool', err)
}
//Execute SELECT query
client.query('SELECT name from heroe;', function (err, rows, result)
{
//Iterate over results
for (var i = 0; i < rows.rowCount; i++)
{
//PUSH result into arrays
elem.push(rows.rows[i].name);
}
done()
if (err)
{
return console.error('error happened during query', err)
}
resolve(elem)
})
});
})
}
And this the part of my server.js where I call that function:
app.get('/jade', (request, response) => {
var heroList = [];
heroList = hero.getHeroes();
console.log(heroList);
response.render('test_jade', {param1: 'test'});
})
that console.log shows up "Promise { pending }" and I don't know how to "listen to the resolved event and retrieve the value from it once it has finished".
Would appreciate any advice/solution or even a good Node.js manual where all this mess is explained for total newbies like me.
Thanks in advance!
It's not how you use promise.
Try this,
app.get('/jade', (request, response) => {
var heroList = [];
hero.getHeroes().then(data=>{
heroList = data;
console.log(heroList);
response.render('test_jade', {param1: 'test'});
}).catch(e=>{
//handle error case here when your promise fails
console.log(e)
})
})
You should also catch in case your promise fails.
I made a "promisified" version of fs.readFile using Javascript's native Promise, which parses a JSON file and returns the object when resolving.
function readFileAsync(file, options) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
fs.readFile(file, options, function(err, data) {
if (err) {
reject(err);
} else {
var object = JSON.parse(data);
resolve(object);
}
});
});
}
I first tried chaining the promises myself, but for some reason first the districts.variable1 from promise 1 gets logged, then comparePersonalities is called in promise 3, which gives an error because user is still undefined, and then user.variable2 gets logged from promise 2.
var user, district;
readFileAsync(file1, 'utf8').then(function (data) {
districts = data;
console.log(districts.variable1);
}).then(readFileAsync(file2, 'utf8').then(function (data) {
user = data;
console.log(user.variable2);
})).then(function (result) {
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
}).catch(function (e) {
console.log(e);
});
I also tried an alternate approach using Promise.all but this still results in an incorrect ordering and the comparePersonalities failing.
Promise.all([readFileAsync(file1), readFileAsync(file2)]).then(function (first, second) {
districts = first;
user = second;
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
});
When logging the resolved objects within the promise everything seems to work well, I can't figure out why everything is eventually initialized but the last promise runs before the second promise has finished. What am I doing wrong in both the chained promise and in Promise.all?
Promise.all is much more appropriate for your use case. You made a mistake in the callback: the outer promise is resolved with an array of results (in the same order as the inner promises), so then(function (first, second) {...}) is incorrect. Try something like this
Promise.all([
readFileAsync(file1, 'utf8'),
readFileAsync(file2, 'utf8')
]).then(function (results) {
// note that "results" is an array of two values
var districts = results[0];
var user = results[1];
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
});
Promises are always resolved with only one value. That's really important, and actually simplifies a lot of things, since you always know how many elements to expect.
The first example
You've made a mistake, in which you are passing a Promise to the .then method, when in reality it always expects a function. Notice the snippet readFileAsync(file2, 'utf8') is nicely wrapped in an anonymous function.
var user, district;
readFileAsync(file1, 'utf8').then(function (data) {
districts = data;
console.log(districts.variable1);
})
.then(function () { return readFileAsync(file2, 'utf8') })
.then(function (data) {
user = data;
console.log(user.variable2);
}).then(function (result) {
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
}).catch(function (e) {
console.log(e);
});
The second example
But, in that case you're probably better off using the Promise.all method, as the promises get resolved and nicely returned in your next funciton call.
The problem in your snippet is that promises always resolve one single object, and in the case of Promise.all, you should be expecting one single array. You can actually use es6 destructuring to simplify your code:
Promise.all([readFileAsync(file1), readFileAsync(file2)])
.then(function ([districts, user]) {
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
});
You have to return the Promises each time for chaining:
readFileAsync(file1, 'utf8').then(function(data) {
districts = data;
console.log(districts.variable1);
return readFileAsync(file2, 'utf8');
}).then(function(data) {
user = data;
console.log(user.variable2);
comparePersonalities(districts, user);
}).catch(function(e) {
console.log(e);
});
comparePersonalities(districts, user) will only work if your variable districts is declared at a higher scope. Otherwise it will be undefined once you reach this function.
Let's say I have some code that looks like this:
var doSomething = function(parameter){
//send some data to the other function
return when.promise(function(resolveCallback, rejectCallback) {
var other = doAnotherThing(parameter);
//how do I check and make sure that other has resolved
//go out and get more information after the above resolves and display
});
};
var doAnotherThing = function(paramers){
return when.promise(function(resolveCallback, rejectCallback) {
//go to a url and grab some data, then resolve it
var s = "some data I got from the url";
resolveCallback({
data: s
});
});
};
How do I ensure that var other has completely resolved before finishing and resolving the first doSomething() function? I'm still wrapping my head around Nodes Async characteristic
I really didn't know how else to explain this, so I hope this makes sense! Any help is greatly appreciated
EDIT: In this example, I am deleting things from an external resource, then when that is done, going out the external resource and grabbing a fresh list of the items.
UPDATED CODE
var doSomething = function(parameter){
//send some data to the other function
doAnotherThing(parameter).then(function(){
//now we can go out and retrieve the information
});
};
var doAnotherThing = function(paramers){
return when.promise(function(resolveCallback, rejectCallback) {
//go to a url and grab some data, then resolve it
var s = "some data I got from the url";
resolveCallback({
data: s
});
});
};
The return of doAnotherThing appears to be a promise. You can simply chain a then and put your callback to utilize other. then also already returns a promise. You can return that instead.
// Do stuff
function doSomething(){
return doAnotherThing(parameter).then(function(other){
// Do more stuff
return other
});
}
// Usage
doSomething().then(function(other){
// other
});
Below is how to accomplish what you're trying to do with bluebird.
You can use Promise.resolve() and Promise.reject() within any function to return data in a Promise that can be used directly in your promise chain. Essentially, by returning with these methods wrapping your result data, you can make any function usable within a Promise chain.
var Promise = require('bluebird');
var doSomething = function(parameter) {
// Call our Promise returning function
return doAnotherThing()
.then(function(value) {
// Handle value returned by a successful doAnotherThing call
})
.catch(function(err) {
// if doAnotherThing() had a Promise.reject() in it
// then you would handle whatever is returned by it here
});
}
function doAnotherThing(parameter) {
var s = 'some data I got from the url';
// Return s wrapped in a Promise
return Promise.resolve(s);
}
You can use the async module and its waterfall method to chain the functions together:
var async = require('async');
async.waterfall([
function(parameter, callback) {
doSomething(parameter, function(err, other) {
if (err) throw err;
callback(null, other); // callback with null error and `other` object
});
},
function(other, callback) { // pass `other` into next function in chain
doAnotherThing(other, function(err, result) {
if (err) throw err;
callback(null, result);
})
}
], function(err, result) {
if (err) return next(err);
res.send(result); // send the result when the chain completes
});
Makes it a little easier to wrap your head around the series of promises, in my opinion. See the documentation for explanation.
I have a Node.js function to fetch some value from DB table
var GetPoints = function(ibmdb, dbConnection, msisdn) {
ibmdb.open(dbConnection, function(err, conn) {
if (err) {
//Error
} else {
conn.query('SELECT id,msisdn,points FROM t_points WHERE msisdn =' + msisdn, function(err, data) {
console.log(err);
if (!err) {
conn.close(function(err) {
if (!err) {}
});
consele.log(data);
//return data[0].POINTS;
} else {
//Error
}
});
}
console.log("points" + points);
});
}
I want to know how I can access the data object when I call this function from outside
var data = GetPoints(ibmdb, dbConnection, msisdn);
The value is coming correctly when I do a console.log
You can't return the value from an async function directly. Promises are generally used this situation. You return a promise which can later be called .then upon to retrieve the said value.
var Promise = require('bluebird');
var GetPoints = function(ibmdb, dbConnection, msisdn) {
// return a Promise
return new Promise(function(resolve){
ibmdb.open(dbConnection, function(err, conn) {
if(err) throw err; // throw the error for it to be caught
…
conn.query('SELECT …', function(err, data) {
if(err) throw err;
…
consele.log(data);
//return data[0].POINTS;
resolve(data);
}); }); }); }
GetPoints().then(function(data){
// do something with data
}).catch(function(err){
// handle err
});
Additionally, Bluebird has a promisify function that turns an async function (that takes a callback) into a function that returns a Promise. It makes the above code much simpler:
Note: Although I was reluctant because if you're using MySQL with which the promisification could be a little tricky: 1, 2. But For now I've added .promisifyAll where it might seem redundant as it will likely be executed more than once, but hopefully bluebird's promisification is smart enough to handle this. Nonetheless if you manage to promisify more efficiently you can just remove the redundant promisifyAll and just use X.yyyAsync methods as described:
function GetConnection(ibmdb, dbConnection, msisdn){
Promise.promisifyAll(ibmdb);
return ibmdb.openAsync();
}
function getData(conn){
Promise.promisifyAll(conn);
return conn.queryAsync('SELECT …');
}
GetConnection()
.then(getData)
.then(function(data){
// do something with data
})
The callback function you gave after the SQL query gets executed asynchronously. Instead of trying to get that data outside the function, you should try to perform whatever you need to do inside. Keep in mind you can create another function and call it with the data to continue your work.
I have this code:
var queue = [];
var allParserd = [];
_.each(webs, function (web) {
queue.push(function () {
WebsitesUtils.parseWebsite(web, function (err, parsed) {
allParserd.push(parsed);
});
});
});
Promise.all(queue).then(function (data) {
console.log(allParserd);
});
Basically I need to fetch all my webs and be sure to give the result after that every parsing is done. the function parseWebsite return the correct data, but in this way is not called and allParsed return just as an empty array. I'm sure that I miss some things, I've started to use the promises just from some days.
If you need some more information just tell me.
P.s.
I want that all the functions to start at the same time; I don't want to wait for each one response for going forward.
Tagged with Bluebird so let's use it:
First, let's convert your callback API to promises:
Promise.promisifyAll(WebsitesUtils);
Now, let's use .map to map every item in webs to it being parsed parseWebsite:
Promise.map(webs, function(item){
return WebsitesUtils.parseWebsiteAsync(item); // note the suffix
}).then(function(results){
// all the results are here.
}).catch(function(err){
// handle any errors
});
As you can see - this is trivial to do with Bluebird.
Promise.all doesn't take a queue of functions to execute. It expects an array of promises which represent the results of the many concurrently running (still pending) requests.
The first step is to have a function that actually returns a promise, instead of only executing a callback. We can use
function parseWebsite(web) {
return new Promise(function(fulfill, reject) {
WebsitesUtils.parseWebsite(web, function (err, parsed) {
if (err)
reject(err);
else
fulfill(parsed);
});
});
}
or simply use promisification that does this generically:
var parseWebsite = Promise.promisify(WebsitesUtils.parseWebsite, WebsitesUtils);
Now we can go to construct our array of promises by calling that function for each site:
var promises = [];
_.each(webs, function (web) {
promises.push(parseWebsite(web));
});
or just
var promises = _.map(webs, parseWebsite);
so that in the end we can use Promise.all, and get back our allParsed array (which even is in the same order as webs was!):
Promise.all(promises).then(function(allParsed) {
console.log(allParsed);
});
Bluebird even provides a shortcut function so you don't need promises:
Promise.map(webs, parseWebsite).then(function(allParsed) {
console.log(allParsed);
});
Here's how might do it with async:
var async = require('async');
var webs = ...
async.map(webs, function(web, callback) {
WebsitesUtils.parseWebsite(web, callback);
}, function(err, results) {
if (err) throw err; // TODO: handle errors better
// `results` contains all parsed results
});
and if parseWebsite() isn't a prototype method dependent on WebsitesUtils then you could simplify it further:
async.map(webs, WebsitesUtils.parseWebsite, function(err, results) {
if (err) throw err; // TODO: handle errors better
// `results` contains all parsed results
});