Function not returning anything in nodejs - node.js

Question

I am creating a web app's backend , where different posts are stored and their categories are also stored. Since each category has its own properties (like description , color etc. ) , I've created a new category schema and storing the category reference in the article.
Here's my post route:
Code_1
Code_2
// CREATE ROUTE : adding New Article
app.post("/addnew", upload.single('image'), function(req,res){
//get data from form and add to news array
var title = req.body.title;
var image = req.body.image
if (req.file){
var imgURL = req.file.path;
}
var description = req.body.description;
var category = req.body.category;
var tag = req.body.tag;
// Handling the category entered by user
function checkCategory(name , color, totalArticles, desc){Category.find({name: category}, (err, foundCategory) => {
if(err){
console.log(err)
} else {
console.log("found category in starting of checkCategory function : " , foundCategory)
if (foundCategory[0]){
console.log("Category" + foundCategory + "already exists...")
return foundCategory
} else {
// var name = req.body.name
// var color = req.body.color
// var totalArticles = req.body.totalArticles
// var desc = req.body.desc
var category = {name: name , color : color , totalArticles: totalArticles || 0 , desc : desc }
Category.create(category, (err, newCategory) => {
if (err){
console.log(err)
} else {
console.log("New category Created : " , newCategory)
// category = newCategory
return newCategory
}
})
}
}
})
}
console.log("??????????????? category returned", category)
var nyaArticle= {title: title, imgURL: imgURL, description: description};
// create a new Article and save to db
Article.create(nyaArticle,function(err,newArticle){
if(err){
console.log(err);
} else {
// redirect back to main page
console.log("new article created")
console.log(newArticle)
category = checkCategory(req.body.name, req.body.color, req.body.totalArticles, req.body.desc)
console.log("checkCategory Returned :::::" , category)
newArticle.category.push(category)
newArticle.save()
res.redirect("/");
}
})
The function checkCategory checks if the category already exists or else it will create a new one .
But according to these logs , my function is not returning the category created , however the category is successfully created in DB and also can be seen in Logs
Articles App has started on port 3000
DB Connected...: cluster0-shard-00-00-ktzf1.mongodb.net
??????????????? category returned undefined
new article created
{
category: [],
hits: 0,
tag: [],
comments: [],
_id: 60be0fe92a8b88a8fcea71dc,
title: 'TESTING',
description: 'TESTING',
created: 2021-06-07T12:24:09.563Z,
__v: 0
}
checkCategory Returned ::::: undefined
found category in starting of checkCategory function : []
New category Created : {
totalArticles: 444,
_id: 60be0fea2a8b88a8fcea71dd,
name: 'TESTING',
color: 'RED ALERT',
desc: 'THiS TESTING',
__v: 0
}
due to this null is getting stored in my category in
DB
Am I using the right approach or should I follow some other approach, any help is much welcomed.
The categorySchema looks like this :
var categorySchema = new mongoose.Schema({ name: String, color: String, totalArticles: { type:Number, default: 0 }, desc : String });
ArticleSchema:
var newSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
title: String,
imgURL: String, //{type: String, default: "https://source.unsplash.com/1600x1080/?news"},
description: String,
// category: String,
category: [
{
type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId,
ref: "Category"
}
],
hits : {
type: Number ,
default : 0
},
tag: [
{type: String}
],
created: {type: Date, default: Date.now},
comments: [
{
type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId,
ref: "Comment"
}
]
});

Answer 1

You are assigning var category inside the callback function returned from your checkCategory, and that var is only available inside that callback.
Besides, you code have several other problems, like Category.find({name: category}) which will never return anything. (it should be {name:name}).
In general, you'll be much better off using async\await, (coupled with a try\catch, if you like):
async function checkCategory(name, color, totalArticles, desc) {
try {
let category = await Category.findOne({ name });
if (category) {
console.log(`Category ${category.name} already exists...`);
return category;
}
else {
let newCategory = await Category.create({ name: name, color: color, totalArticles: totalArticles || 0, desc: desc });
console.log("New category Created : ", newCategory);
return newCategory;
}
} catch (error) {
console.log(err)
}
}
And in your router function:
app.post("/addnew", upload.single('image'), async function(req,res){
let {name, color, totalArticles, desc} = req.body;
let category = await checkCategory(name, color, totalArticles, desc);
let newArticle = await Article.create({ title: title, imgURL: imgURL, description: description, category: [category] });
res.redirect("/");
}