I want to sort an array, using Web Workers. But this array might receive new values over time, while the worker is still performing the sort function.
So my question is, how can I "stop" the sorting computation on the worker after receiving the new item, so it can perform the sort on the array with that item, while still keeping the sorting that was already made?
Example:
let worker = new Worker('worker.js');
let list = [10,1,5,2,14,3];
worker.postMessage({ list });
setInterval(() => worker.postMessage({ num: SOME_RANDOM_NUM, list }), 100);
worker.onmessage = event => {
list = event.data.list;
}
So lets say that, I've passed 50, the worker made some progress in the sorting before that and now I have something like this:
[1, 2, 3, 10, 5, 14, 50]. Which means the sorting stopped at index 3. So I pass this new array back to the worker, so it can continue the sorting from position 3.
How can I accomplish that, since there is no way to pause/resume a web worker?
Even though the Worker works on an other thread than the one of your main page, and can thus run continuously without blocking the UI, it still runs on a single thread.
This means that until your sort algorithm has finished, the Worker will delay the execution of the message event handler; it is as blocked as would be the main thread.
Even if you made use of an other Worker from inside this worker, the problem would be the same.
The only solution would be to use a kind of generator function as the sorter, and to yield it every now and then so that the events can get executed.
But doing this will drastically slow down your sorting algorithm.
To make it better, you could try to hook to each Event Loop, thanks to a MessageChannel object: you talk in one port and receive the message in the next Event loop. If you talk again to the other port, then you have your own hook to each Event loop.
Now, the best would be to run a good batch in every of these Event loop, but for demo, I'll call only one instance of our generator function (that I borrowed from this Q/A)
const worker = new Worker(getWorkerURL());
worker.onmessage = draw;
onclick = e => worker.postMessage(0x0000FF/0xFFFFFF); // add a red pixel
// every frame we request the current state from Worker
function requestFrame() {
worker.postMessage('gimme a frame');
requestAnimationFrame(requestFrame);
}
requestFrame();
// drawing part
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const img = ctx.createImageData(50, 50);
const data = new Uint32Array(img.data.buffer);
ctx.imageSmoothingEnabled = false;
function draw(evt) {
// converts 0&1 to black and white pixels
const list = evt.data;
list.forEach((bool, i) =>
data[i] = (bool * 0xFFFFFF) + 0xFF000000
);
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0);
ctx.clearRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
ctx.putImageData(img,0,0);
// draw bigger
ctx.scale(5,5);
ctx.drawImage(canvas, 0,0);
}
function getWorkerURL() {
const script = document.querySelector('[type="worker-script"]');
const blob = new Blob([script.textContent]);
return URL.createObjectURL(blob);
}
body{
background: ivory;
}
<script type="worker-script">
// our list
const list = Array.from({length: 2500}).map(_=>+(Math.random()>.5));
// our sorter generator
let sorter = bubbleSort(list);
let done = false;
/* inner messaging channel */
const msg_channel = new MessageChannel();
// Hook to every Event loop
msg_channel.port2.onmessage = e => {
// procede next step in sorting algo
// could be a few thousands in a loop
const state = sorter.next();
// while running
if(!state.done) {
msg_channel.port1.postMessage('');
done = false;
}
else {
done = true;
}
}
msg_channel.port1.postMessage("");
/* outer messaging channel (from main) */
self.onmessage = e => {
if(e.data === "gimme a frame") {
self.postMessage(list);
}
else {
list.push(e.data);
if(done) { // restart the sorter
sorter = bubbleSort(list);
msg_channel.port1.postMessage('');
}
}
};
function* bubbleSort(a) { // * is magic
var swapped;
do {
swapped = false;
for (var i = 0; i < a.length - 1; i++) {
if (a[i] > a[i + 1]) {
var temp = a[i];
a[i] = a[i + 1];
a[i + 1] = temp;
swapped = true;
yield swapped; // pause here
}
}
} while (swapped);
}
</script>
<pre> click to add red pixels</pre>
<canvas id="canvas" width="250" height="250"></canvas>
Note that the same can be achieved with an async function, which may be more practical in some cases:
const worker = new Worker(getWorkerURL());
worker.onmessage = draw;
onclick = e => worker.postMessage(0x0000FF/0xFFFFFF); // add a red pixel
// every frame we request the current state from Worker
function requestFrame() {
worker.postMessage('gimme a frame');
requestAnimationFrame(requestFrame);
}
requestFrame();
// drawing part
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
const img = ctx.createImageData(50, 50);
const data = new Uint32Array(img.data.buffer);
ctx.imageSmoothingEnabled = false;
function draw(evt) {
// converts 0&1 to black and white pixels
const list = evt.data;
list.forEach((bool, i) =>
data[i] = (bool * 0xFFFFFF) + 0xFF000000
);
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0);
ctx.clearRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
ctx.putImageData(img,0,0);
// draw bigger
ctx.scale(5,5);
ctx.drawImage(canvas, 0,0);
}
function getWorkerURL() {
const script = document.querySelector('[type="worker-script"]');
const blob = new Blob([script.textContent]);
return URL.createObjectURL(blob);
}
body{
background: ivory;
}
<script type="worker-script">
// our list
const list = Array.from({length: 2500}).map(_=>+(Math.random()>.5));
// our sorter generator
let done = false;
/* outer messaging channel (from main) */
self.onmessage = e => {
if(e.data === "gimme a frame") {
self.postMessage(list);
}
else {
list.push(e.data);
if(done) { // restart the sorter
bubbleSort(list);
}
}
};
async function bubbleSort(a) { // async is magic
var swapped;
do {
swapped = false;
for (var i = 0; i < a.length - 1; i++) {
if (a[i] > a[i + 1]) {
const temp = a[i];
a[i] = a[i + 1];
a[i + 1] = temp;
swapped = true;
}
if( i % 50 === 0 ) { // by batches of 50?
await waitNextTask(); // pause here
}
}
} while (swapped);
done = true;
}
function waitNextTask() {
return new Promise( (resolve) => {
const channel = waitNextTask.channel ||= new MessageChannel();
channel.port1.addEventListener("message", (evt) => resolve(), { once: true });
channel.port2.postMessage("");
channel.port1.start();
});
}
bubbleSort(list);
</script>
<pre> click to add red pixels</pre>
<canvas id="canvas" width="250" height="250"></canvas>
There are two decent options.
Option 1: Worker.terminate()
The first is just to kill your existing web worker and start a new one. For that you can use Worker.terminate().
The terminate() method of the Worker interface immediately terminates the Worker. This does not offer the worker an opportunity to finish its operations; it is simply stopped at once.
The only downsides of this approach are:
You lose all worker state. If you had to copy a load of data into it for the request you have to do it all again.
It involves thread creation and destruction, which isn't as slow as most people think but if you terminate web workers a lot it might cause issues.
If neither of those are an issue it is probably the easiest option.
In my case I have lots of state. My worker is rendering part of an image, and when the user pans to a different area I want it to stop what it is doing and start rendering the new area. But the data needed to render the image is pretty huge.
In your case you have the state of your (presumably huge) list that you don't want to use.
Option 2: Yielding
The second option is basically to do cooperative multitasking. You run your computation as normal, but every now and then you pause (yield) and say "should I stop?", like this (this is for some nonsense calculation, not sorting).
let requestId = 0;
onmessage = event => {
++requestId;
sortAndSendData(requestId, event.data);
}
function sortAndSendData(thisRequestId, data) {
let isSorted = false;
let total = 0;
while (data !== 0) {
// Do a little bit of computation.
total += data;
--data;
// Check if we are still the current request ID.
if (thisRequestId !== requestId) {
// Data was changed. Cancel this sort.
return;
}
}
postMessage(total);
}
This won't work though because sortAndSendData() runs to completion and blocks the web worker's event loop. We need some way to yield just before thisRequestId !== requestId. Unfortunately Javascript doesn't quite have a yield method. It does have async/await so we might try this:
let requestId = 0;
onmessage = event => {
console.log("Got event", event);
++requestId;
sortAndSendData(requestId, event.data);
}
async function sortAndSendData(thisRequestId, data) {
let isSorted = false;
let total = 0;
while (data !== 0) {
// Do a little bit of computation.
total += data;
--data;
await Promise.resolve();
// Check if we are still the current request ID.
if (thisRequestId !== requestId) {
console.log("Cancelled!");
// Data was changed. Cancel this sort.
return;
}
}
postMessage(total);
}
Unfortunately it doesn't work. I think it's because async/await executes things eagerly using "microtasks", which get executed before pending "macrotasks" (our web worker message) if possible.
We need to force our await to become a macrotask, which you can do using setTimeout(0):
let requestId = 0;
onmessage = event => {
console.log("Got event", event);
++requestId;
sortAndSendData(requestId, event.data);
}
function yieldToMacrotasks() {
return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve));
}
async function sortAndSendData(thisRequestId, data) {
let isSorted = false;
let total = 0;
while (data !== 0) {
// Do a little bit of computation.
total += data;
--data;
await yieldToMacrotasks();
// Check if we are still the current request ID.
if (thisRequestId !== requestId) {
console.log("Cancelled!");
// Data was changed. Cancel this sort.
return;
}
}
postMessage(total);
}
This works! However it is extremely slow. await yieldToMacrotasks() takes approximately 4 ms on my machine with Chrome! This is because browsers set a minimum timeout on setTimeout(0) of something like 1 or 4 ms (the actual minimum seems to be complicated).
Fortunately another user pointed me to a quicker way. Basically sending a message on another MessageChannel also yields to the event loop, but isn't subject to the minimum delay like setTimeout(0) is. This code works and each loop only takes ~0.04 ms which should be fine.
let currentTask = {
cancelled: false,
}
onmessage = event => {
currentTask.cancelled = true;
currentTask = {
cancelled: false,
};
performComputation(currentTask, event.data);
}
async function performComputation(task, data) {
let total = 0;
let promiseResolver;
const channel = new MessageChannel();
channel.port2.onmessage = event => {
promiseResolver();
};
while (data !== 0) {
// Do a little bit of computation.
total += data;
--data;
// Yield to the event loop.
const promise = new Promise(resolve => {
promiseResolver = resolve;
});
channel.port1.postMessage(null);
await promise;
// Check if this task has been superceded by another one.
if (task.cancelled) {
return;
}
}
// Return the result.
postMessage(total);
}
I'm not totally happy about it - it relies on postMessage() events being processed in FIFO order, which I doubt is guaranteed. I suspect you could rewrite the code to make it work even if that isn't true.
You can do it with some trick – with the help of setTimeout function interrupting. For example it is not possible without an addition thread to execute 2 functions parallel, but with setTimeout function interrupting trick we can do it like follows:
Example of parallel execution of functions
var count_0 = 0,
count_1 = 0;
function func_0()
{
if(count_0 < 3)
setTimeout(func_0, 0);//the same: setTimeout(func_0);
console.log('count_0 = '+count_0);
count_0++
}
function func_1()
{
if(count_1 < 3)
setTimeout(func_1, 0);
console.log('count_1 = '+count_1)
count_1++
}
func_0();
func_1();
You will get this output:
count_0 = 0
count_1 = 0
count_0 = 1
count_1 = 1
count_0 = 2
count_1 = 2
count_0 = 3
count_1 = 3
Why is it possible? Because the setTimeout function needs some time to be executed. And this time is even enought for the execution of some part from your following code.
Solution for you
For this case you have to write your own array sort function (or you can also use the following function from me) because we can not interrupt the native sort function. And in this your own function you have to use this setTimeout function interrupting trick. And you can receive your message event notification.
In the following example I have the interrupting in the half length of my array, and you can change it if you want.
Example with custom sort function interrupting
var numbers = [4, 2, 1, 3, 5];
// this is my bubble sort function with interruption
/**
* Sorting an array. You will get the same, but sorted array.
* #param {array[]} arr – array to sort
* #param {number} dir – if dir = -1 you will get an array like [5,4,3,2,1]
* and if dir = 1 in opposite direction like [1,2,3,4,5]
* #param {number} passCount – it is used only for setTimeout interrupting trick.
*/
function sortNumbersWithInterruption(arr, dir, passCount)
{
var passes = passCount || arr.length,
halfOfArrayLength = (arr.length / 2) | 0; // for ex. 2.5 | 0 = 2
// Why we need while loop: some values are on
// the end of array and we have to change their
// positions until they move to the first place of array.
while(passes--)
{
if(!passCount && passes == halfOfArrayLength)
{
// if you want you can also not write the following line for full break of sorting
setTimeout(function(){sortNumbersWithInterruption(arr, dir, passes)}, 0);
/*
You can do here all what you want. Place 1
*/
break
}
for(var i = 0; i < arr.length - 1; i++)
{
var a = arr[i],
b = arr[i+1];
if((a - b) * dir > 0)
{
arr[i] = b;
arr[i+1] = a;
}
}
console.log('array is: ' + arr.join());
}
if(passCount)
console.log('END sring is: ' + arr.join());
}
sortNumbersWithInterruption(numbers, -1); //without passCount parameter
/*
You can do here all what you want. Place 2
*/
console.log('The execution is here now!');
You will get this output:
array is: 4,2,3,5,1
array is: 4,3,5,2,1
The execution is here now!
array is: 4,5,3,2,1
array is: 5,4,3,2,1
END sring is: 5,4,3,2,1
You can do it with insertion sort (kind of).
Here is the idea:
Start your worker with an internal empty array (empty array is sorted obviously)
Your worker receives only elements not the entire array
Your worker insert any received element right in correct position into the array
Every n seconds, the worker raises a message with the current array if it has changed after the last event. (If you prefer, you can send the array on every insertion, but is more efficient to buffer somehow)
Eventually, you get the entire array, if any item is added, you will receive the updated array to.
NOTE: Because your array is always sorted, you can insert in correct position using binary search. This is very efficient.
I think the case comes down to careful management of postMessage calls and amount of data passed to be processed at a time. Was dealing with problem of this kind - think about not sending all new data into the function at once but rather creating your own queue and when small enough portion of the task has been acomplished by webworker thread send a message back to the main thread and decide to send the next portion, wait or quit.
In Your case, e.g. one time You get 9000 new items, next 100k - maybe create a queue/buffer that adds next 10k new elements each time webworker is done processing last data change.
const someWorker = new Worker('abc.js');
var processingLock = false;
var queue = [];
function newDataAction(arr = null) {
if (arr != null) {
queue = queue.concat(arr);
}
if (!processingLock) {
processingLock = true;
var data = [];
for (let i = 0; i < 10000 && queue.length > 0; i++) {
data.push(queue.pop());
}
worker.postMessage(data);
}
}
someWorker.addEventListener('message', function(e) {
if (e.data == 'finished-last-task') {
processingLock = false;
if (queue.length > 0) {
newDataAction();
}
}
});
Worked through many sorting algorithms and I don't see how sending new data into an sorting algorithm with partially sorted array makes much difference in terms of compuation time from sorting them both sequentially and performing a merge.
I have this code that I need to make sure is run before my firebase function is defined, because it depends on a variable set in the code:
const hotelBedTimeouts = [];
var beds = db.ref('/beds');
// Initialise the bed timeout holder object
beds.once("value", function(snapshot){
var hotels = snapshot.val();
for (var i = 0; i < hotels.length; i++) {
// push empty list to be filled with lists holding individual bed timeouts
if(hotels[i]){
hotelBedTimeouts.push([]);
for(var j = 0; j < hotels[i].length; j++) {
// this list will hold all timeouts for this bed
hotelBedTimeouts[i].push({});
}
} else {
hotelBedTimeouts.push(undefined);
}
}
});
I was suggested to put this function inside of a .then() statement after the once() call. So I tried this:
const hotelBedTimeouts = [];
var beds = db.ref('/beds');
// Initialise the bed timeout holder object
beds.once("value", function(snapshot){
var hotels = snapshot.val();
for (var i = 0; i < hotels.length; i++) {
// push empty list to be filled with lists holding individual bed timeouts
if(hotels[i]){
hotelBedTimeouts.push([]);
for(var j = 0; j < hotels[i].length; j++) {
// this list will hold all timeouts for this bed
hotelBedTimeouts[i].push({});
}
} else {
hotelBedTimeouts.push(undefined);
}
}
}).then( () => {
// Frees a bed after a set amount of time
exports.scheduleFreeBed = functions.database.ref('/beds/{hotelIndex}/{bedIndex}/email').onUpdate( (snapshot, context) => {
// My code
});
Unfortunately, this cause my whole firebase function to be deleted:
$ firebase deploy --only functions
=== Deploying to 'company-23uzc'...
i functions: deleting function scheduleFreeBed...
✔ functions[scheduleFreeBed]: Successful delete operation.
Is it possible to define a firebase function in this way?
What is the way to ensure that a firebase function always has access to certain variables defined in the backend code?
EDIT:
This is my first attempt at a solution after Doug Stevenson's answer:
const hotelBedTimeouts = [];
var beds = db.ref('/beds');
const promise = beds.once("value");
// Frees a bed after a set amount of time
exports.scheduleFreeBed = functions.database.ref('/beds/{hotelIndex}/{bedIndex}/email').onUpdate( (snapshot, context) => {
promise.then( (snapshot) => {
var hotels = snapshot.val();
for (var i = 0; i < hotels.length; i++) {
// push empty list to be filled with lists holding individual bed timeouts
if(hotels[i]){
hotelBedTimeouts.push([]);
for(var j = 0; j < hotels[i].length; j++) {
// this list will hold all timeouts for this bed
hotelBedTimeouts[i].push({});
}
} else {
hotelBedTimeouts.push(undefined);
}
}
});
var originalEmail = snapshot.after.val();
var hotelIndex = context.params.hotelIndex;
var bedIndex = context.params.bedIndex;
if (originalEmail === -1) {
clearTimeout(hotelBedTimeouts[hotelIndex][bedIndex].timeoutFunc); // clear current timeoutfunc
return 0; // Do nothing
}
// replace old timeout function
hotelBedTimeouts[hotelIndex][bedIndex].timeoutFunc = setTimeout(function () { // ERROR HERE
var bedRef = admin.database().ref(`/beds/${hotelIndex}/${bedIndex}`);
bedRef.once("value", function(bedSnap){
var bed = bedSnap.val();
var booked = bed.booked;
if (!booked) {
var currentEmail = bed.email;
// Check if current bed/email is the same as originalEmail
if (currentEmail === originalEmail) {
bedSnap.child("email").ref.set(-1, function() {
console.log("Freed bed");
});
}
}
});
}, 300000); // 5 min timeout
return 0;
});
Still, it seems like the hotelBedTimeouts has not been properly defined at the time of function execution, look at this error:
TypeError: Cannot read property '15' of undefined
I've marked in a comment in my code which line this error is for.
How can the list still not be defined?
This type of function definition isn't supported by the Firebase CLI. Instead, you should kick off the initial work inside the function, and cache the result later so you don't have to execute it again. Or, you can try to kick off the work, and retain a promise that the function can use later, like this:
const promise = doSomeInitialWork() // returns a promise that resolves with the data
exports.scheduleFreeBed = functions.database.ref(...).onUpdate(change => {
promise.then(results => {
// work with the results of doSomeInitialWork() here
})
})
I'm having issues understanding how to work around Javascript's asynchronous behavior in a forEach loop. This issue is quite complex (sorry), but the idea of the loop is as followed:
Loop through every item in an array
Make an HTTP request from a provider script
I then need to multiply every element of the array by a constant
Assign the new array to an item in an object
After the loop, take all the arrays and add them together into one array
The data will be assigned to the indvCoinPortfolioChartData array
I'm looking for any flaws in my event loop. I believe the battle is making this task synchronous, making sure my data is assigned before aggregating data.
The issue
When I'm adding all the arrays together, ONE dataset isn't summed up (I think because it's still being processed after the function is called). There is no error, but it doesn't have all the coin data in the final aggregated array.
This is the issue I see in the aggregatePortfolioChartData function. It begins the for loop with only 2 items in the array, and then later shows 3. The third item was not processed until after the for loop started.
image of console log (logged from aggregatePortfolioChartData function)
debug log when aggregation is successful
var indivCoinPortfolioChartData = {'data': []};
for(var i = 0; i < this.storedCoins.Coins.length; i++)
{
let entry = this.storedCoins.Coins[i];
localThis._data.getChart(entry.symbol, true).subscribe(res => {localThis.generateCoinWatchlistGraph(res, entry);});
localThis._data.getChart(entry.symbol).subscribe(res => {
if(entry.holdings > 0)
{
let data = res['Data'].map((a) => (a.close * entry.holdings));
indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data.push({'coinData': data});
localThis.loadedCoinData(loader, indivCoinPortfolioChartData);
}
else
{
localThis.loadedCoinData(loader, indivCoinPortfolioChartData);
}
});
}
Loaded Coin Data
loadedCoinData(loader, indivCoinPortfolioChartData)
{
this.coinsWithData++;
if(this.coinsWithData === this.storedCoins.Coins.length - 1)
{
loader.dismiss();
this.aggregatePortfolioChartData(indivCoinPortfolioChartData);
}
}
aggregatePortfolioChartData
aggregatePortfolioChartData(indivCoinPortfolioChartData)
{
console.log(indivCoinPortfolioChartData);
var aggregatedPortfolioData = [];
if(indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data[0].coinData)
{
let dataProcessed = 0;
for(var i = 0; i < indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data[0].coinData.length; i++)
{
for(var j = 0; j< indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data.length; j++)
{
let data = indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data[j].coinData[i];
if(data)
{
aggregatedPortfolioData[i] = (aggregatedPortfolioData[i] ? aggregatedPortfolioData[i] : 0) + data;
dataProcessed++;
}
else
{
dataProcessed++;
}
}
if(dataProcessed === (indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data[0].coinData.length) * (indivCoinPortfolioChartData.data.length))
{
console.log(dataProcessed + " data points for portfolio chart");
this.displayPortfolioChart(aggregatedPortfolioData);
}
}
}
}
Thank you for helping me get through this irksome issue.
I wrote some code that checks a list, and checks if each item in the list is present in the other one. If the item isn't found, it adds it to the database.
The scanning code is correct (the part that says db.scan) but somewhere towards the end the code isn't going through because its not executing the console.log part (Where it says "Entering journal into database..." title of article"
When I execute this code, nothing happens. At least there are no errors... but its not even logging the console.log parts so something is wrong.
// accessing the database
function DatabaseTime(sourcesDates, timeAdded, links, titles, descriptions) {
sourcesDates = sourcesDates;
links = links;
titles = titles; // this will be used to check on our articles
descriptions = descriptions;
var autoParams;
var databaseOperation = function (sourcesDates, timeAdded, links, titles, descriptions) {
var scanParams = { TableName: "Rnews" }
// using code to setup for accessing the 2nd list
db.scan(scanParams, function(err, scanData) { // scanData = the 2nd list we are going to work with
var counter = 0; // just a way to help make my code more accurate as seen later in the loops
var counter2 = 0;
// this is the first list iterating on
for (var i = 0; i < links.length; i++) {
counter = 0;
// looping through items in second list
for (var x = 0; x < scanData.Items.length; x++) {
// if article is not in db
if (titles[i] !== scanData.Items[x].title) {
continue;
}
else if (titles[i] === scanData.Items[x].title) {
// intention is to immediately move to the next item in the first list if this block executes
console.log("Article found: \"" + titles[i] + "\". Not proceeding anymore with article.");
counter++;
break;
} else {
// if this article isnt found anywhere in the list we are checking on, add to database
if (x === scanData.Items.length && counter !== 0) {
autoParams = {
TableName: "Rnews",
Item: {
title: titles[i],
source: sourcesDates[i],
url: links[i],
description: descriptions[i],
lastAddOrUpdated: dbTimeStamp,
timePublish: timeAdded[i]
}
}
console.log("Entering journal to database: " + titles[i]);
db.put(autoParams, function(err, data) {
if(err) throw err;
});
//}
}
}
}
}
});
//console.log("Complete");
};
databaseOperation(sourcesDates, timeAdded, links, titles, descriptions);
}
//// END
You never called the function DatabaseTime. Your code just declares the function and does nothing else. In order for the function to execute, you must invoke it.
I am writing a tool that will loop through a list of id's (represented by id in id_list). We check a cache object to see if we already have a value for the id. If we don't already have a value for the given id, we'll need to make a get request to get the associated value and then add it to the cache.
In the time it takes to do one async get request, the entire loop runs. This means the cache is never actually used. Is there anyway I can require the get request to finish before continuing the loop? Normally I would chain the request through the onSuccess function of the previous, but since there's a change, no request will be made.
cache = {};
var rating;
for (id in id_list){
if (id in cache){
rating = cache[id];
}else{
rating = $.get(~~~async get request happens here~~~);
cache[id] = rating;
}
$(".result").append(rating);//display result in ui
}
You can't use a for loop if you want it to wait between each iteration. A common design pattern is to create a local function for a given iteration and then call it each time the async operation finishes.
Assuming id_list is an object with properties, you could do it like this:
var cache = {};
var ids = Object.keys(id_list);
var cntr = 0;
function next() {
var id;
if (cntr < ids.length) {
id = ids[cntr++];
// see if we can just get the value from the cache
if (id in cache) {
$(".result").append(cache[id]);
// schedule next iteration of the loop
setTimeout(next, 1);
} else {
// otherwise get rating via Ajax call
$.get(...).then(function(rating) {
$(".result").append(rating);
// put rating in the cache
cache[id] = rating;
next();
});
}
}
}
next();
Or, if id_list is an array of ids, you can change it to this:
var cache = {};
var cntr = 0;
var id_list = [...];
function next() {
var id;
if (cntr < id_list.length) {
id = id_list[cntr++];
// see if we can just get the value from the cache
if (id in cache) {
$(".result").append(cache[id]);
// schedule next iteration of the loop
setTimeout(next, 1);
} else {
// otherwise get rating via Ajax call
$.get(...).then(function(rating) {
$(".result").append(rating);
// put rating in the cache
cache[id] = rating;
next();
});
}
}
}
next();