Using generator function next() as a callback in node.js

Question

I'm writing some node.js to interact with sensors over a serial port connection. The code for reading the sensor is asynchronous, naturally. In my control code, though, I need to read a sensor, do something based on the value, read again, do something else, etc. To do this, I'm using code like the following self-contained test:

var main = new Main();
main.next();

function* Main()
{
  var reading = yield readSensor(this.next.bind(this));
  console.log(reading);

  var reading = yield readSensor(this.next.bind(this));
  console.log(reading);
}

function readSensor(callback)
{
  // simulate asynchrounous callback from reading sensor
  setTimeout(function sensorCallback() { callback('foo'); }, 100);
}

So, my sequential control code is in a generator which yields to readSensor() when it needs to get a reading. When the sensor reading is done, it calls the callback, and control returns to the main code. I'm doing it this way because I may need to read from various sensors in different orders depending on previous readings. So, here's the questionable part: I pass this.next.bind(this) as a callback to the asynchronous read function. The code seems to work when generators are enabled (--harmony_generators), but I am wondering if there are pitfalls here that I am missing. I'm relatively new to JS, so don't be afraid to point out the obvious :)

Answer 1

I haven't studied ES6 generators in depth, but having a generator pass its own .next to another function as a callback doesn't sit well with me. If anything, it could create a situation where readSensor fails and you have no way to handle the failure, ending up in a deadlock.

I suggest modifying or wrapping readSensor to return a promise, and then using the technique outlined in this article.

That would allow you to write code like this (verified working in Node v0.12.0):

var Promise = require('q');

var main = async(function* () {
    var reading = yield readSensor();
    console.log(reading);

    reading = yield readSensor();
    console.log(reading);
});

main();

function readSensor() {
    return Promise.delay(2000).thenResolve(Math.random() * 100);
}



/***********************************************************
 * From here down,                                         *
 * boilerplate  async() function from article linked above *
 ***********************************************************/

function async(makeGenerator){
  return function () {
    var generator = makeGenerator.apply(this, arguments);

    function handle(result){
      // result => { done: [Boolean], value: [Object] }
      if (result.done) return Promise.resolve(result.value);

      return Promise.resolve(result.value).then(function (res){
        return handle(generator.next(res));
      }, function (err){
        return handle(generator.throw(err));
      });
    }

    try {
      return handle(generator.next());
    } catch (ex) {
      return Promise.reject(ex);
    }
  }
}

As loganfsmyth notes below, Q already provides a Q.async() method that provides the functionality of this async() function, and possibly other promise libraries do as well.