I am trying to verify if a object already exists in a wix collection and if it does cancel the inset() call to the database
import wixData from "wix-data";
export function Memberships_beforeInsert(item, context) {
var name = item.firstName + item.lastName;
name = name.toLowerCase();
wixData.query(context.collectionName)
.find()
.then((res) => {
var members = res.items;
var len = res.length;
console.log(len)
for (var i = 0; i < len; i++) {
let member = members[i];
let memberName = member.firstName + member.lastName;
memberName = memberName.toLowerCase();
if (memberName === name) {
let toUpdate = {
'_id': member._id
}
wixData.update(context.collectionName, toUpdate)
return null;
}
return item;
}
});
//toHere
}
Im fairly new to and wixCode but I was expecting this to wait until the .then() is called then return as follows, but due to wixCode utilizing promises, the code goes immediately to the //toHere section of the code in which it dosent find a return and dismisses the call. Which adds the data to the database instead of returning null.
OK so when we look at your code it seems that you want to find a matching record to the one you are trying to insert to Memberships and then abort the insert and execute an update if one exists. The better way to do this is to look for the specific record match using the query .eq() function. If this finds a matching record then you can update otherwise continue with the insert. See below.
So quickly what is a promise?
In layman's terms think of a Promise like a FedEx tracking code.
When you call a promise based function to ask it to do something you are given back a Promise that what you asked for will be done or that you will be told if a problem occurred.
Just like a fed ex tracking code - you don't know if something has arrived (your function has done what you want it to) unless you check the tracking status using the code OR the fedex delivery van arrives and you receive the package. At which point the tracking code is updated to say the package was delivered and you might get a text or email saying it has been delivered.
A Promise function either completes successfully and you get a result in the then function call OR if an error occurs a catch() event is triggered. So All Promise based functions are similar to if then else conditional test only they look like this:
sendFedEx(package) // Call doesn't resolve immediately you have to wait for fedEx!
.then((fedExDeliveryInfo) => {
//Your package arrived!
})
.catch((fedExLostPackageInfo) => {
//Your package got lost :-(
});
In your code you do a case insensitive compare outside of the data collection. This is probably going to get resource intensive with a large data collection. A better way would be to store the case insensitive string: (item.firstName + item.lastName).toLowerCase() in the data record and then use it for your query using .eq. That way you let the data collection do its job and simplify your code. Note: This makes use of the fact that beforeInsert() returns a Promise.
Syntax:
function beforeInsert(item: Object, context: HookContext): Promise
Here is a modified suggestion for you with lots of comments!
import wixData from "wix-data";
export function Memberships_beforeInsert(item, context) {
// Memberships_beforeInsert returns a promise. So does
// wixData.query...find() so we simply return it to maintain the Promise
// chain.
var compareName = (item.firstName + item.lastName).toLowerCase();
// Add a compareName column value to item for future querying
// This will be inserted into the data collection
item.compareName = compareName;
//-------------------------------------------------------//
// This is the head of the Promise chain we need to return
//-------------------------------------------------------//
return wixData.query(context.collectionName)
.eq('compareName', item.compareName) // Query the compareName
.find()
.then((res) => {
var members = res.items;
var len = res.length;
console.log(len);
// Should only have one record or no records otherwise we have a
// problem with this code :-)
// So if we have too many we throw and error. This will be caught in
// an outer catch if we have one
if (len > 1) {
throw Error(`Internal Error! Too many records for ${item.firstName} ${item.lastName}`);
}
// If we get here we have a valid record OR we need to return a result
// To do this we will use a return variable set to the item which
// assumes we will insert item. This will be overridden with the save
// Promise if we have a record already
var result = item;
if (len === 1) {
// We have a record already so we need to update it and return null
// to the caller of beforeInsert to halt the insert. This is a
// Simple case of adding the _id of the found record to the item we
// have been given.
item['_id'] = member._id;
// Again remember we are using promises so we need to return the
// wixData.update result which is a promise.
result = wixData.update(context.collectionName, toUpdate)
.then((savedRecord) => {
// Now we have chained the update to the beforeInsert response
// This is where we can tell the Insert function to abort by
// returning null.
return null;
});
}
// Now we can return the result we have determined to the caller
return result;
});
}
This should do what you are trying to accomplish.