11

I have multiple API calls to be made which fetch via an API, write data to DB via API, send output to front end via another API.

I have written async function with await like below.

The first two should run one after another but the third one can run independently and doesn't need to wait for the first two fetch statements to complete.

let getToken= await fetch(url_for_getToken);
let getTokenData = await getToken.json();

let writeToDB = await fetch(url_for_writeToDB);
let writeToDBData = await writeToDB.json();

let frontEnd = await fetch(url_for_frontEnd);
let frontEndData = await frontEnd.json();

What is the best way to handle such multiple fetch statements ?

6
  • 7
    You could have a look at Promise.all. Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 9:18
  • 2
    @YannickK Would Promise.all be necessary here? Couldn't he just use .then() instead? He's not waiting for the completion of both, but rather the first then second, then third irrespective of those two. Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 9:28
  • 1
    @Kobe I think the main issue in this case is that OP wants to separate the server and client calls since they're not dependent on each other - and it would be silly performance-wise if they waited on each other - but if any of them fail you want a rejection. You're definitely right that he could do without Promise.all, but in this case I'd imagine it would be cleaner (and easier to build on in the future) if he wrapped everything in one Promise.all call, specifically for error handling. Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 9:57
  • @Kobe Because Promise.all is essential for proper error handling and waiting for the completion of both the first-then-second and the third promises. Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 10:44
  • 1
    The simplest answer solves the problem best, but unfortunately was undeservedly downvoted. It’s worth giving it a shot, @Yasar Abdulllah. Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 11:56

4 Answers 4

3

There are many ways but the most universal is to wrap each async code path in an async function. This gives you flexibility of mix & matching async return values as you please. In your example you can even inline code with async iife's:

await Promise.all([
  (async() => {
    let getToken = await fetch(url_for_getToken);
    let getTokenData = await getToken.json();

    let writeToDB = await fetch(url_for_writeToDB);
    let writeToDBData = await writeToDB.json();
  })(),
  (async() => {
    let frontEnd = await fetch(url_for_frontEnd);
    let frontEndData = await frontEnd.json();
  })()
]);
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1 Comment

Finally, a proper answer! :D
2

It's easier if you work with promise "creators" (= function that return promises) rather than raw promises. First, define:

const fetchJson = (url, opts) => () => fetch(url, opts).then(r => r.json())

which returns such a "creator". Now, here are two utilities for serial and parallel chaining, which accept both raw promises and "creators":

const call = f => typeof f === 'function' ? f() : f;

const parallel = (...fns)  => Promise.all(fns.map(call));

async function series(...fns) {
    let res = [];

    for (let f of fns)
        res.push(await call(f));

    return res;
}

Then, the main code can be written like this:

let [[getTokenData, writeToDBData], frontEndData] = await parallel(
    series(
        fetchJson(url_for_getToken),
        fetchJson(url_for_writeToDB),
    ),
    fetchJson(url_for_frontEnd),
)

If you don't like the dedicated "creator" wrapper, you can define fetchJson normally

const fetchJson = (url, opts) => fetch(url, opts).then(r => r.json())

and use inline continuations right where series or parallel are called:

let [[getTokenData, writeToDBData], frontEndData] = await parallel(
    series(
        () => fetchJson('getToken'),
        () => fetchJson('writeToDB'),
    ),
    () => fetchJson('frontEnd'), // continuation not necessary, but looks nicer
)

To bring the idea further, we can make series and parallel return "creators" as well rather than promises. This way, we can build arbitrary nested "circuits" of serial and parallel promises and get the results in order. Complete working example:

const call = f => typeof f === 'function' ? f() : f;

const parallel = (...fns)  => () => Promise.all(fns.map(call));

const series = (...fns) => async () => {
    let res = [];

    for (let f of fns)
        res.push(await call(f));

    return res;
};

//

const request = (x, time) => () => new Promise(resolve => {
    console.log('start', x);
    setTimeout(() => {
        console.log('end', x)
        resolve(x)
    }, time)
});

async function main() {
    let chain = series(
        parallel(
            series(
                request('A1', 500),
                request('A2', 200),
            ),
            series(
                request('B1', 900),
                request('B2', 400),
                request('B3', 400),
            ),
        ),
        parallel(
            request('C1', 800),
            series(
                request('C2', 100),
                request('C3', 100),
            )
        ),
    );

    let results = await chain();

    console.log(JSON.stringify(results))
}

main()
.as-console-wrapper { max-height: 100% !important; top: 0; }

4 Comments

why don't you just return promise from fetchJson? I can't see any benefits from wrapping a promise with another function. And usefulness of series is questionable since the next function in a series typically requires the return value of previous function(s).
ah, yes. All this ceremony just to use series. I'd rather prefer async iife for sequences and Promise.allSettled instead of parallel.
@georg your solutions looks complicated - can you expaliain what are the advantages of your approach?
@georg - ok, but can you answer my question - what are the advantages of your generic techniques used in this answer? Usually more generic code need some documentation about idea hidden behind and advantages/features provide by it (e.g like frameworks).
1

You can use .then(), rather than await:

fetch(url_for_getToken)
  .then(getToken => getToken.json())
  .then(async getTokenData => {
    let writeToDB = await fetch(url_for_writeToDB);
    let writeToDBData = await writeToDB.json();
    // Carry on
  })

fetch(url_for_frontEnd)
  .then(frontEnd => frontEnd.json())
  .then(frontEndData => {
    // Carry on  
  })

1 Comment

Don't forget to handle errors on those promise chains - or Promise.all them and return them to the caller.
-1

Run independent request (writeToDB) at the beginning and without await

let writeToDB = fetch(url_for_writeToDB);

let getToken = await fetch(url_for_getToken);
let getTokenData = await getToken.json();

// ...

6 Comments

@Bergi the question is not about error handling - error handling (like try-catch) is important but it is separate topic
await has error-handling built in - when the promise rejects, you get an exception, the promise returned by the async function call will reject, and the caller will notice. If you suggest to drop the await keyword and run the promise chain independently, you must not do so without thinking about error handling. An answer that doesn't at least mention it (or preserves the original behaviour of the caller getting a rejection) is a bad answer.
This answer solves OP’s problem and it‘s also the simplest of all presented answers so far. I’m curious as to why this was downvoted? The OP stated "the 3rd one can run independently and no need to wait for the first 2 fetch statements to complete.", so executing it first is just fine.
Thanks for commenting @Bergi. Given that OP’s question didn’t include error handling either, I would assume it’s being left out for brevity and beyond the scope of the question. But yes, anyone can vote with their own opinion.
@AndreasPizsa As I said, await does handle promise errors by throwing an exception, which could get caught somewhere (in the code not shown). But this answer changes the error handling behaviour of the code without mentioning it, and that's dangerous.
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