Working with async
/await
introduces a new challenge in handling errors. Unlike callbacks, which
provide a dual mechanism for passing application errors via the callback err
argument and
developer errors via exceptions, await
combines these two channels into one.
It is common practice to ignore application errors in background processing or when there is no useful fallback. In those cases, it is still imperative to allow developer errors to surface and not get swallowed.
For more information read:
For example:
async function email(user) {
if (!user.address) {
throw new Error('User has no email address');
}
const message = 'Welcome!';
if (user.name) {
message = `Welcome ${user.name}!`;
}
await mailer.send(user.address, message);
}
async function register(address, name) {
const user = { address, name };
const id = await db.user.insert(user);
user.id = id;
try {
await email(user);
}
catch (err) { } // Ignore errors
return user;
}
This will fail silently every time the user has a name
because it is reassigning a value to a
const
variable. However, because email()
errors are ignored, system errors are ignored as well.
The idea is that email()
can be used in both critical and non-critical paths. In the critical
paths, errors are checked and addressed, but in the non-critical paths, errors are simply ignored.
This can be solved by adding a rethrow()
statement:
const Bounce = require('@hapi/bounce');
async function register(address, name) {
const user = { address, name };
const id = await db.user.insert(user);
user.id = id;
try {
await email(user);
}
catch (err) {
Bounce.rethrow(err, 'system'); // Rethrows system errors and ignores application errors
}
return user;
}
Throws the error passed if it matches any of the specified rules where:
err
- the error.type
- a single item or an array of items of:- An error constructor (e.g.
SyntaxError
). 'system'
- matches any languange native error or node assertions.'boom'
- matches boom errors.- an object where each property is compared with the error and must match the error property value. All the properties in the object must match the error but do not need to include all the error properties.
- An error constructor (e.g.
options
- optional object where:decorate
- an object which is assigned to theerr
, copying the properties onto the error.override
- an error used to overrideerr
whenerr
matches. If used withdecorate
, theoverride
object is modified.return
- iftrue
, the error is returned instead of thrown. Defaults tofalse
.
The opposite action of rethrow()
. Ignores any errors matching the specified types
. Any error
not matching is thrown after applying the options
.
Awaits for the value to resolve in the background and then apply either the rethrow()
or ignore()
actions where:
operation
- a function, promise, or value that isawait
ed on inside atry...catch
and any error thrown processed by theaction
rule.action
- one of'rethrow'
or'ignore'
. Defaults to'rethrow'
.types
- same as thetypes
argument passed torethrow()
orignore()
. Defaults to'system'
.options
- same as theoptions
argument passed torethrow()
orignore()
.
Returns true
when err
is a boom error.
Returns true
when err
is an error.
Return true
when err
is one of:
EvalError
RangeError
ReferenceError
SyntaxError
TypeError
URIError
- Node's
AssertionError