How to cache outer scope values to be used inside of Async NodeJS calls? - node.js

Something like the below code illustrates my intention, if you can imagine how a naive programmer would probably try to write this the first time:
function (redisUpdatesHash) {
var redisKeys = Object.keys(redisUpdatesHash);
for (var i = 0; i < redisKeys.length; i++) {
var key = redisKeys[i];
redisClient.get(key, function (err, value) {
if (value != redisUpdatesHash[key]) {
redisClient.set(key, redisUpdatesHash[key]);
redisClient.publish(key + "/notifications", redisUpdatesHash[key]);
}
});
}
}
The problem is, predictably, key is the wrong value in the callback scopes of the asynchronous nature of the node_redis callbacks. The method of detection is really primitive because of security restrictions out of my control - so the only option for me was to resort to polling the source for it's state. So the intention above is to store that state in Redis so that I can compare during the next poll to determine if it changed. If it has, I publish an event and store off the new value to update the comparison value for the next polling cycle.
It appears that there's no good way to do this in NodeJS... I'm open to any suggestions - whether it's fixing the above code to somehow be able to perform this check, or to suggest a different method of doing this entirely.

I solved this problem through using function currying to cache the outer values in a closure.
In vanilla Javascript/NodeJS
asyncCallback = function (newValue, redisKey, redisValue) {
if (newValue != redisValue) {
redisClient.set(redisKey, newValue, handleRedisError);
redisClient.publish(redisKey + '/notifier', newValue, handleRedisError);
}
};
curriedAsyncCallback = function (newValue) {
return function (redisKey) {
return function (redisValue) {
asyncCallback(newValue, redisKey, redisValue);
};
};
};
var newResults = getNewResults(),
redisKeys = Object.keys(newResults);
for (var i = 0; i < redisKeys.length; i++) {
redisClient.get(redisKeys[i], curriedAsyncCallback(newResults[redisKeys[i]])(redisKeys[i]));
}
However, I ended up using HighlandJS to help with the currying and iteration.
var _ = require('highland'),
//...
asyncCallback = function (newValue, redisKey, redisValue) {
if (newValue != redisValue) {
redisClient.set(redisKey, newValue, handleRedisError);
redisClient.publish(redisKey + '/notifier', newValue, handleRedisError);
}
};
var newResults = getNewResults(),
redisKeys = Object.keys(newResults),
curriedAsyncCallback = _.curry(asyncCallback),
redisGet = _(redisClient.get.bind(redisClient));
redisKeys.each(function (key) {
redisGet(key).each(curriedAsyncCallback(newResults[key], key));
});

Related

Why is the first function call is executed two times faster than all other sequential calls?

I have a custom JS iterator implementation and code for measuring performance of the latter implementation:
const ITERATION_END = Symbol('ITERATION_END');
const arrayIterator = (array) => {
let index = 0;
return {
hasValue: true,
next() {
if (index >= array.length) {
this.hasValue = false;
return ITERATION_END;
}
return array[index++];
},
};
};
const customIterator = (valueGetter) => {
return {
hasValue: true,
next() {
const nextValue = valueGetter();
if (nextValue === ITERATION_END) {
this.hasValue = false;
return ITERATION_END;
}
return nextValue;
},
};
};
const map = (iterator, selector) => customIterator(() => {
const value = iterator.next();
return value === ITERATION_END ? value : selector(value);
});
const filter = (iterator, predicate) => customIterator(() => {
if (!iterator.hasValue) {
return ITERATION_END;
}
let currentValue = iterator.next();
while (iterator.hasValue && currentValue !== ITERATION_END && !predicate(currentValue)) {
currentValue = iterator.next();
}
return currentValue;
});
const toArray = (iterator) => {
const array = [];
while (iterator.hasValue) {
const value = iterator.next();
if (value !== ITERATION_END) {
array.push(value);
}
}
return array;
};
const test = (fn, iterations) => {
const times = [];
for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
const start = performance.now();
fn();
times.push(performance.now() - start);
}
console.log(times);
console.log(times.reduce((sum, x) => sum + x, 0) / times.length);
}
const createData = () => Array.from({ length: 9000000 }, (_, i) => i + 1);
const testIterator = (data) => () => toArray(map(filter(arrayIterator(data), x => x % 2 === 0), x => x * 2))
test(testIterator(createData()), 10);
The output of the test function is very weird and unexpected - the first test run is constantly executed two times faster than all the other runs. One of the results, where the array contains all execution times and the number is the mean (I ran it on Node):
[
147.9088459983468,
396.3472499996424,
374.82447600364685,
367.74555300176144,
363.6300039961934,
362.44370299577713,
363.8418449983001,
390.86111199855804,
360.23125199973583,
358.4788999930024
]
348.6312940984964
Similar results can be observed using Deno runtime, however I could not reproduce this behaviour on other JS engines. What can be the reason behind it on the V8?
Environment:
Node v13.8.0, V8 v7.9.317.25-node.28,
Deno v1.3.3, V8 v8.6.334
(V8 developer here.) In short: it's inlining, or lack thereof, as decided by engine heuristics.
For an optimizing compiler, inlining a called function can have significant benefits (e.g.: avoids the call overhead, sometimes makes constant folding possible, or elimination of duplicate computations, sometimes even creates new opportunities for additional inlining), but comes at a cost: it makes the compilation itself slower, and it increases the risk of having to throw away the optimized code ("deoptimize") later due to some assumption that turns out not to hold. Inlining nothing would waste performance, inlining everything would waste performance, inlining exactly the right functions would require being able to predict the future behavior of the program, which is obviously impossible. So compilers use heuristics.
V8's optimizing compiler currently has a heuristic to inline functions only if it was always the same function that was called at a particular place. In this case, that's the case for the first iterations. Subsequent iterations then create new closures as callbacks, which from V8's point of view are new functions, so they don't get inlined. (V8 actually knows some advanced tricks that allow it to de-duplicate function instances coming from the same source in some cases and inline them anyway; but in this case those are not applicable [I'm not sure why]).
So in the first iteration, everything (including x => x % 2 === 0 and x => x * 2) gets inlined into toArray. From the second iteration onwards, that's no longer the case, and instead the generated code performs actual function calls.
That's probably fine; I would guess that in most real applications, the difference is barely measurable. (Reduced test cases tend to make such differences stand out more; but changing the design of a larger app based on observations made on a small test is often not the most impactful way to spend your time, and at worst can make things worse.)
Also, hand-optimizing code for engines/compilers is a difficult balance. I would generally recommend not to do that (because engines improve over time, and it really is their job to make your code fast); on the other hand, there clearly is more efficient code and less efficient code, and for maximum overall efficiency, everyone involved needs to do their part, i.e. you might as well make the engine's job simpler when you can.
If you do want to fine-tune performance of this, you can do so by separating code and data, thereby making sure that always the same functions get called. For example like this modified version of your code:
const ITERATION_END = Symbol('ITERATION_END');
class ArrayIterator {
constructor(array) {
this.array = array;
this.index = 0;
}
next() {
if (this.index >= this.array.length) return ITERATION_END;
return this.array[this.index++];
}
}
function arrayIterator(array) {
return new ArrayIterator(array);
}
class MapIterator {
constructor(source, modifier) {
this.source = source;
this.modifier = modifier;
}
next() {
const value = this.source.next();
return value === ITERATION_END ? value : this.modifier(value);
}
}
function map(iterator, selector) {
return new MapIterator(iterator, selector);
}
class FilterIterator {
constructor(source, predicate) {
this.source = source;
this.predicate = predicate;
}
next() {
let value = this.source.next();
while (value !== ITERATION_END && !this.predicate(value)) {
value = this.source.next();
}
return value;
}
}
function filter(iterator, predicate) {
return new FilterIterator(iterator, predicate);
}
function toArray(iterator) {
const array = [];
let value;
while ((value = iterator.next()) !== ITERATION_END) {
array.push(value);
}
return array;
}
function test(fn, iterations) {
for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
const start = performance.now();
fn();
console.log(performance.now() - start);
}
}
function createData() {
return Array.from({ length: 9000000 }, (_, i) => i + 1);
};
function even(x) { return x % 2 === 0; }
function double(x) { return x * 2; }
function testIterator(data) {
return function main() {
return toArray(map(filter(arrayIterator(data), even), double));
};
}
test(testIterator(createData()), 10);
Observe how there are no more dynamically created functions on the hot path, and the "public interface" (i.e. the way arrayIterator, map, filter, and toArray compose) is exactly the same as before, only under-the-hood details have changed. A benefit of giving all functions names is that you get more useful profiling output ;-)
Astute readers will notice that this modification only shifts the issue away: if you have several places in your code that call map and filter with different modifiers/predicates, then the inlineability issue will come up again. As I said above: microbenchmarks tend to be misleading, as real apps typically have different behavior...
(FWIW, this is pretty much the same effect as at Why is the execution time of this function call changing? .)
Just to add to this investigation, I compared the OP's original code with the predicate and selector functions declared as separate functions as suggested by jmrk to two other implementations. So, this code has three implementations:
OP's code with predicate and selector functions declared separately as named functions (not inline).
Using standard array.map() and .filter() (which you would think would be slower because of the extra creation of intermediate arrays)
Using a custom iteration that does both filtering and mapping in one iteration
The OP's attempt at saving time and making things faster is actually the slowest (on average). The custom iteration is the fastest.
I guess the lesson here is that it's not necessarily intuitive how you make things faster with the optimizing compiler so if you're tuning performance, you have to measure against the "typical" way of doing things (which may benefit from the most optimizations).
Also, note that in the method #3, the first two iterations are the slowest and then it gets faster - the opposite effect from the original code. Go figure.
The results are here:
[
99.90320014953613,
253.79690098762512,
271.3091011047363,
247.94990015029907,
247.457200050354,
261.9487009048462,
252.95090007781982,
250.8520998954773,
270.42809987068176,
249.340900182724
]
240.59370033740998
[
222.14270091056824,
220.48679995536804,
224.24630093574524,
237.07260012626648,
218.47070002555847,
218.1493010520935,
221.50559997558594,
223.3587999343872,
231.1618001461029,
243.55419993400574
]
226.01488029956818
[
147.81360006332397,
144.57479882240295,
73.13350009918213,
79.41700005531311,
77.38950109481812,
78.40880012512207,
112.31539988517761,
80.87990117073059,
76.7899010181427,
79.79679894447327
]
95.05192012786866
The code is here:
const { performance } = require('perf_hooks');
const ITERATION_END = Symbol('ITERATION_END');
const arrayIterator = (array) => {
let index = 0;
return {
hasValue: true,
next() {
if (index >= array.length) {
this.hasValue = false;
return ITERATION_END;
}
return array[index++];
},
};
};
const customIterator = (valueGetter) => {
return {
hasValue: true,
next() {
const nextValue = valueGetter();
if (nextValue === ITERATION_END) {
this.hasValue = false;
return ITERATION_END;
}
return nextValue;
},
};
};
const map = (iterator, selector) => customIterator(() => {
const value = iterator.next();
return value === ITERATION_END ? value : selector(value);
});
const filter = (iterator, predicate) => customIterator(() => {
if (!iterator.hasValue) {
return ITERATION_END;
}
let currentValue = iterator.next();
while (iterator.hasValue && currentValue !== ITERATION_END && !predicate(currentValue)) {
currentValue = iterator.next();
}
return currentValue;
});
const toArray = (iterator) => {
const array = [];
while (iterator.hasValue) {
const value = iterator.next();
if (value !== ITERATION_END) {
array.push(value);
}
}
return array;
};
const test = (fn, iterations) => {
const times = [];
let result;
for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
const start = performance.now();
result = fn();
times.push(performance.now() - start);
}
console.log(times);
console.log(times.reduce((sum, x) => sum + x, 0) / times.length);
return result;
}
const createData = () => Array.from({ length: 9000000 }, (_, i) => i + 1);
const cache = createData();
const comp1 = x => x % 2 === 0;
const comp2 = x => x * 2;
const testIterator = (data) => () => toArray(map(filter(arrayIterator(data), comp1), comp2))
// regular array filter and map
const testIterator2 = (data) => () => data.filter(comp1).map(comp2);
// combine filter and map in same operation
const testIterator3 = (data) => () => {
let result = [];
for (let value of data) {
if (comp1(value)) {
result.push(comp2(value));
}
}
return result;
}
const a = test(testIterator(cache), 10);
const b = test(testIterator2(cache), 10);
const c = test(testIterator3(cache), 10);
function compareArrays(a1, a2) {
if (a1.length !== a2.length) return false;
for (let [i, val] of a1.entries()) {
if (a2[i] !== val) return false;
}
return true;
}
console.log(a.length);
console.log(compareArrays(a, b));
console.log(compareArrays(a, c));

Need to execute function when forEach functions ends

I have this code in node js / firebase :
ref.child("recipts").once("value", function(usersSnap) {
usersSnap.forEach(function(reciptsSnap) {
reciptsSnap.forEach(function(reciptSnap) {
reciptSnap.ref.child("last_recipt").once("value", function(b) {
b.forEach(function(c) { //Here I fill some "product" object
});
});
reciptSnap.forEach(function(b) { //Here I fill some "product" object
});
});
});
});
I need to execute a function just when "reciptSnap" forEachs finished. How can I accomplish this, I try using a variable i++ and i-- but only work for one forEach iteration.
The function I call is for manipulating the product object I created with the filled data from the forEachs loops.
If I have understood correctly, you want to call a function when reciptsSnap.forEach is complete and all async tasks inside it are also complete.
For achieving this, you can use the index parameter and the original array that is passed to the callback function of forEach. (See Documentation)
The code will be like this:
(Note: The following code is without changing the current forEach loop structure used. However, re-writing the code with Promise or async would be a better & cleaner way to do it).
var loop1Done = false;
var loop2Done = false;
ref.child("recipts").once("value", function (usersSnap) {
usersSnap.forEach(function (reciptsSnap) {
reciptsSnap.forEach(function (reciptSnap, index, colA) {
const idx = index;
const col = colA;
reciptSnap.ref.child("last_recipt").once("value", function (b) {
const i = idx;
const c = col;
b.forEach(function (c, j, colB) { //Here I fill some "product" object
// Do what you want here
// Check if all done for this loop
if ((j >= colB.length) && (i >= c.length)) {
loop1Done = true;
// Check if all loops done
if (loop1Done && loop2Done) {
// Call final callback function
// e.g. myFinalCallback();
}
}
});
});
reciptSnap.forEach(function (b, k, colC) { //Here I fill some "product" object
const i = idx;
const c = col;
// Do what you want here
// Check if all done for this loop
if ((k >= colC.length) && (i >= c.length)) {
loop2Done = true;
// Check if all loops done
if (loop1Done && loop2Done) {
// Call final callback function
// e.g. myFinalCallback();
}
}
});
});
});
});
Try:
reciptSnap.child("last_recipt").forEach(function(b) {
b.forEach(function(c) {
//Here I fill some "product" object
});
});
This should work since all of your data should already have been fetched when you did "value" on the receipts node.
If this works, your code is no longer asynchronous and right after the last forEach, you can execute the function you wanted to.
reciptSnap.forEach(function(b) {
//Here I fill some "product" object
});
//Execute your function here
});

I just started learning node.js and i implemented a demo code exhibiting event listeners. I got an error

I am getting this error in my code
TypeError: account.on() is not a function
Where did i go wrong?
Code
var events = require('events');
function Account() {
this.balance = 0;
events.EventEmitter.call(this);
this.deposit = function(amount) {
this.balance += amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
this.withdraw = function(amount) {
this.balance -= amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
}
Account.prototype._proto_ = events.EventEmitter.prototype;
function displayBalance() {
console.log('Account balance : $%d', this.balance);
}
function checkOverdraw() {
if (this.balance < 0) {
console.log('Account overdrawn!!!');
}
}
function checkgoal(acc, goal) {
if (acc.balance > goal) {
console.log('Goal Achieved!!!');
}
}
var account = new Account();
account.on('balanceChanged', displayBalance);
account.on('balanceChanged', checkOverdraw);
account.on('balanceChanged', function() {
checkgoal(this, 1000);
});
account.deposit(220);
account.deposit(320);
account.deposit(600);
account.withdraw(1200);
Your example code is not idiomatic Node JS.
I'd strongly recommend you follow the recommended best practices when creating new inheritable objects, as in:
var util=require('util');
var EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
var Account = function(){
EventEmitter.call(this); // should be first
this.balance=0; // instance var
};
util.inherits(Account,EventEmitter);
Account.prototype.deposit = function(amount){
this.balance += amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
Account.prototype.withdraw = function(amount){
this.balance -= amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
var account = new Account();
var displayBalance = function(){
console.log("Account balance : $%d", this.balance);
};
account.on('balanceChanged',displayBalance);
account.deposit(200);
account.withdraw(40);
// ... etc. ....
Which, when run displays:
Account balance : $200
Account balance : $160
Best practices are there so that
your code can be expressed in a way that is easy for others to understand
you don't run into unexpected problems when you try to replicate functionality that is already defined, possibly complex and difficult to understand.
The reason that util.inherits exists is so you don't have to worry about how the prototype chain is constructed. By constructing it yourself, you will often run into the problem you experienced.
Also, since the current Node runtime (>6.0) also includes most of the ES6 spec, you can also (and really should) write your code as:
const util = require('util');
const EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
const Account = () => {
EventEmitter.call(this);
this.balance = 0;
};
util.inherits(Account,EventEmitter);
Account.prototype.deposit = (val) => {
this.balance += val;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
Account.prototype.withdraw = (val) => {
this.balance -= val;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
};
The use of the const keyword assures the variables you create cannot be changed inadvertently or unexpectedly.
And the use of the "fat arrow" function definition idiom (() => {}) is more succinct and thus quicker to type, but also carries the added benefit that it preserves the value of this from the surrounding context so you never have to write something like:
Account.prototype.doSomething = function() {
var self = this;
doSomething(val, function(err,res){
if(err) {
throw err;
}
self.result=res;
});
};
which, using the 'fat arrow' construct becomes:
Account.prototype.doSomething = () => {
doSomething(val, (err,res) => {
if(err) {
throw err;
}
this.result=res; // where 'this' is the instance of Account
});
};
The "fat arrow" idiom also allows you to do some things more succinctly like:
// return the result of a single operation
const add = (a,b) => a + b;
// return a single result object
const getSum = (a,b) => {{a:a,b:b,sum:a+b}};
Another way to create inheritable "classes" in ES6 is to use its class construction notation:
const EventEmitter = require('events');
class Account extends EventEmitter {
constructor() {
super();
this._balance = 0; // start instance vars with an underscore
}
get balance() { // and add a getter
return this._balance;
}
deposit(amount) {
this._balance += amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
}
withdraw(amount) {
this._balance -= amount;
this.emit('balanceChanged');
}
}
It should be noted that both ways of constructing inheritable prototypal objects is really the same, except that the new class construction idiom adds syntactic "sugar" to bring the declaration more in-line with other languages that support more classical object orientation.
The ES6 extensions to node offer many other benefits worthy of study.

Javascript accessing object and array defined in modular function

This is a bit foreign to me and I'm probably not understanding it correctly. This is what I have:
var imgModule = (function() {
var imgLocations = {};
var images = [];
imgLocations.setImage = function(img, location) {
imgLocations[img] = location;
}
imgLocations.getImg = function(img) {
return imgLocations[img];
}
imgLocations.setImageArray = function(img) {
images.push(img);
}
imgLocations.getImageArray = function() {
return images;
}
return imgLocations;
}());
I want to be able to access the imgLocations Object and images array from outside this function. The setting functions work, but
document.getElementById("but").onclick = function() {
console.log(imgModule.imgLocations.getImageArray());
console.log(imgModule.imgLocations.getImg(imgName));
}
Both return "undefined". How do I access these variables? And how can I improve this function? Please be patient with me and explain what I'm doing wrong :) I'm trying to learn it the right way instead of defining a global variable outside all functions.
The reason why this isn't working, is because your imgModule is returning the imgLocations object. That being the case, imgModule will actually be the imgLocations object. So you would access your methods like so:
imgModule.setImage()
imgModule.getImg()
imgModule.getImageArray()
imgModule.setImageArray()
And as #gillesc stated. If you are wanting to keep the current syntax of imgModule.imgLocations.getImg() then you could return the imgLocations like so
return {
imgLocations: imgLocations
}
doing so would allow you to add more functionality to your module
return {
imgLocations: imgLocations,
otherObject: otherObject
}
...
imgModule.otherObject.someFunctionCall();
The problem is you are returning the object created and are not setting it as a property of an object.
So in your case this is how it would work.
document.getElementById("but").onclick = function() {
console.log(imgModule.getImageArray());
console.log(imgModule.getImg(imgName));
}
What you need to do is return it like this
return {
imgLocations: imgLocations
}
If you want the API you are attending to create and still have access to the array which you can not do currently.
You don't access imgModule.imgLocations, since what you return is imgLocations, you should access them as:
document.getElementById("but").onclick = function() {
console.log(imgModule.getImageArray());
console.log(imgModule.getImg(imgName));
}
It seems you try to write module pattern.
For deep understanding, I recommend you following article:
The Module Pattern, by Addy Osmani
and pay attention to example with counter:
var testModule = (function () {
var counter = 0;
return {
incrementCounter: function () {
return counter++;
},
resetCounter: function () {
console.log( "counter value prior to reset: " + counter );
counter = 0;
}
};
})();
// Usage:
// Increment our counter
testModule.incrementCounter();
// Check the counter value and reset
// Outputs: counter value prior to reset: 1
testModule.resetCounter();

Generators in Node.js - Fiber or pure JavaScript?

I am trying to implement generators in Node.js. I came across node-fiber and node-lazy. Node-lazy deals with arrays and streams, but does not generate lazy things inherently (except numbers).
While using fiber looks cleaner, it has its cons, and as such, I prefer pure Javascript with closures as it's more explicit. My question is: are there memory or perf problems using closure to generate an iterator?
As an example, I'm trying to iterate through a tree depth-first, for as long as the caller asks for it. I want to find 'waldo' and stop at the first instance.
Fiber:
var depthFirst = Fiber(function iterate(tree) {
tree.children.forEach(iterate);
Fiber.yield(tree.value);
});
var tree = ...;
depthFirst.run(tree);
while (true) {
if (depthFirst.run() === 'waldo')
console.log('Found waldo');
}
Pure JavaScript with closures:
function iterate(tree) {
var childIndex = 0;
var childIter = null;
var returned = false;
return function() {
if (!childIter && childIndex < tree.children.length)
childIter = iterate(tree.children[childIndex++]);
var result = null;
if (childIter && (result = childIter()))
return result;
if (!returned) {
returned = true;
return tree.value;
}
};
}
var tree = ...;
var iter = iterate(tree);
while (true) {
if (iter() === 'waldo')
console.log('found waldo');
}

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