Fetch call every 2 seconds, but don't want requests to stack up

Question

I am trying to make an API call and I want it to repeat every 2 seconds. However I am afraid that if the system doesn't get a request back in 2 seconds, that it will build up requests and keep trying to send them. How can I prevent this?

Here is the action I am trying to fetch:

const getMachineAction = async () => {
    try {
        const response = await fetch( 'https://localhost:55620/api/machine/');
        if (response.status === 200) {
            console.log("Machine successfully found.");
            const myJson = await response.json(); //extract JSON from the http response
            console.log(myJson);               
        } else {
            console.log("not a 200");
        }
    } catch (err) {
        // catches errors both in fetch and response.json
        console.log(err);
    }
};

And then I call it with a setInterval.

function ping() {
    setInterval(
        getMachineAction(),
        2000
    );        
}

I have thought of doing some promise like structure in the setInterval to make sure that the fetch had worked and completed, but couldn't get it working.

Answer 1

The Promise.all() Solution

This solution ensures that you don't miss-out on 2 sec delay requirement AND also don't fire a call when another network call is underway.

function callme(){
//This promise will resolve when the network call succeeds
//Feel free to make a REST fetch using promises and assign it to networkPromise
var networkPromise = fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1');


//This promise will resolve when 2 seconds have passed
var timeOutPromise = new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
  // 2 Second delay
  setTimeout(resolve, 2000, 'Timeout Done');
});

Promise.all(
[networkPromise, timeOutPromise]).then(function(values) {
  console.log("Atleast 2 secs + TTL (Network/server)");
  //Repeat
  callme();
});
}
callme();

Note: This takes care of the bad case definition as requested by the author of the question:

"the "bad case" (i.e. it takes longer than 2 seconds) is I want it to skip that request, and then send a single new one. So at 0 seconds the request sends. It takes 3 seconds to execute, then 2 seconds later (at 5) it should reexcute. So it just extends the time until it sends."

Answer 2

You could add a finally to your try/catch with a setTimeout instead of using your setInterval.

Note that long polling like this creates lot more server load than using websockets which themselves are a lot more real time

const getMachineAction = async () => {
    try {
        const response = await fetch( 'https://localhost:55620/api/machine/');
        if (response.status === 200) {
            console.log("Machine successfully found.");
            const myJson = await response.json(); //extract JSON from the http response
            console.log(myJson);               
        } else {
            console.log("not a 200");
        }
    } catch (err) {
        // catches errors both in fetch and response.json
        console.log(err);
    } finally {
        // do it again in 2 seconds
        setTimeout(getMachineAction , 2000);
    }
};

getMachineAction()

Answer 3

Simple! Just store whether it's currently making a request, and store whether the timer has tripped without sending a new request.

let in_progress = false;
let missed_request = false;
const getMachineAction = async () => {
    if (in_progress) {
        missed_request = true;
        return;
    }
    in_progress = true;
    try {
        const response = await fetch('https://localhost:55620/api/machine/');
        if (missed_request) {
            missed_request = false;
            setTimeout(getMachineAction, 0);
        }
        if (response.status === 200) {
            console.log("Machine successfully found.");
            const myJson = await response.json(); //extract JSON from the http response
            console.log(myJson);               
        } else {
            console.log("not a 200");
        }
    } catch (err) {
        // catches errors both in fetch and response.json
        console.log(err);
    } finally {
        in_progress = false;
    }
};

To start the interval, you need to omit the ():

setInterval(getMachineAction, 2000); 

Answer 4

you can try this, which i get the exact result i was looking for

const getMachineAction = async () => {
    try {
        const response = await fetch( 'https://localhost:55620/api/machine/');
        if (response.status === 200) {
            console.log("Machine successfully found.");
            const myJson = await response.json(); //extract JSON from the http response
            console.log(myJson);               
        } else {
            console.log("not a 200");
        }
    } catch (err) {
        // catches errors both in fetch and response.json
        console.log(err);
    } finally {
        // do it again in 2 seconds
        setTimeout(getMachineAction , 2000);
    }
};

getMachineAction()