Reading Input
Part of the Node.js Basics section of Coddy's Node.js journey. Lesson 21 of 24.
Adding notes one command at a time is slow when the list already exists somewhere else.
A program can read input from stdin, the stream a pipe or the keyboard fills. for await (const chunk of process.stdin) reads it piece by piece until it ends. Join the pieces, then split them into lines.
// cat numbers.txt | node sum.js
let input = '';
for await (const chunk of process.stdin) {
input += chunk;
}
const numbers = input.split('\n').filter((line) => line !== '').map(Number);
console.log(numbers.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0));Here the terminal's Input box fills stdin. Text usually ends with a newline, so the last line is empty: drop empty lines.
Challenge
Easynode notes.js importreads its input, saves one note per line and printsImported 3 notes..- Blank lines are skipped, and spaces around a line are trimmed.
Type three lines in the Input box, with a blank line between two of them, and run node notes.js import. Then run it with the box empty.
Try it yourself
// Your notes tool starts here.
import { rmSync } from 'node:fs';
import path from 'node:path';
import { formatNote } from './format.js';
import stats from './legacy/stats.cjs';
import store from './store.js';
const [command, ...words] = process.argv.slice(2);
const text = words.join(' ');
store.on('added', (note, n) => {
console.log(`Saved note ${n}.`);
});
const noteNumber = (word) => {
const n = Number(word);
if (!Number.isInteger(n) || n < 1 || n > store.notes.length) {
console.error(`No note ${word}`);
process.exit(1);
}
return n;
};
if (command === 'add') {
await store.add(text);
} else if (command === 'list') {
const owner = process.env.NOTES_OWNER ?? 'you';
console.log(`Notes for ${owner}`);
if (store.notes.length === 0) {
console.log('No notes yet');
}
const lines = store.notes.map((note, i) => formatNote(i + 1, note));
if (store.settings.sort === 'newest') {
lines.reverse();
}
lines.forEach((line) => console.log(line));
} else if (command === 'where') {
const file = path.join(process.cwd(), 'notes.json');
console.log(file);
console.log(path.basename(file));
} else if (command === 'stats') {
console.log(`${store.notes.length} notes, ${stats.countWords(store.notes)} words`);
} else if (command === 'done') {
const removed = await store.remove(noteNumber(words[0]));
console.log(`Done: ${removed}`);
} else if (command === 'remind') {
const note = store.notes[noteNumber(words[0]) - 1];
let count = 3;
const timer = setInterval(() => {
if (count > 0) {
console.log(count);
count -= 1;
} else {
console.log(note);
clearInterval(timer);
}
}, 200);
} else if (command === 'clear') {
rmSync('notes.json', { force: true });
console.log('Deleted notes.json');
} else {
if (command) {
console.error(`Unknown command: ${command}`);
}
console.error('Usage: node notes.js <command> [words]');
process.exit(1);
}
All lessons in Node.js Basics
1Running JavaScript on Node
Hello, NodeCommand-Line ArgumentsCommands