actionhero-client turns 1.0.0

actionhero javascript node.js 
2012-11-17
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actionhero-client is a nodeJS package to allow a remote nodeJS app to connect to / consume an actionHero API.

Improvements include:

  • TLS (secure) option in addition to raw TCP
  • Tests!
  • Cleaner API
  • More sensical event emitters

The most intersting part of creating this client was dealing with the notion that you can have more than one ‘pending’ request out to the API at any moment. While node.js developers are used to to dealing with parallel and async functions, I still always thought of remote requests in the HTTP way, mainly that I could always assume each request would be responded to with only one and only one response. This isn’t true in raw socket land!

If I were to request slowAction and then fastAction, it’s likely I would receive the response to fastAction first. actionHero makes use of a request counter (messageCount) for each request so that clients can differentiate responses, and know which call they were related to. I adopted the "holding pen pattern" (I made this term up just now) which stores async callbacks until a relevant response has been returned from the API. This still allows folks to use the common method(data, callback) pattern, but in a very unlinked w Anyway… npm install actionhero-client and you are good to go!quests and limit the number of ‘active’ queries (coming in a future version), and to timeout requests which take to long.

Anyway… npm install actionhero-client and you are good to go!

Hi, I'm Evan

I write about Technology, Software, and Startups. I use my Product Management, Software Engineering, and Leadership skills to build teams that create world-class digital products.

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