I am trying to filter an array of objects. Before I filter, I need to convert them to some format, and this operation is asynchronous.
const convert = () => new Promise( resolve => {
setTimeout( resolve, 1000 );
});
So, my first try was to do something like the following using async/await:
const objs = [ { id: 1, data: "hello" }, { id: 2, data: "world"} ];
objs.filter( async ( obj ) => {
await convert();
return obj.data === "hello";
});
Now, as some of you may know, Array.protoype.filter
is a function which callback must return either true or false. filter
is synchronous. In the previous example, I am returning none of them, I return a Promise ( all async functions are Promises ).
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/filter
So as one can assume, the code before doesn't really work... That assumption is correct.
To make filter work with an async function, I checked stackoverflow and found this topic:
Filtering an array with a function that returns a promise
Unfortunately, the chosen answer is overly complex and uses classes. This won't do for me. I am instead looking for a more simple solution, using simple functions with a functional approach.
There is one solution at the very end, using a map with a callback to simulate a filter:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/46842181/1337392
But I was hoping to fix my filter function, not to replace it.
There is no way to use filter with an async function (at least that I know of).
The simplest way that you have to use filter with a collection of promises is to use Promise.all
and then apply the function to your collection of results.
It would look something like this:
const results = await Promise.all(your_promises)
const filtered_results = results.filter(res => //do your filtering here)
Hope it helps.