I have a NodeJS / Express RESTful API that proxies requests from an Active Directory LDAP Server. I do this because LDAP queries tend to be slow. I use the RESTful API to cache and refresh data intermittently. I recently attempted to add the thumbnail photo. In research it appears the library that I am using ldapjs is converting the native ldap byte array to a string.
Example of what this looks like:
\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\u0000\u0010JFIF\u0000\u0001\u0000\u0001\u0000x\u0000x\u0000\u0000\ufffd\ufffd\u0000\u001fLEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01\u0000\ufffd\ufffd\u0000\ufffd\u0000\u0005\u0005\u0005\b\
Due to this fact the image does not render correctly on the angular client app. So based on my research, here are some attempts in correcting this problem:
Convert the string to a byte array using different methods (See code examples)
Modify the ldapjs library to render the data as a byte array in the RESTFUL as in the following, then bind the byte stream to the angular page:
html binding:
<div>
<img *ngIf="userImage" [src]="userImage" alt="{{dataSource.sAMAccountName}}">
</div>
controller:
public get userImage() {
let value = null;
if(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto) {
const byteArray = this.string2Bin(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto);
const image = `data:image/jpeg;base64,${Buffer.from(byteArray).toString('base64')}`;
value = this.domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustUrl(image);
}
return value;
}
private string2Bin(str) {
var result = [];
for (var i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
result.push(str.charCodeAt(i));
}
return result;
}
and
alternate version of controller:
public get userImage() {
let value = null;
if(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto) {
const byteArray = new TextEncoder().encode(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto);
const image = `data:image/jpeg;base64,${Buffer.from(byteArray).toString('base64')}`;
value = this.domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustUrl(image);
}
return value;
}
another alternate version of controller:
public get userImage() {
let value = null;
if(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto) {
const blob = new Blob( [Buffer.from(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto).toString('base64')], { type: 'image/jpeg' } );
const value = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
return value;
}
I expected a rendered image on the angular page but all I get is the non-rendered placeholder.
Here are the versions of the libraries I am using
I am sure I am missing something, I am just not sure what it is. Any assistance would be appreciated.
So after some guidance provided by @Aritra Chakraborty, I checked the RESTful api source code. It appears to be a problem with a ldapjs library. When using the entry object conversion, it is doing something strange with the data to which it is not usable. I then realized, I had access to the entry raw format which is the byte array . Instead of trying to convert to base64 on the client, I moved this to the API. Then just mapped it back on the client binding and bang it worked.
Here is some example code:
RESTFul api
_client.search(this._search_dn, opts, (error, res) => {
res.on("searchEntry", (entry) => {
let result = {};
result.id = string_service.formatGUID(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(entry.raw)).objectGUID);
result = Object.assign({}, result, entry.object);
if(entry.raw.thumbnailPhoto) {
result.thumbnailPhoto = entry.raw.thumbnailPhoto.toString('base64');
}
// The previous 3 lines did not exist previously
On the Angular 8 client I simplified the binding:
public get userImage() {
let value = null;
if(this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto) {
const image = `data:image/jpeg;base64,${this.dataSource.thumbnailPhoto}`;
value = this.domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustUrl(image);
}
return value;
}
I hope someone finds some value out of this.