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https://github.com/mitranim/koa-ring

Ring-style handlers for Koa: ƒ(request) → response. Supports automatic cancelation on client disconnect
https://github.com/mitranim/koa-ring

cancelation coroutines futures koa middleware ring routing

Last synced: 2 months ago
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Ring-style handlers for Koa: ƒ(request) → response. Supports automatic cancelation on client disconnect

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README 

          
## Overview



Adapter library for [Koa](http://koajs.com), a popular HTTP microframework for Node.js. Allows you to write Koa handlers as `ƒ(request) -> response`, similar to [Ring](https://github.com/ring-clojure/ring) in Clojure. See [motivation](#functional-programming).



Includes optional support for implicit cancelation via [Posterus](https://github.com/Mitranim/posterus) futures and coroutines/fibers. See [motivation](#cancelation).



## TOC



  * [Overview](#overview)

  * [TOC](#toc)

  * [Usage](#usage)

  * [Motivation](#motivation)

  * [API](#api)

    * [Request](#request)

    * [Response](#response)

    * [`toKoaMiddleware`](#tokoamiddleware)

  * [Futures](#futures)

  * [Routing](#routing)

  * [Changelog](#changelog)

  * [Misc](#misc)



## Usage



Shell:



```sh

npm install --exact koa-ring

```



Node:



```js

const Koa = require('koa')

const {toKoaMiddleware} = require('koa-ring')



const app = new Koa()



app.use(toKoaMiddleware(exampleMiddleware(exampleHandler)))



function exampleMiddleware(nextHandler) {

  return async function prevHandler(request) {

    // do whatever

    // can substitute request

    const req = patch(request, {})

    const response = await nextHandler(req)

    // can substitute response

    return response || {status: 404}

  }

}



function exampleHandler(request) {

  // Status and headers are optional

  return {status: 200, headers: {}, body: 'Hello world!'}

}



function patch(left, right) {

  return Object.assign({}, left, right)

}



const PORT = 9756



app.listen(PORT, err => {

  if (err) throw err

  else console.info(`Server listening on port ${PORT}`)

})

```



With cancelation support:



```js

const Koa = require('koa')

const {toKoaMiddleware} = require('koa-ring/posterus')

const {Future} = require('posterus')



const app = new Koa()



app.use(toKoaMiddleware(handler))



// Implicitly converted to a Posterus fiber by koa-ring

function* handler(request) {

  // Could be a future-based database request, etc

  // This work can be automatically canceled if client disconnects

  // koa-ring automatically calls future.deinit()

  const greeting = yield Future.fromResult('Hello world!')

  return {body: greeting}

}



const PORT = 9756



app.listen(PORT, err => {

  if (err) throw err

  else console.info(`Server listening on port ${PORT}`)

})

```



See [API](#api) below.



## Motivation



### Functional Programming



In Koa, request handlers take a request/response context object, return `void` and mutate the context to send the response. In other words, Koa is a poor match for the HTTP programming model, which lends itself to plain functions of `ƒ(request) -> response`.



Advantages of `ƒ(request) -> response`:



  * Easy to rewrite request and/or response at handler level



  * Lends itself to function composition



  * You can often return response from another source, without writing a single line of context-mutating code



  * Returning nothing instead of a response makes it easy to signal "not found" or "noop" to the calling handler



Fortunately, we can fix this. We have the technology to write functions.



### Cancelation



Each incoming request must keep track of the work it starts, and abort that work if the request ends prematurely. Promises lack this ability, and are therefore fundamentally broken and unfit for purpose.



Examples from existing languages:



  * In Erlang, you create subprocesses using `spawn_link`; they're owned by the master process and die along with it.



  * In Go, you propagate cancelation using `context.Context`, supported by the standard library and many 3d party libraries.



  * In thread-based languages, there's no analog of `spawn_link` or Go context. At best, the request-handling thread may be stopped when a request ends prematurely, but this doesn't propagate to any sub-threads spawned by it.



In Node.js, you can achieve this effect by using cancelable async primitives, such as [Posterus futures](https://github.com/Mitranim/posterus), and [coroutines](https://github.com/Mitranim/posterus#fiber) built on them.



Concrete example:



```js

const {Future} = require('posterus')



// This is used internally by koa-ring

// const {fiber} = require('posterus/fiber')



function* koaRingHandler(request) {

  // If client disconnects, this invokes onDeinit, aborting work

  const one = yield expensiveFuture(request)

  // Delegate to another fiber, implicitly owning it;

  // if the client disconnects, both routines are canceled, aborting work

  const other = yield expensiveRoutine(request)

  return {body: other}

}



// Futures can be canceled with `future.deinit()`

function expensiveFuture(...args) {

  const future = new Future()

  const operationId = expensiveOperation(...args, (error, result) => {

    future.settle(error, result)

  })

  return future.finally(function finalize(error) {

    if (error) cancelOperation(operationId)

  })

}



// Routines are started as `const future = fiber(generatorFunction(...args))`

// and canceled as `future.deinit()`

function* expensiveRoutine(...args) {

  const value = yield expensiveWork(...args)

  return value

}

```



Lack of implicit cancelation leads to incorrect behavior. The client may wish to abort the work it has started; smart clients may cancel unnecessary requests to avoid wasting resources; and so on. Worse, this makes Node.js servers uniquely vulnerable to a certain type of DoS attack: making the server start expensive work and immediately canceling the request to free the attacker's system resources, while the server keeps slogging.



Fortunately, we can fix this. We have tools for implicit ownerhip and cancelation in async operations, such as [Posterus](https://github.com/Mitranim/posterus).



## API



In Koa, every request handler acts as middleware: it controls the execution of the next handler, running code before and after it.



In `koa-ring`, these are separate concepts. A _middleware_ function creates a _request handler_ function by wrapping the next handler.



```js

// Response shape. Status and headers are optional

const mockResponse = {status: 200, headers: {}, body: 'Hello world!'}



const handler = request => mockResponse



const overwritingMiddleware = nextHandler => async request => {

  const ignoredResponse = await nextHandler(request)

  return mockResponse

}



const noopMiddleware = nextHandler => nextHandler



const endware = () => handler

```



The resulting handlers have a signature of `ƒ(request) -> response` and lend themselves to composition and functional transformations of requests/responses.



`koa-ring` doesn't provide any special tools for middleware. Wrap your handlers into middlewares before passing the final handler to [`toKoaMiddleware`](#tokoamiddleware) and then to `koa.use`.



### Request



Every handler receives a request, which is a plain JS dict with the following shape:



```js

interface Request {

  url: string

  location: Location

  method: string

  headers: {}

  body: any

  ctx: KoaContext

  // Unimportant fields omitted

}



interface Location {

  pathname: string

  search: string

  query: {}

  // Unimportant fields omitted

}

```



`request.ctx` is the Koa context. It provides access to additional information and the underlying objects such as Node request, Node response, network socket, and so on. See the [Koa reference](http://koajs.com).



`request.location` is the parsed version of `request.url`. It's very similar to a result of Node's `require('url').parse`, but with `location.query` parsed into a dict.



Unlike Koa, `koa-ring` doesn't use prototype chains. The request is a plain JS dict. Middleware can pass modified copies:



```js

function mountingMiddleware(nextHandler) {

  return function handler(request) {

    const url = request.url.replace(/^\/api(?=\/)/, '')

    return nextHandler(patch(request, {url}))

  }

}



function patch(left, right) {

  return Object.assign({}, left, right)

}

```



You can override both request and response:



```js

function middleware(handler) {

  return async request => {

    request = patch(request, {metadata: {}})

    let response = await handler(request)

    response = patch(response, {status: response.status || 200})

    return response

  }

}



function patch(left, right) {

  return Object.assign({}, left, right)

}

```



### Response



Handlers return responses. A response is a plain JS dict with the following shape:



```js

interface Response {

  status: number

  headers: {}

  body: any

}

```



Every field is optional. It's ok to return nothing; `koa-ring` will just run the next Koa middleware.



Handlers in a middleware can easily override each other's responses:



```js

const middleware = next => async request => {

  const response = await next(request)

  return response || {status: 404}

}

```



### `toKoaMiddleware`



Converts a `koa-ring` handler into a Koa middleware. You should compose all your handlers and apply `koa-ring`-style middlewares before passing the resulting handler to `toKoaMiddleware`. You only need one per application.



```js

const Koa = require('koa')

const {toKoaMiddleware} = require('koa-ring')



const app = new Koa()



// Adds `request.body`

app.use(require('koa-bodyparser')())



const echo = request => request



app.use(toKoaMiddleware(echo))

```



See below for the future-based version with cancelation.



## Futures



See [motivation](#cancelation) for supporting futures.



To use `koa-ring` with Posterus futures and coroutines, use the optional `koa-ring/posterus` module.



```js

const Koa = require('koa')

const {toKoaMiddleware} = require('koa-ring/posterus')



const app = new Koa()



app.use(toKoaMiddleware(handler))



function* handler(request) {

  const response = yield someFuture(request)

  return response

}

```



## Routing



By preparsing `request.url` into `request.location`, `koa-ring` makes _manual_ routing much easier. You might not need a library:



```js

function mainHandler(request) {

  const {location: {pathname}} = request

  if (/^[/]api[/]/.test(pathname)) return apiHandler(request)

  return viewHandler(request)

}



function apiHandler(request) {

  const {method, location: {pathname}} = request



  if (method === 'GET' && pathname === '/api/users') {

    return userHandler(request)

  }



  if (method === 'POST' && pathname === '/api/login') {

    return loginHandler(request)

  }



  // ...

}

```



## Changelog



### 0.3.2



Updated dependencies.



### 0.3.1



Updated to a newer version of Posterus (bugfix).



### 0.3.0



Breaking: replaced routing utils with URL preparsing. Tentative.



* removed `match`

* removed `mount`

* added `request.location`



Instead of using multiple functions hidden behind routes, you're supposed to route imperatively, with a series of `if/else`, by looking at the conveniently-parsed `request.location`.



This is tentative, likely to be followed by more changes as I'm experimenting with the idea.



## Misc



I'm receptive to suggestions. If this library _almost_ satisfies you but needs changes, open an issue or chat me up. Contacts: https://mitranim.com/#contacts