I am fairly new to Node.js and I am trying to pick it up with Koa.js framework.
I am struggling to understand why the index.js -> console.log run even if I have the await in the value.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
index.js
router.get('getValue','/display',async (ctx) => {
var myUtilfunction = require('../util')
var result = await myUtilfunction.getData()
console.log(result)
}
util.js
async function getData(){
var customObject =[]
var standardObject =[]
conn.describeGlobal(function (err,res){
if (err){return console.error(err)}
console.log('No of Objects ' + res.sobjects.length)
res.sobjects.forEach(function(sobject){
if (sobject.custom){
customObject.push(sobject)
}else{
standardObject.push(sobject)
}
})
console.log("Done")
})
return [customObject, standardObject]
}
Try this one
await, works inside async functions
router.get('getValue','/display', async (ctx) => {
var myUtilfunction = require('../util')
var result = await myUtilfunction.getData();
console.log(result)
});
function getData(){
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
resolve('result goes here');
});
}
You need to specify the function is async for the await to work.
Something like this:
router.get('getValue','/display', async (ctx) => {
var myUtilfunction = require('../util')
var result = await myUtilfunction.getData()
console.log(result)
}
Hope this helps :)
In your function getData(), I think you've missplaced your return statement. The return statement should be placed inside the callback function used for conn.describeGlobal().
As you actually write your getData(), the conn.describeGlobal() call seems to be an asynchronous treatment, so the return statement placed outside is probably executed before you pushed something in your arrays.
The consequence is that your router get an empty response from your getData() function then the promise made by await keyword is resolved with an empty answer.
Related
I wrote this code in lib/helper.js:
var myfunction = async function(x,y) {
....
return [variableA, variableB]
}
exports.myfunction = myfunction;
Then I tried to use it in another file :
var helper = require('./helper.js');
var start = function(a,b){
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test','test');
}
exports.start = start;
I got an error:
await is only valid in async function
What is the issue?
The error is not refering to myfunction but to start.
async function start() {
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test', 'test');
}
// My function
const myfunction = async function(x, y) {
return [
x,
y,
];
}
// Start function
const start = async function(a, b) {
const result = await myfunction('test', 'test');
console.log(result);
}
// Call start
start();
I use the opportunity of this question to advise you about an known anti pattern using await which is : return await.
WRONG
async function myfunction() {
console.log('Inside of myfunction');
}
// Here we wait for the myfunction to finish
// and then returns a promise that'll be waited for aswell
// It's useless to wait the myfunction to finish before to return
// we can simply returns a promise that will be resolved later
// useless async here
async function start() {
// useless await here
return await myfunction();
}
// Call start
(async() => {
console.log('before start');
await start();
console.log('after start');
})();
CORRECT
async function myfunction() {
console.log('Inside of myfunction');
}
// Here we wait for the myfunction to finish
// and then returns a promise that'll be waited for aswell
// It's useless to wait the myfunction to finish before to return
// we can simply returns a promise that will be resolved later
// Also point that we don't use async keyword on the function because
// we can simply returns the promise returned by myfunction
function start() {
return myfunction();
}
// Call start
(async() => {
console.log('before start');
await start();
console.log('after start');
})();
Also, know that there is a special case where return await is correct and important : (using try/catch)
Are there performance concerns with `return await`?
To use await, its executing context needs to be async in nature
As it said, you need to define the nature of your executing context where you are willing to await a task before anything.
Just put async before the fn declaration in which your async task will execute.
var start = async function(a, b) {
// Your async task will execute with await
await foo()
console.log('I will execute after foo get either resolved/rejected')
}
Explanation:
In your question, you are importing a method which is asynchronous in nature and will execute in parallel. But where you are trying to execute that async method is inside a different execution context which you need to define async to use await.
var helper = require('./helper.js');
var start = async function(a,b){
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test','test');
}
exports.start = start;
Wondering what's going under the hood
await consumes promise/future / task-returning methods/functions and async marks a method/function as capable of using await.
Also if you are familiar with promises, await is actually doing the same process of promise/resolve. Creating a chain of promise and executes your next task in resolve callback.
For more info you can refer to MDN DOCS.
When I got this error, it turned out I had a call to the map function inside my "async" function, so this error message was actually referring to the map function not being marked as "async". I got around this issue by taking the "await" call out of the map function and coming up with some other way of getting the expected behavior.
var myfunction = async function(x,y) {
....
someArray.map(someVariable => { // <- This was the function giving the error
return await someFunction(someVariable);
});
}
I had the same problem and the following block of code was giving the same error message:
repositories.forEach( repo => {
const commits = await getCommits(repo);
displayCommit(commits);
});
The problem is that the method getCommits() was async but I was passing it the argument repo which was also produced by a Promise. So, I had to add the word async to it like this: async(repo) and it started working:
repositories.forEach( async(repo) => {
const commits = await getCommits(repo);
displayCommit(commits);
});
If you are writing a Chrome Extension and you get this error for your code at root, you can fix it using the following "workaround":
async function run() {
// Your async code here
const beers = await fetch("https://api.punkapi.com/v2/beers");
}
run();
Basically you have to wrap your async code in an async function and then call the function without awaiting it.
The current implementation of async / await only supports the await keyword inside of async functions Change your start function signature so you can use await inside start.
var start = async function(a, b) {
}
For those interested, the proposal for top-level await is currently in Stage 2: https://github.com/tc39/proposal-top-level-await
async/await is the mechanism of handling promise, two ways we can do it
functionWhichReturnsPromise()
.then(result => {
console.log(result);
})
.cathc(err => {
console.log(result);
});
or we can use await to wait for the promise to full-filed it first, which means either it is rejected or resolved.
Now if we want to use await (waiting for a promise to fulfil) inside a function, it's mandatory that the container function must be an async function because we are waiting for a promise to fulfiled asynchronously || make sense right?.
async function getRecipesAw(){
const IDs = await getIds; // returns promise
const recipe = await getRecipe(IDs[2]); // returns promise
return recipe; // returning a promise
}
getRecipesAw().then(result=>{
console.log(result);
}).catch(error=>{
console.log(error);
});
If you have called async function inside foreach update it to for loop
Found the code below in this nice article: HTTP requests in Node using Axios
const axios = require('axios')
const getBreeds = async () => {
try {
return await axios.get('https://dog.ceo/api/breeds/list/all')
} catch (error) {
console.error(error)
}
}
const countBreeds = async () => {
const breeds = await getBreeds()
if (breeds.data.message) {
console.log(`Got ${Object.entries(breeds.data.message).length} breeds`)
}
}
countBreeds()
Or using Promise:
const axios = require('axios')
const getBreeds = () => {
try {
return axios.get('https://dog.ceo/api/breeds/list/all')
} catch (error) {
console.error(error)
}
}
const countBreeds = async () => {
const breeds = getBreeds()
.then(response => {
if (response.data.message) {
console.log(
`Got ${Object.entries(response.data.message).length} breeds`
)
}
})
.catch(error => {
console.log(error)
})
}
countBreeds()
In later nodejs (>=14), top await is allowed with { "type": "module" } specified in package.json or with file extension .mjs.
https://www.stefanjudis.com/today-i-learned/top-level-await-is-available-in-node-js-modules/
This in one file works..
Looks like await only is applied to the local function which has to be async..
I also am struggling now with a more complex structure and in between different files. That's why I made this small test code.
edit: i forgot to say that I'm working with node.js.. sry. I don't have a clear question. Just thought it could be helpful with the discussion..
function helper(callback){
function doA(){
var array = ["a ","b ","c "];
var alphabet = "";
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
array.forEach(function(key,index){
alphabet += key;
if (index == array.length - 1){
resolve(alphabet);
};
});
});
};
function doB(){
var a = "well done!";
return a;
};
async function make() {
var alphabet = await doA();
var appreciate = doB();
callback(alphabet+appreciate);
};
make();
};
helper(function(message){
console.log(message);
});
A common problem in Express:
The warning can refer to the function, or where you call it.
Express items tend to look like this:
app.post('/foo', ensureLoggedIn("/join"), (req, res) => {
const facts = await db.lookup(something)
res.redirect('/')
})
Notice the => arrow function syntax for the function.
The problem is NOT actually in the db.lookup call, but right here in the Express item.
Needs to be:
app.post('/foo', ensureLoggedIn("/join"), async function (req, res) {
const facts = await db.lookup(something)
res.redirect('/')
})
Basically, nix the => and add async function .
"await is only valid in async function"
But why? 'await' explicitly turns an async call into a synchronous call, and therefore the caller cannot be async (or asyncable) - at least, not because of the call being made at 'await'.
Yes, await / async was a great concept, but the implementation is completely broken.
For whatever reason, the await keyword has been implemented such that it can only be used within an async method. This is in fact a bug, though you will not see it referred to as such anywhere but right here. The fix for this bug would be to implement the await keyword such that it can only be used TO CALL an async function, regardless of whether the calling function is itself synchronous or asynchronous.
Due to this bug, if you use await to call a real asynchronous function somewhere in your code, then ALL of your functions must be marked as async and ALL of your function calls must use await.
This essentially means that you must add the overhead of promises to all of the functions in your entire application, most of which are not and never will be asynchronous.
If you actually think about it, using await in a function should require the function containing the await keyword TO NOT BE ASYNC - this is because the await keyword is going to pause processing in the function where the await keyword is found. If processing in that function is paused, then it is definitely NOT asynchronous.
So, to the developers of javascript and ECMAScript - please fix the await/async implementation as follows...
await can only be used to CALL async functions.
await can appear in any kind of function, synchronous or asynchronous.
Change the error message from "await is only valid in async function" to "await can only be used to call async functions".
I know this has been asked a lot but I can't seem to use the existing answers to get my code to work. I am trying to use mongojs to make a single query, then put the results in a global (relative to the scope) variable to avoid nesting multiple callbacks. However, I can't seem to get the code to wait for the query to end before continuing.
async function taskmaster() {
const db = mongojs(mongoUri.tasker);
let currentDoc;
const getTask = async function() {
db.tasks.findOne({'task_id': {'$in': [taskId, null]}}, function(err, doc) {
console.log(doc);
currentDoc = doc;
});
}
await getTask();
console.log(currentDoc);
// Code to process currentDoc below
}
No matter what I do, console.log(doc) shows a valid MongoDB document, yet console.log(currentDoc) shows "undefined". Thanks in advance!
Inside your async function, you use findOne method() in callback style, so it's totally normal that console.log(currentDoc) shows undefined, because it executes before
currentDoc = doc;
You can promisify the findOne method, to use it with async/await keyword.
I found a tutorial to promisfy a callback style function here, hope it help : https://flaviocopes.com/node-promisify/
--- EDIT ---
I rewrite your code when promising the findOne method, as suggested by O.Jones
async function taskmaster() {
const getTask = async (taskId) => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
db.tasks.findOne({'task_id': {'$in': [taskId, null]}}, function(err, doc) {
if(err) {
console.log("problem when retrieve data");
reject(err);
} else {
resolve(doc);
}
});
})
const db = mongojs(mongoUri.tasker);
const currentDoc = await getTask(taskId);
console.log(currentDoc);
}
I wrote this code in lib/helper.js:
var myfunction = async function(x,y) {
....
return [variableA, variableB]
}
exports.myfunction = myfunction;
Then I tried to use it in another file :
var helper = require('./helper.js');
var start = function(a,b){
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test','test');
}
exports.start = start;
I got an error:
await is only valid in async function
What is the issue?
The error is not refering to myfunction but to start.
async function start() {
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test', 'test');
}
// My function
const myfunction = async function(x, y) {
return [
x,
y,
];
}
// Start function
const start = async function(a, b) {
const result = await myfunction('test', 'test');
console.log(result);
}
// Call start
start();
I use the opportunity of this question to advise you about an known anti pattern using await which is : return await.
WRONG
async function myfunction() {
console.log('Inside of myfunction');
}
// Here we wait for the myfunction to finish
// and then returns a promise that'll be waited for aswell
// It's useless to wait the myfunction to finish before to return
// we can simply returns a promise that will be resolved later
// useless async here
async function start() {
// useless await here
return await myfunction();
}
// Call start
(async() => {
console.log('before start');
await start();
console.log('after start');
})();
CORRECT
async function myfunction() {
console.log('Inside of myfunction');
}
// Here we wait for the myfunction to finish
// and then returns a promise that'll be waited for aswell
// It's useless to wait the myfunction to finish before to return
// we can simply returns a promise that will be resolved later
// Also point that we don't use async keyword on the function because
// we can simply returns the promise returned by myfunction
function start() {
return myfunction();
}
// Call start
(async() => {
console.log('before start');
await start();
console.log('after start');
})();
Also, know that there is a special case where return await is correct and important : (using try/catch)
Are there performance concerns with `return await`?
To use await, its executing context needs to be async in nature
As it said, you need to define the nature of your executing context where you are willing to await a task before anything.
Just put async before the fn declaration in which your async task will execute.
var start = async function(a, b) {
// Your async task will execute with await
await foo()
console.log('I will execute after foo get either resolved/rejected')
}
Explanation:
In your question, you are importing a method which is asynchronous in nature and will execute in parallel. But where you are trying to execute that async method is inside a different execution context which you need to define async to use await.
var helper = require('./helper.js');
var start = async function(a,b){
....
const result = await helper.myfunction('test','test');
}
exports.start = start;
Wondering what's going under the hood
await consumes promise/future / task-returning methods/functions and async marks a method/function as capable of using await.
Also if you are familiar with promises, await is actually doing the same process of promise/resolve. Creating a chain of promise and executes your next task in resolve callback.
For more info you can refer to MDN DOCS.
When I got this error, it turned out I had a call to the map function inside my "async" function, so this error message was actually referring to the map function not being marked as "async". I got around this issue by taking the "await" call out of the map function and coming up with some other way of getting the expected behavior.
var myfunction = async function(x,y) {
....
someArray.map(someVariable => { // <- This was the function giving the error
return await someFunction(someVariable);
});
}
I had the same problem and the following block of code was giving the same error message:
repositories.forEach( repo => {
const commits = await getCommits(repo);
displayCommit(commits);
});
The problem is that the method getCommits() was async but I was passing it the argument repo which was also produced by a Promise. So, I had to add the word async to it like this: async(repo) and it started working:
repositories.forEach( async(repo) => {
const commits = await getCommits(repo);
displayCommit(commits);
});
If you are writing a Chrome Extension and you get this error for your code at root, you can fix it using the following "workaround":
async function run() {
// Your async code here
const beers = await fetch("https://api.punkapi.com/v2/beers");
}
run();
Basically you have to wrap your async code in an async function and then call the function without awaiting it.
The current implementation of async / await only supports the await keyword inside of async functions Change your start function signature so you can use await inside start.
var start = async function(a, b) {
}
For those interested, the proposal for top-level await is currently in Stage 2: https://github.com/tc39/proposal-top-level-await
async/await is the mechanism of handling promise, two ways we can do it
functionWhichReturnsPromise()
.then(result => {
console.log(result);
})
.cathc(err => {
console.log(result);
});
or we can use await to wait for the promise to full-filed it first, which means either it is rejected or resolved.
Now if we want to use await (waiting for a promise to fulfil) inside a function, it's mandatory that the container function must be an async function because we are waiting for a promise to fulfiled asynchronously || make sense right?.
async function getRecipesAw(){
const IDs = await getIds; // returns promise
const recipe = await getRecipe(IDs[2]); // returns promise
return recipe; // returning a promise
}
getRecipesAw().then(result=>{
console.log(result);
}).catch(error=>{
console.log(error);
});
If you have called async function inside foreach update it to for loop
Found the code below in this nice article: HTTP requests in Node using Axios
const axios = require('axios')
const getBreeds = async () => {
try {
return await axios.get('https://dog.ceo/api/breeds/list/all')
} catch (error) {
console.error(error)
}
}
const countBreeds = async () => {
const breeds = await getBreeds()
if (breeds.data.message) {
console.log(`Got ${Object.entries(breeds.data.message).length} breeds`)
}
}
countBreeds()
Or using Promise:
const axios = require('axios')
const getBreeds = () => {
try {
return axios.get('https://dog.ceo/api/breeds/list/all')
} catch (error) {
console.error(error)
}
}
const countBreeds = async () => {
const breeds = getBreeds()
.then(response => {
if (response.data.message) {
console.log(
`Got ${Object.entries(response.data.message).length} breeds`
)
}
})
.catch(error => {
console.log(error)
})
}
countBreeds()
In later nodejs (>=14), top await is allowed with { "type": "module" } specified in package.json or with file extension .mjs.
https://www.stefanjudis.com/today-i-learned/top-level-await-is-available-in-node-js-modules/
This in one file works..
Looks like await only is applied to the local function which has to be async..
I also am struggling now with a more complex structure and in between different files. That's why I made this small test code.
edit: i forgot to say that I'm working with node.js.. sry. I don't have a clear question. Just thought it could be helpful with the discussion..
function helper(callback){
function doA(){
var array = ["a ","b ","c "];
var alphabet = "";
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
array.forEach(function(key,index){
alphabet += key;
if (index == array.length - 1){
resolve(alphabet);
};
});
});
};
function doB(){
var a = "well done!";
return a;
};
async function make() {
var alphabet = await doA();
var appreciate = doB();
callback(alphabet+appreciate);
};
make();
};
helper(function(message){
console.log(message);
});
A common problem in Express:
The warning can refer to the function, or where you call it.
Express items tend to look like this:
app.post('/foo', ensureLoggedIn("/join"), (req, res) => {
const facts = await db.lookup(something)
res.redirect('/')
})
Notice the => arrow function syntax for the function.
The problem is NOT actually in the db.lookup call, but right here in the Express item.
Needs to be:
app.post('/foo', ensureLoggedIn("/join"), async function (req, res) {
const facts = await db.lookup(something)
res.redirect('/')
})
Basically, nix the => and add async function .
"await is only valid in async function"
But why? 'await' explicitly turns an async call into a synchronous call, and therefore the caller cannot be async (or asyncable) - at least, not because of the call being made at 'await'.
Yes, await / async was a great concept, but the implementation is completely broken.
For whatever reason, the await keyword has been implemented such that it can only be used within an async method. This is in fact a bug, though you will not see it referred to as such anywhere but right here. The fix for this bug would be to implement the await keyword such that it can only be used TO CALL an async function, regardless of whether the calling function is itself synchronous or asynchronous.
Due to this bug, if you use await to call a real asynchronous function somewhere in your code, then ALL of your functions must be marked as async and ALL of your function calls must use await.
This essentially means that you must add the overhead of promises to all of the functions in your entire application, most of which are not and never will be asynchronous.
If you actually think about it, using await in a function should require the function containing the await keyword TO NOT BE ASYNC - this is because the await keyword is going to pause processing in the function where the await keyword is found. If processing in that function is paused, then it is definitely NOT asynchronous.
So, to the developers of javascript and ECMAScript - please fix the await/async implementation as follows...
await can only be used to CALL async functions.
await can appear in any kind of function, synchronous or asynchronous.
Change the error message from "await is only valid in async function" to "await can only be used to call async functions".
i have been trying to insert an object into an array in async function ,but it
return an empty array as output in nodejs ,mongoose
var data = [];
app.get("/api/post", async (req, res) => {
const post = await UserPost.find();
post.forEach(async element => {
const email = await element.userid;
const user = await Account.find({ email });
const usern = await user[0].username;
var userobject = {
element,
usern
};
//Promise.all(userobject)
data.push(userobject);
});
console.log(data);
res.send({ data });
});
It seems you are struggling with promises. In order to achieve this specific scenario, you can use Promise.all and Array.map.
Here is a code I edited for you:
(*please note that this is just a dummy code for the sake of explanation)
app.get("/api/post", async (req, res) => {
try {
const posts = await dummyPromiseResolver(); // first promise
const promises = posts.map(async element => {
const user = await dummyEmailReturn(element.userid); // second promise
const usern = user[0].username;
return {
usern,
...element
};
});
const fresult = await Promise.all(promises);
res.send(fresult);
} catch (error) {
console.error("error in posts fetch:" + error);
}
});
If I describe this code, posts.map is creating an Array of promises since we need to iterate through every object in the array and needs to add values from separate promises.
Then Promise.all can execute your promise array and return final results array with your desired results.
Note: You can also use for … of as well but when we need to happen things parallelly we use Promise.all. You can find more information from this thread.
here is a link for code sandbox: https://codesandbox.io/embed/serverless-cookies-nu4h0
Please note that I have added dummyPromiseResolver and dummyEmailReturn which would be equal to UserPost.find() and Account.find() functions respectively. In addition to that, I removed a few unnecessary awaits in your code. I added a try catch block to catch any exceptions. You can change that try catch as you please.
hope this will help you. let me know if you need more clarifications.
I would like to have a configuration file with variables set with data I fetch from an API.
I think I must use async and await features to do so, otherwise my variable would stay undefined.
But I don't know how to integrate this and keep the node exports.myVariable = myData available within an async function ?
Below is the code I tried to write to do so (all in the same file) :
const fetchAPI = function(jsonQuery) {
return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
var reqOptions = {
headers: apiHeaders,
json:jsonQuery,
}
request.post(apiURL, function (error, res, body) {
if (!error && res.statusCode == 200) {
resolve(body);
} else {
reject(error);
}
});
});
}
var wallsData = {}
const fetchWalls = async function (){
var jsonQuery = [{ "recordType": "page","query": "pageTemplate = 1011"}]
let body = await utils.fetchAPI(jsonQuery)
let pageList = await body[0].dataHashes
for(i=0;i<pageList.length;i++){
var page = pageList[i]
wallsData[page.title.fr] = [page.difficultyList,page.wallType]
}
return wallsData
throw new Error("WOOPS")
}
try{
const wallsData = fetchWalls()
console.log(wallsData)
exports.wallsData = wallsData
}catch(err){
console.log(err)
}
The output of console.log(wallsData) shows Promise { <pending> }, therefore it is not resolved and the configuration file keep being executed without the data in wallsData...
What do I miss ?
Thanks,
Cheers
A promise is a special object that either succeeds with a result or fails with a rejection. The async-await-syntax is syntactic sugar to help to deal with promises.
If you define a function as aync it always will return a promise.
Even a function like that reads like
const foo = async() => {
return "hello";
}
returns a promise of a string, not only a string. And you need to wait until it's been resolved or rejected.
It's analogue to:
const foo = async() => {
return Promise.resolve("Hello");
}
or:
const foo = async() => {
return new Promise(resolve => resolve("Hello"));
}
Your fetchWalls similarly is a promise that will remain pending for a time. You'll have to make sure it either succeeds or fails by setting up the then or catch handlers in your outer scope:
fetchWalls()
.then(console.log)
.catch(console.error);
The outer scope is never async, so you cannot use await there. You can only use await inside other async functions.
I would also not use your try-catch for that outer scope promise handling. I think you are confusing the try-catch approach that is intended to be used within async functions, as there it helps to avoid nesting and reads like synchronous code:
E.g. you could do inside your fetchWalls defintion:
const fetchWalls = async function (){
var jsonQuery = [{ "recordType": "page","query": "pageTemplate = 1011"}]
try {
let body = await utils.fetchAPI(jsonQuery)
} catch(e) {
// e is the reason of the promise rejection if you want to decide what to do based on it. If you would not catch it, the rejection would chain through to the first error handler.
}
...
}
Can you change the statements like,
try{
const wallsData = fetchWalls();
wallsData.then((result) => {
console.log(result);
});
exports.wallsData = wallsData; // when importing in other file this returns as promise and we should use async/await to handle this.
}catch(err){
console.log(err)
}