Correct for loop implementation - javascript

I've written some code to convert swagger 1 documentation to swagger 2.
I point the conversion method to several resources in an array.
what I find is that it is not executing correctly and see it jump in the debugger all the way to the end of my array (which is of size 34). How do I ensure it loops through my code correctly?
for(var i = 0; i < resourcesArray.length; i++) {
Converter.convert({
from: 'swagger_1',
to: 'swagger_2',
source: 'http://example/' + resourcesArray[i]
}, function (err, converted) {
console.log(resourcesArray[i]);
// [Optional] Fill missing fields with dummy values
converted.fillMissing();
// [Optional] Validate converted spec
var fileName = resourcesArray[i] + '.json';
fs.writeFileSync(fileName, converted.stringify());
})
}

You've fallen victim to JavaScript scoping rules. Try this:
resourcesArray.forEach(function (resource) {
Converter.convert({
from: 'swagger_1',
to: 'swagger_2',
source: 'http://example/' + resource
}, function (err, converted) {
console.log(resource);
// [Optional] Fill missing fields with dummy values
converted.fillMissing();
// [Optional] Validate converted spec
var fileName = resource + '.json';
fs.writeFileSync(fileName, converted.stringify());
});
});
The problem was that by the time the asynchronous callback function (err, converted) { ... } occurs, i is equal to resourcesArray.length because the iteration is already complete. That is how JavaScript var declared variables work. Using a forEach loop ensures that the scope always contains the resource you're expecting for that operation.
Alternatively, if ES6 is okay, then you could change var to let and that would also solve the problem because let-declared variables use lexical scoping, which means that the for loop block will always contain the expected value of i even if it's used inside an asynchronous callback.

You are looping correctly, however the problem is that JavaScript does not create a closure for for body. Since you are kicking off an asynchronous operation within the loop, the value of i has changed by the time the asynchronous operation has completed and your callback has been called.
So you're going to have to create a closure immediately within the for loop, store the value you want within the closure, and then call the asynchronous operation while defining the callback within the closure as well.
for(var i = 0; i < resourcesArray.length; i++) {
(function(i) {
// Do work here with the value i
})(i);
}

This might be happening because there is an asynchronous call inside your for loop. You need to freeze the value of i, for each iteration. You can use closure() for this. In case you want to keep track of when all iterations have completed, you can keep a counter:
var counter = resourcesArray.length;
for(var i = 0; i < resourcesArray.length; i++) {
var resources = resourcesArray[i];
(function( resources, i ){
Converter.convert({
from: 'swagger_1',
to: 'swagger_2',
source: 'http://example/' + resources
}, function (err, converted) {
console.log(resources);
// [Optional] Fill missing fields with dummy values
converted.fillMissing();
// [Optional] Validate converted spec
var fileName = resources + '.json';
fs.writeFileSync(fileName, converted.stringify());
counter--;
if( counter <= 0 )
{
//next();
}
})
})(resources, i );
}//for

Related

setInterval calling function with an undefined parameter

This question has been flagged as already answered with a link provided above. However, I already read that answer and it only answered how to use setInterval in a for loop. There were no functions being called with parameters passed to them in that solution, and that is my situation, so I couldn't use it to fix my situation.
I'm fairly new to programming, so I'll try to describe as best as I can. In setInterval, I am passing a parameter to the function toggleClusters which setInterval calls. The debugger shows the parameter as being correct. It is a reference to an array position that holds an object literal that contains map marker objects. I seem to be misunderstanding something about what values stay around and what do not when using setInterval, because the debugger shows the correct object literal being passed as an arg, but when the function is called, the debugger shows the obj that is supposed to be passed as undefined. Is it that this passed value no longer exists when the function is called?
function setClusterAnimations() {
for (var i = 0; i < clusters.length; i++) {
//intervalNames stores handle references for stopping any setInterval instances created
intervalNames.push(setInterval(function () {
//clusters[i] will hold an object literal containing marker objects
toggleClusters(clusters[i]);
}, 1000));
}
}
//cObj is coming back as undefined in debugger and bombing
function toggleClusters(cObj) {
var propCount = Object.keys(cObj).length;
for (var prop in cObj){
if (prop.getZIndex() < 200 || prop.getZIndex() == 200 + propCount) {
prop.setZIndex(200);
}
else {
prop.setZindex(prop.getZIndex() + 1)
}
}
}
This is typically the issue with such asynchronous calls as with setInterval(). You can solve this in different ways, one of which is using bind():
for (var i = 0; i < clusters.length; i++) {
//intervalNames stores handle references for stopping any setInterval instances created
intervalNames.push(setInterval(function (i) {
//clusters[i] will hold an object literal containing marker objects
toggleClusters(clusters[i]);
}.bind(null, i), 1000));
}
The toggleClusters(clusters[i]) statement will only be executed when your loop has finished, at which time i will be beyond the correct range (it will be clusters.length). With bind(), and mostly with the function parameter i, you create a separate variable in the scope of the call back function, which gets its value defined at the moment you execute bind(). That i is independent from the original i, and retains the value you have given it via bind().
that is because your "i" variable is not captured in the function passed as an argument to setInverval.
Therefore , when this function is invoked, i is always equal to clusters.length.
consider the differences between the two following pieces of code:
var arr = [1, 2, 3];
var broken = function() {
for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) {
setInterval(function() {
console.log("broken: " + arr[i]);
}, 1000);
// logs broken: undefined
}
};
var fixed = function() {
for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) {
setInterval((function(k) {
return function() {
console.log("fixed: " + arr[k]);
}
}(i)), 1000); // i is captured here
}
};

Unexpected behavior with closures: callback holds the last value

I'll get to the point: I have this loop:
for (var i = 1; i <= toSchedule; i++) {
when = trackWrapper.lastPlay +
(trackDuration +
(looper.timeInterval - trackDuration));
track.play(true, when);
trackWrapper.lastPlay = when;
}
The play method has this inside the body:
[...]
// Here when is a different value for each call (verified)
// Many calls of the play method are performed before the returned function below is run as a callback
function playingCallback(myWhen){
return function(buffers){
// Here myWhen will always be equal to the value of the last call occurred BEFORE the first callback execution
console.log("myWhen = "+myWhen);
[...]
};
};
var realCallback = playingCallback(when);
track.scheduled.push(when);
track.recorder.getBuffer(realCallback);
So, for example:
play(true, 1);
play(true, 2);
play(true, 3);
// Wait for it...
myWhen = 3;
myWhen = 3;
myWhen = 3;
Now: I've read about closures, I've read about the "infamous loop problem", I've read tens of answers here on StackOverflow but I couldn't figure this out. It's the second time I have this kind of problem with callbacks so, at this point, I guess I haven't completely understood what is going on.
Could you please explain to me what is supposed to be wrong with the code above? Thank you in advance.
Generally you should understand the following rule: A clousure will have access to its "surrounding scope", even after the scope has been exited. But it will be the state of the scope at execution time and not(!) at creation time of the closure
If you create a closure inside a loop, it will have access to the loop variable. But the loop will most likely already have ended. So the loop variable will hold the value of its last loop.
So if your closure is a callback you should create a copy of your relevant scope variable(s) at creation time and use this copy at execution time. You can do this (for example) by creating an inner closure from an immediately executing anonymous function
function myOuterScope(count) {
for(i=0; i<count; i++) {
setTimeout((function(local_i) {
// this function will be immediately executed. local_i is a copy of i at creation time
return function() {
// this is the function that will be called as a callback to setTimeout
// use local_i here, and it will be 0, 1, 2 instead of 3, 3, 3
}
})(i)
, 1000);
}
}
myOuterScope(3);

How to run code after the last post has completed?

I have the following code:
for (var i = 0; i < numFiles; i++) {
$.post('/Secure/File/PhysicalFileHandler.ashx?custId=whatever&idx=' + i, function (data) {
ids += data + '|';
if (i == numFiles-1) {
ids = ids.substring(0, ids.length - 1);
}
});
}
How could I execute a chunk of code after the last post has finished? The method I was trying above does not work (i is == to numFiles already when it gets there). Suggestions?
This is a somewhat common problem - the "i" you are referencing is handled by the for function, and commonly the for function has finished executing by the time the callback is triggered (in which case, the "i" is equal to numFiles already). There are a couple solutions to this: one would be to change the callback to this:
(function (i) {
return function (data) {
ids += data + '|';
if (i == numFiles-1) {
ids = ids.substring(0, ids.length - 1);
}
})(i)
What this does is create a new function for each execution of the loop, and each time the function has it's own reference to "i" - instead of looking back to the for loop's definition/value of i, it has it's own local parameter to refer to. This has to be done by returning another function since you need the code to execute during the first pass of the for loop, ensuring the right value is preserved when the callback is triggered.
One other alternative is to wrap the entire post statement in a function with it's own copy of i - I don't think there's too much difference between the two. Personally, I favor the approach in the above snippet more since it minimizes the effect of the overall flow of the code, but opinions will vary on this.
The posts may not finish in the order they were started. You must count each one as it finishes to know that all have finished.
var finishedCount = 0; // track number of calls finished
for (var i = 0; i < numFiles; i++) {
(function(i) {
$.post('/Secure/File/PhysicalFileHandler.ashx?custId=whatever&idx=' + i, function (data) {
ids += data + '|';
finishedCount = finishedCount + 1; // increment number of calls finished
if (finishedCount == numFiles) { // run only when all calls have finished
ids = ids.substring(0, ids.length - 1);
}
});
})(i); // capture value of i in closure
}
Edit: Capturing value of i in the closure is no longer necessary since i is not used in the post callback function in this version.

How do I execute a function after the callbacks inside a for loop are completed?

I have a for loop in a search function, with a function that does a callback inside the loop, and I want to execute a BUILD() function after the loop, and after all the callbacks are completed. I am not sure how to do that, because the loop finishes before all the callbacks are done. The callbacks are API requests to get me data, and I want to BUILD() with that data.
I read up on deferred, so I tried to put the for loop inside a function to the deferred, and then calling BUILD() on '.then( ... )'. But that doesn't seem to work - I think I am understanding it wrong.
HELP?!
Note, this is using the Google Maps Places API (search and getDetails).
var types = {
'gym' : 'fitness, gym',
'grocery_or_supermarket': ''
}
function search() {
for (var key in types) {
var request = { ... };
service.search(request, searchCallback);
}
// PROBLEM AREA
BUILD();
}
function searchCallback(results, status) {
for (var i = 0; i < results.length; i++) {
var request = { ... };
service.getDetails(request, detailsCallback);
}
}
function detailsCallback(place, status) {
// add place marker to maps and assign info window and info window event
}
With a small modification of your code, it can be achieved.
var total = 1337; // Some number
var internal_counter = 0;
var fn_callback = function() {
searchCallback.apply(this, arguments);
if (++internal_counter === total) {
BUILD();
}
};
for (var i=0; i<total; i++) {
service.search(request, fn_callback);
...
Explanation
First, we create a local function and variable.
The variable is a counter, which is increased when the callback is called.
The function is passed to the asynchronous method (service.search), which calls the original callback. After increasing the counter, check the value of the counter against the variable which holds the total number of iterations. If these are equal, call the finishing function (BUILD).
A complex case: Dealing with nested callbacks.
var types = { '...' : ' ... ' };
function search() {
var keys = Object.keys(types);
var total = keys.length;
// This counter keeps track of the number of completely finished callbacks
// (search_callback has run AND all of its details_callbacks has run)
var internal_counter = 0;
for (var i=0; i<total; i++) {
var request = { '...' : ' ... ' };
services.search(request, fn_searchCallback);
}
// LOCAL Function declaration (which references `internal_counter`)
function fn_searchCallback(results, status) {
// Create a local counter for the callbacks
// I'm showing another way of using a counter: The opposite way
// Instead of counting the # of finished callbacks, count the number
// of *pending* processes. When this counter reaches zero, we're done.
var local_counter = results.length;
for (var i=0; i<results.length; i++) {
service.getDetails(request, fn_detailsCallback);
}
// Another LOCAL function (which references `local_counter`)
function fn_detailsCallback(result, status) {
// Run the function logic of detailsCallback (from the question)
// " ... add place marker to maps and assign info window ... "
// Reduce the counter of pending detailsCallback calls.
// If it's zero, all detailsCallbacks has run.
if (--local_counter === 0) {
// Increase the "completely finished" counter
// and check if we're finished.
if (++internal_counter === total) {
BUILD();
}
}
} // end of fn_detailsCallback
} // end of fn_searchCallback
}
The function logic is explained in the comments. I prefixed the heading of this section with "Complex", because the function makes use of nested local functions and variables. A visual explanation:
var types, BUILD;
function search
var keys, total, internal_counter, fn_searchCallback;
function fn_searchCallback
var result, status; // Declared in the formal arguments
var local_counter, i, fn_detailsCallback;
function fn_detailsCallback
var result, status; // Declared in the formal arguments
In the previous picture, each indention level means a new scope Explanaation on MDN.
When a function is called, say, 42 times, then 42 new local scopes are created, which share the same parent scope. Within a scope, declared variables are not visible to the parent scope. Though variables in the parent scope can be read and updated by variables in the "child" scope, provided that you don't declare a variable with the same name. This feature is used in my answer's function.
I think you understand this already, but as it is the BUILD() is getting called linearly while the previous callback functions are still running. It's like you've created extra threads. One way to solve the problem would be to make BUILD a callback from the search function with the for loop in it. This would guarantee all functionality is complete before calling it.
This question might help implement the callback: Create a custom callback in JavaScript

Help needed with JavaScript variable scope / OOP and call back functions

I think this issue goes beyond typical variable scope and closure stuff, or maybe I'm an idiot. Here goes anyway...
I'm creating a bunch of objects on the fly in a jQuery plugin. The object look something like this
function WedgePath(canvas){
this.targetCanvas = canvas;
this.label;
this.logLabel = function(){ console.log(this.label) }
}
the jQuery plugin looks something like this
(function($) {
$.fn.myPlugin = function() {
return $(this).each(function() {
// Create Wedge Objects
for(var i = 1; i <= 30; i++){
var newWedge = new WedgePath(canvas);
newWedge.label = "my_wedge_"+i;
globalFunction(i, newWedge]);
}
});
}
})(jQuery);
So... the plugin creates a bunch of wedgeObjects, then calls 'globalFunction' for each one, passing in the latest WedgePath instance. Global function looks like this.
function globalFunction(indicator_id, pWedge){
var targetWedge = pWedge;
targetWedge.logLabel();
}
What happens next is that the console logs each wedges label correctly. However, I need a bit more complexity inside globalFunction. So it actually looks like this...
function globalFunction(indicator_id, pWedge){
var targetWedge = pWedge;
someSql = "SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE id = ?";
dbInterface.executeSql(someSql, [indicator_id], function(transaction, result){
targetWedge.logLabel();
})
}
There's a lot going on here so i'll explain. I'm using client side database storage (WebSQL i call it). 'dbInterface' an instance of a simple javascript object I created which handles the basics of interacting with a client side database [shown at the end of this question]. the executeSql method takes up to 4 arguments
The SQL String
an optional arguments array
an optional onSuccess handler
an optional onError handler (not used in this example)
What I need to happen is: When the WebSQL query has completed, it takes some of that data and manipulates some attribute of a particular wedge. But, when I call 'logLabel' on an instance of WedgePath inside the onSuccess handler, I get the label of the very last instance of WedgePath that was created way back in the plugin code.
Now I suspect that the problem lies in the var newWedge = new WedgePath(canvas); line. So I tried pushing each newWedge into an array, which I thought would prevent that line from replacing or overwriting the WedgePath instance at every iteration...
wedgeArray = [];
// Inside the plugin...
for(var i = 1; i <= 30; i++){
var newWedge = new WedgePath(canvas);
newWedge.label = "my_wedge_"+i;
wedgeArray.push(newWedge);
}
for(var i = 0; i < wedgeArray.length; i++){
wedgeArray[i].logLabel()
}
But again, I get the last instance of WedgePath to be created.
This is driving me nuts. I apologise for the length of the question but I wanted to be as clear as possible.
END
==============================================================
Also, here's the code for dbInterface object should it be relevant.
function DatabaseInterface(db){
var DB = db;
this.sql = function(sql, arr, pSuccessHandler, pErrorHandler){
successHandler = (pSuccessHandler) ? pSuccessHandler : this.defaultSuccessHandler;
errorHandler = (pErrorHandler) ? pErrorHandler : this.defaultErrorHandler;
DB.transaction(function(tx){
if(!arr || arr.length == 0){
tx.executeSql(sql, [], successHandler, errorHandler);
}else{
tx.executeSql(sql,arr, successHandler, errorHandler)
}
});
}
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
// A Default Error Handler
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
this.defaultErrorHandler = function(transaction, error){
// error.message is a human-readable string.
// error.code is a numeric error code
console.log('WebSQL Error: '+error.message+' (Code '+error.code+')');
// Handle errors here
var we_think_this_error_is_fatal = true;
if (we_think_this_error_is_fatal) return true;
return false;
}
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
// A Default Success Handler
// This doesn't do anything except log a success message
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
this.defaultSuccessHandler = function(transaction, results)
{
console.log("WebSQL Success. Default success handler. No action taken.");
}
}
I would guess that this is due to that the client side database storage runs asynchronous as an AJAX call would. This means that it doesn't stops the call chain in order to wait for a result from the invoked method.
As a result the javascript engine completes the for-loop before running the globalFunction.
To work around this you could perform the db query inside a closure.
function getDataForIndicatorAndRegion(indicator_id, region_id, pWedge){
return function (targetWedge) {
someSql = "SELECT dataRows.status FROM dataRows WHERE indicator_id = ? AND region_id = ?";
dbInterface.sql(someSql, [indicator_id, region_id], function(transaction, result) {
targetWedge.changeColor(randomHex());
});
}(pWedge);
}
This way you preserve pWedge for each execution. Since the second method is invoking it self and send what pWedge is right now as an argument.
EDIT: Updated the code from comments. And made a change to it. The callback function maybe shouldn't be self invoked. If it invoke it self the result of the function is passed as a argument. Also if it doesn't work, try passing the other arguments.
i suspect your problem is the modifed closure going on inside globalFunction:
function(transaction, result){
targetWedge.logLabel();
})
read this

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