properly using async and await

Question

The function below calls several asynchronous functions in a for loop. It's parsing different CSV files to build a single JavaScript object. I'd like to return the object after the for loop is done. Its returning the empty object right away while it does the asynchronous tasks. Makes sense, however I have tried various Promise / async /await combinations hopes of running something once the for loop has completed. I am clearly not understanding what is going on. Is there a better pattern to follow for something like this or am I thinking about it incorrectly?

async function createFormConfig(files: string[]): Promise<object>

  return new Promise(resolve => {

    const retConfig: any = {};


    for (const file of files) {


      file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('FIELD')) ?
        parseCsv(file).then(parsedData => {
          retConfig.fields = parsedData.data;
        })

        : file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('FORM'))
        ? parseCsv(file).then(parsedData => retConfig.formProperties = parsedData.data[0])

        : file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('PDF'))
          ? parseCsv(file).then(parsedData => retConfig.jsPdfProperties = parsedData.data[0])

          : file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('META'))
            ? parseCsv(file).then(parsedData => {
              retConfig.name = parsedData.data[0].name;
              retConfig.imgType = parsedData.data[0].imgType;
              // console.log(retConfig);  <- THIS CONSOLE WILL OUTPUT RETCONFIG LOOKING LIKE I WANT IT
            })

            : file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('PAGES'))
              ? parseCsv(file).then(parsedData => retConfig.pages = parsedData.data)
              : console.log('there is an extra file: ' + file);

    }

    resolve(retConfig);  // <- THIS RETURNS: {}
  });

This is the code I'm using to call the function in hopes of getting my 'retConfig' filled with the CSV data.

getFilesFromDirectory(`${clOptions.directory}/**/*.csv`)
  .then(async (files) => {
    const config = await createFormConfig(files);
    console.log(config);
  })
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

};

Answer 1

First, an async function returns a Promise, so you dont have to return one explicitely.Here is how you can simplify your code:

async function createFormConfig(files: string[]): Promise<object> {

  // return new Promise(resolve => { <-- remove

  const retConfig: any = {};

  // ...

  // The value returned by an async function is the one you get
  // in the callback passed to the function `.then` 
  return retConfig;

  // }); <-- remove
}

Then, your function createFormConfig returns the config before it has finished to compute it. Here is how you can have it computed before returning it:

async function createFormConfig(files: string[]): Promise<object> {

  const retConfig: any = {};

  // Return a Promise for each file that have to be parsed
  const parsingCsv = files.map(async file => {
    if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('FIELD'))) {
      const { data } = await parseCsv(file);
      retConfig.fields = data;
    } else if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('FORM'))) {
      const { data } = await parseCsv(file);
      retConfig.formProperties = data[0];
    } else if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('PDF'))) {
      const { data } = await parseCsv(file);
      retConfig.jsPdfProperties = data[0];
    } else if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('META'))) {
      const { data } = await parseCsv(file);
      retConfig.name = data[0].name;
      retConfig.imgType = data[0].imgType;
    } else if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('PAGES'))) {
      const { data } = await parseCsv(file);
      retConfig.pages = data;
    } else {
      console.log('there is an extra file: ' + file);
    }
  });

  // Wait for the Promises to resolve
  await Promise.all(parsingCsv)

  return retConfig;
}

Answer 2

async functions already return promises, you don't need to wrap the code in a new one. Just return a value from the function and the caller will receive a promise that resolves to the returned value.

Also, you have made an async function, but you're not actually using await anywhere. So the for loop runs through the whole loop before any of your promises resolve. This is why none of the data is making it into your object.

It will really simplify your code to only use await and get rid of the then() calls. For example you can do this:

async function createFormConfig(files: string[]): Promise<object> {

  const retConfig: any = {};

  for (const file of files) {

    if (file.match(matchFilesForFormConfigMap.get('FIELD')){
      // no need for the then here
      let parsedData = await parseCsv(file)
      retConfig.field = parsedData.data
    }

   // ...etc

At the end you can just return the value:

return retConfig