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async waterfall not following order when mysql query

I am trying to do a waterfall async but i don't get the expected output that i want.
Basically my waterfall works as expected if i use an array instead of the query
so i guess i am doing something wrong on the callback of the query but i don't know what.
Code when it works with what i expect using array:
function range(start, end) {
var foo = [];
for (var i = start; i <= end; i++) {
foo.push(i);
}
return foo;
}
users = range(1,2)
obj = [1,2];
async.forEachLimit(users, 1, function(user, userCallback){
async.waterfall(
[
function(callback) { // query the data to get the category and specific number of rows
results = {sku_config:'A',img:'http//blabla',sku_config:'B',img:'http//bloblo'}
callback(null, results);
},
function(obj,callback) {
async.eachSeries(obj, function (sku, callback) {
var url = sku.img;
var sku = sku.sku_config;
console.log("loop");
request.get(url, {encoding: null} , function(error, response, body) {
console.log('request');
});
callback(null);
}, function(responsetoendofloop){
callback(null);
});
},
],
function (err) {
console.log('Finish');
userCallback(null);
}
);
}, function(err){
console.log("User For Loop Completed");
});
output:
loop
request
loop
request
Finish
loop
request
loop
request
Finish
User For Loop Completed
But when i try to query the data with mysql here comes the problem
code:
async.forEachLimit(users, 1, function(user, userCallback){
async.waterfall(
[
function(callback) { // query the data to get the category and specific number of rows
connection.query(query_sku,
['Fashion',1,2],
function(err, results, fields) {
if (err)
throw err;
callback(null, results);
});
},
function(obj,callback) {
async.eachSeries(obj, function (sku, callback) {
var url = sku.img;
var sku = sku.sku_config;
console.log("loop");
request.get(url, {encoding: null} , function(error, response, body) {
console.log('request');
});
callback(null);
}, function(responsetoendofloop){
callback(null);
});
},
],
function (err) {
console.log('Finish');
userCallback(null);
}
);
}, function(err){
console.log("User For Loop Completed");
});
output:
loop
loop
Finish
loop
loop
Finish
User For Loop Completed
request
request
request
request
All the request gets executed at the end :(
If you have idea on what i could fix.
Thanks

The first problem you have is that your callbacks have the exact same name, this could cause major problems. The callbacks you are meaning to call can not be differentiated, which could cause your program to execute pieces of code that shouldn't be executed until later.
The second problem is that the callback is placed outside of the request.get function. The nature of node js means that it does not wait until the request.get function returns and instead just calls the callback straight away. By placing the callback inside of the request.get function it is forced to wait until the request function returns and then the callback is called. A revised version of your code is below.
async.forEachLimit(users, 1, function(user, userCallback){
async.waterfall(
[
function(callback) { // query the data to get the category and specific number of rows
connection.query(query_sku,
['Fashion',1,2],
function(err, results, fields) {
if (err)
throw err;
callback(null, results);
});
},
function(obj,callback) {
async.eachSeries(obj, function (sku, seriesCallback) {
var url = sku.img;
var sku = sku.sku_config;
console.log("loop");
request.get(url, {encoding: null} , function(error, response, body) {
console.log('request');
seriesCallback(null);
});
}, function(responsetoendofloop){
callback(null);
});
},
],
function (err) {
console.log('Finish');
userCallback(null);
});
}, function(err){
console.log("User For Loop Completed");
});

Your callback(null); inside async.eachSeries are after request.
To fix just put inside request like this.
request.get(url, {encoding: null} , function(error, response, body) {
console.log('request');
callback(null);
});
Plus to be clear what you actually calling rename callback functions. For example callback inside eachSeries call next
function(obj,callback) {
async.eachSeries(obj, function (sku, next) {
var url = sku.img;
var sku = sku.sku_config;
console.log("loop");
request.get(url, {encoding: null} , function(error, response, body) {
console.log('request');
next(null);
});
}, function(responsetoendofloop){
callback(null);
});
}
Hope this helps.

Node.js / Express.js can't get body response from API call via Request middleware

I'm trying to learn Node.js via Express.js framework. Currently I need to make an API call to get some data usefull for my app.
The API call is made with Request middleware, but when I'm out of the request my variable become undefined ... Let me show you :
var request = require('request');
var apiKey = "FOOFOO-FOOFOO-FOO-FOO-FOOFOO-FOOFOO";
var characters = [];
var gw2data;
var i = 0;
module.exports.account = function() {
request('https://api.guildwars2.com/v2/characters/?access_token=' + apiKey, function (error, response, body) {
gw2data = JSON.parse(body);
console.log('out request ' + gw2data); // {name1, name2 ...}
for (i; i < gw2data.length; i++) {
getCharacInfo(gw2data[i], i);
}
});
console.log('out request ' + characters); // undefined
return characters;
};
function getCharacInfo (name, position) {
request('https://api.guildwars2.com/v2/characters/' + name + '/?access_token=' + apiKey, function (error, response, body) {
if (!error && response.statusCode == 200) {
characters[position] = JSON.parse(body);
}
});
}
I don't understand why the gw2data variable become undefined when I go out of the request ... Someone can explain me ?
EDIT : I come to you because my problem has changed, I now need to make an API call loop in my first API call, same async problem I guess.
The previous code has evoluate with previous answers :
module.exports.account = function(cb) {
var request = require('request');
var apiKey = "FOOFOO-FOOFOO-FOO-FOO-FOOFOO-FOOFOO";
var characters = [];
var i = 0;
request('https://api.guildwars2.com/v2/characters/?access_token=' + apiKey, function(err, res, body) {
var numCompletedCalls = 1;
for (i; i < JSON.parse(body).length; i++) {
if (numCompletedCalls == JSON.parse(body).length) {
try {
console.log(characters); // {} empty array
return cb(null, characters);
} catch (e) {
return cb(e);
}
}else {
getCharacInfo(JSON.parse(body)[i]);
}
numCompletedCalls++;
}
});
};
function getCharacInfo (name) {
request('https://api.guildwars2.com/v2/characters/' + name + '/?access_token=' + apiKey, function (err, res, body) {
if (!err) {
console.log(characters); // {data ...}
characters.push(JSON.parse(body));
}
});
}
And the call of this function :
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
var charactersInfos = require('../models/account');
charactersInfos.account(function(err, gw2data) {
if (err) {
console.error('request failed:', err.message);
} else {
res.render('index', {
persos : gw2data
});
}
});
});
The problem is, when I return the characters array, it's always an empty array, but when I check in my function getCharacInfo, the array contains the data ...

The reason gw2data is undefined in the second console.log is because your logging it too early. request is an asynchronous operation therefore it will return immediately...however, that doesn't mean the callback will.
So basically what your doing is logging gw2data before it's actually been set. When dealing with asynchronous operations the best approach is to generally make your own method asynchronous as well which can be accomplished in a couple of ways - the simplest being having your function accept a callback which expects the data in an asynchronous way e.g.
module.exports.account = function(cb) {
request(..., function(err, res, body) {
// return an error if `request` fails
if (err) return cb(err);
try {
return cb(null, JSON.parse(body));
} catch (e) {
// return an error if `JSON.parse` fails
return cb(e);
}
});
}
...
var myModule = require('mymodule');
myModule.account(function(err, g2wdata) {
if (err) {
console.error('request failed', err.message);
} else {
console.log('out request', g2wdata);
}
});
Based on your syntax I'm assuming you aren't working with ES6, worth looking at this (particularly if your just starting to learn). With built-in promises & also async-await support coming relatively soon this sort of stuff becomes relatively straightforward (at least at the calling end) e.g.
export default class MyModule {
account() {
// return a promise to the caller
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
// invoke request the same way but this time resolve/reject the promise
request(..., function(err, res, body) {
if (err) return reject(err);
try {
return resolve(JSON.parse(body));
} catch (e) {
return reject(e);
}
});
});
}
}
...
import myModule from 'mymodule';
// handle using promises
myModule.account()
.then(gw2data => console.log('out request', gw2data))
.catch(e => console.error('request failed', e));
// handle using ES7 async/await
// NOTE - self-executing function wrapper required for async support if using at top level,
// if using inside another function you can just mark that function as async instead
(async () => {
try {
const gw2data = await myModule.account();
console.log('out request', gw2data);
} catch (e) {
console.log('request failed', e);
}
})();
Finally, should you do decide to go down the Promise route, there are a couple of libraries out there that can polyfill Promise support into existing libraries. One example I can think of is Bluebird, which from experience I know works with request. Combine that with ES6 you get a pretty neat developer experience.

The request API is asynchronous, as is pretty much all I/O in Node.js. Check out the Promise API which is IMO the simplest way to write async code. There are a few Promise adapters for request, or you could use something like superagent with promise support.

Nodejs express and promises not doing what I expect

I am trying to build a login API using NodeJS, but my code is not doing what I expect it to. I am very new to js, promises and all so please simplify any answer if possible.
From what I can see in the output of my code, the first promise part does not wait until the function findUsers(...) is finished.
I have a routes file where I want to run a few functions sequentially:
Find if user exist in database
if(1 is true) Hash and salt the inputted password
... etc
The routes file now contains:
var loginM = require('../models/login');
var loginC = require('../controllers/login');
var Promise = require('promise');
module.exports = function(app) {
app.post('/login/', function(req, res, next) {
var promise = new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
var rows = loginM.findUser(req.body, res);
if (rows.length > 0) {
console.log("Success");
resolve(rows);
} else {
console.log("Failed");
reject(reason);
}
});
promise.then(function(data) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
loginC.doSomething(data);
if (success) {
console.log("Success 2");
resolve(data);
} else {
console.log("Failed 2");
reject(reason);
}
});
}, function (reason) {
console.log("error handler second");
});
});
}
And the findUser function contains pooling and a query and is in a models file:
var connection = require('../dbConnection');
var loginC = require('../controllers/login');
function Login() {
var me = this;
var pool = connection.getPool();
me.findUser = function(params, res) {
var username = params.username;
pool.getConnection(function (err, connection) {
console.log("Connection ");
if (err) {
console.log("ERROR 1 ");
res.send({"code": 100, "status": "Error in connection database"});
return;
}
connection.query('select Id, Name, Password from Users ' +
'where Users.Name = ?', [username], function (err, rows) {
connection.release();
if (!err) {
return rows;
} else {
return false;
}
});
//connection.on('error', function (err) {
// res.send({"code": 100, "status": "Error in connection database"});
// return;
//});
});
}
}
module.exports = new Login();
The output i get is:
Server listening on port 3000
Something is happening
error handler second
Connection
So what I want to know about this code is twofold:
Why is the first promise not waiting for findUser to return before proceeding with the if/else and what do I need to change for this to happen?
Why is error handler second outputed but not Failed?
I feel like there is something I am totally misunderstanding about promises.
I am grateful for any answer. Thanks.

Issues with the code
Ok, there are a lot of issues here so first things first.
connection.query('...', function (err, rows) {
connection.release();
if (!err) {
return rows;
} else {
return false;
}
});
This will not work because you are returning data to the caller, which is the database query that calls your callback with err and rows and doesn't care about the return value of your callback.
What you need to do is to call some other function or method when you have the rows or when you don't.
You are calling:
var rows = loginM.findUser(req.body, res);
and you expect to get the rows there, but you won't. What you'll get is undefined and you'll get it quicker than the database query is even started. It works like this:
me.findUser = function(params, res) {
// (1) you save the username in a variable
var username = params.username;
// (2) you pass a function to getConnection method
pool.getConnection(function (err, connection) {
console.log("Connection ");
if (err) {
console.log("ERROR 1 ");
res.send({"code": 100, "status": "Error in connection database"});
return;
}
connection.query('select Id, Name, Password from Users ' +
'where Users.Name = ?', [username], function (err, rows) {
connection.release();
if (!err) {
return rows;
} else {
return false;
}
});
//connection.on('error', function (err) {
// res.send({"code": 100, "status": "Error in connection database"});
// return;
//});
});
// (3) you end a function and implicitly return undefined
}
The pool.getConnection method returns immediately after you pass a function, before the connection to the database is even made. Then, after some time, that function that you passed to that method may get called, but it will be long after you already returned undefined to the code that wanted a value in:
var rows = loginM.findUser(req.body, res);
Instead of returning values from callbacks you need to call some other functions or methods from them (like some callbacks that you need to call, or a method to resolve a promise).
Returning a value is a synchronous concept and will not work for asynchronous code.
How promises should be used
Now, if your function returned a promise:
me.findUser = function(params, res) {
var username = params.username;
return new Promise(function (res, rej) {
pool.getConnection(function (err, connection) {
console.log("Connection ");
if (err) {
rej('db error');
} else {
connection.query('...', [username], function (err, rows) {
connection.release();
if (!err) {
res(rows);
} else {
rej('other error');
}
});
});
});
}
then you'll be able to use it in some other part of your code in a way like this:
app.post('/login/', function(req, res, next) {
var promise = new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
// rows is a promise now:
var rows = loginM.findUser(req.body, res);
rows.then(function (rowsValue) {
console.log("Success");
resolve(rowsValue);
}).catch(function (err) {
console.log("Failed");
reject(err);
});
});
// ...
Explanation
In summary, if you are running an asynchronous operation - like a database query - then you can't have the value immediately like this:
var value = query();
because the server would need to block waiting for the database before it could execute the assignment - and this is what happens in every language with synchronous, blocking I/O (that's why you need to have threads in those languages so that other things can be done while that thread is blocked).
In Node you can either use a callback function that you pass to the asynchronous function to get called when it has data:
query(function (error, data) {
if (error) {
// we have error
} else {
// we have data
}
});
otherCode();
Or you can get a promise:
var promise = query();
promise.then(function (data) {
// we have data
}).catch(function (error) {
// we have error
});
otherCode();
But in both cases otherCode() will be run immediately after registering your callback or promise handlers, before the query has any data - that is no blocking has to be done.
Summary
The whole idea is that in an asynchronous, non-blocking, single-threaded environment like Node.JS you never do more than one thing at a time - but you can wait for a lot of things. But you don't just wait for something and do nothing while you're waiting, you schedule other things, wait for more things, and eventually you get called back when it's ready.
Actually I wrote a short story on Medium to illustrate that concept: Nonblacking I/O on the planet Asynchronia256/16 - A short story loosely based on uncertain facts.

Node js error handling with callbacks in nested functions

I know this kind of error handling is not right, promises should be used instead, but I am wondering if it could work as it is:
router.get('/main', function(req, res, next) {
var myCallback = new function(err, data){
if(err) {
res.status(500).send({ error: "Error (best handling ever)" });
return;
}
res.send("Success");
return;
};
mainProcess(myCallback);
});
function mainProcess(callback){
request.post(requestParams, function(error, response, body) {
if (error) {
console.log(error.message);
callback.return(error, "");
} else {
request.post(requestParams, function(error, response, body) {
if (error) {
console.log(error.message);
callback.return(error, "");
} else {
// Success
callback.return(null, "Success");
}
});
}
});
}
I could test it myself, but I need to know whether callback that was passed as a parameter could be used in nested functions and whether it's the right approach.

Callback Issue in Request js

I'm facing an issue regarding callback in Request js function. Given below is my code.
function getContent(address, result, callback){
request(address, function (err, response, body) {
if(err) throw err;
if (response.statusCode == 200) {
console.log(body);
}
});
callback(null, result);
}
Now when i run given code my callback is called and then my request function is hit. I want to execute my callback after execution of console.log(body) line. Kindly give me your suggestions about this issue.
Thanks in advance.

The callback() function should be inside the callback for the request. That ways, only when the request is completed would it get called.
function getContent(address, result, callback){
request(address, function (err, response, body) {
if(err) throw err;
if (response.statusCode == 200) {
console.log(body);
callback(null, result);
}
});
}