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Table of Contents

Overview

This module contains a set of miscellaneous utility functions that don't fit into any particular category.

Usage

Use npm to install the module:

npm install pixl-tools

Then use require() to load it in your code:

const Tools = require('pixl-tools');

Then call the function of your choice:

let id = Tools.generateUniqueID();

Function List

Here are all the functions included in the tools library, with full descriptions and examples:

timeNow

NUMBER timeNow( FLOOR )

This function returns the current time expressed as Epoch Seconds. Pass true if you want the value floored to the nearest integer.

let epoch = Tools.timeNow();
let floored = Tools.timeNow(true);

generateUniqueID

STRING generateUniqueID( LENGTH, SALT )

This function generates a cryptographically secure alphanumeric (lower-case hexadecimal) ID. It is extremely fast, as it uses a local 32K cache and only calls crypto.randomBytes to refill it. The default length is 64 characters, but you can pass in any lesser length to chop it.

let id = Tools.generateUniqueID();
// Example: "1ee5de6aae098087d74e79b70a6796400d5b5fb9c8d53581d17cdd560892a14a"

let id = Tools.generateUniqueID( 32 );
// Example: "507d935eff6fbc502ad1156c728641b6"

let id = Tools.generateUniqueID( 16 );
// Example: "3b71219d2bfa2b0c"

generateUniqueBase64

STRING generateUniqueBase64( BYTES, SALT )

This function generates a cryptographically secure URL-safe Base64 ID string. It is extremely fast, as it uses a local 32K cache and only calls crypto.randomBytes to refill it. The default length is 32 bytes (which results in a ~43 character Base64 string), but you can pass in any lesser byte length to chop it (e.g. 16 or 8).

let id = Tools.generateUniqueBase64();
// Example: "q7CLMg_FBD9gYDlqPADYtg7VX1VVxOGKn_HgZBE-H54"

let id = Tools.generateUniqueBase64( 16 );
// Example: "jNEHRduwVcqcijGVAKVZQg"

let id = Tools.generateUniqueBase64( 8 );
// Example: "YrIjBy5x_sU"

generateShortID

STRING generateShortID( PREFIX )

This function generates a short, semi-unique pseudo-random sortable alphanumeric ID using high-resolution server time, a static counter, and crypto random bytes. It is extremely fast, as it uses a local 32K cache and only calls crypto.randomBytes to refill it. The IDs are Base-36 encoded (lower-case alphanumeric), and 16 characters in length (including an optional string prefix if provided). Example:

let id = Tools.generateShortID('z');
// Example: "zmfopulv7m5o4dz6"

The IDs are constructed from the following parts:

  • A user-provided prefix string (optional, custom length)
  • The Unix clock time in milliseconds, converted to Base-36 (+8 characters)
  • A static global counter, also in Base-36, which counts up to 1,296 (zz) then resets (+2 characters)
  • Crypto random bytes in Base-36 (enough to fill out the ID to 16 characters total)

Use these with caution, as collisions can happen when many IDs are generated in sequence at an extremely high rate. However, in practice this will be very, very rare indeed. In order to produce a collision, the following has to occur: More than 1,296 IDs have to be generated within the same server clock millisecond (which flips the static counter back to zero), and the crypto random portion of the ID (usually around 5 - 6 characters) have to collide with the ID with the matching static counter value from the previous loop.

Note: Unix clock time in Base-36 will rollover from 8 to 9 characters in the year 2059 A.D. When this happens, the short IDs will still be 16 characters total (it compensates), but the time portion will take up 1 extra character, which will cause a "resort" if you are relying on these being alphabetically sortable. However, this library will likely be obsolete by then (and I'll probably be dead), so I don't care. No, I don't want to add a padding character.

digestHex

STRING digestHex( PLAINTEXT, [ALGO], [LEN] )

This function is a simple wrapper around Node's SHA-256 or other hashing algorithms. The default is SHA-256, in which case it returns a 64-character hexadecimal hash of the given string. You can pass a lesser length as the 3rd argument to chop it.

let sig = Tools.digestHex( "my plaintext string" );
// --> "6b4fdfd705d05b11a56b8c3020058b666359d3939b6eda354f529ebad77695c2"

To specify the algorithm, include it as the second argument. It should be a string set to md5, sha256, etc. On recent releases of OpenSSL, typing openssl list-message-digest-algorithms will display the available digest algorithms. Example (MD5):

let sig = Tools.digestHex( "my plaintext string", "md5" );
// --> "659a30fb5d9958326b15c17e8444c123"

digestBase64

STRING digestBase64( PLAINTEXT, [ALGO], [BYTES] )

This function is a simple wrapper around Node's SHA-256 or other hashing algorithms. The default is SHA-256, in which case it returns a URL-safe Base64 digest of the given string. The default digest buffer size is 32 bytes (which results in a ~43 character Base64 string), but you can pass a lesser byte length as the 3rd argument to reduce the output length.

let sig = Tools.digestBase64( "my plaintext string" );
// --> "a0_f1wXQWxGla4wwIAWLZmNZ05Obbto1T1Keutd2lcI"

To specify the algorithm, include it as the second argument. It should be a string set to md5, sha256, etc. On recent releases of OpenSSL, typing openssl list-message-digest-algorithms will display the available digest algorithms. Example (MD5):

let sig = Tools.digestBase64( "my plaintext string", "md5" );
// --> "ZZow-12ZWDJrFcF-hETBIw"

Here is an example of reducing the digest to only 8 bytes (64 bits), which results in a much shorter Base64 string:

let sig = Tools.digestBase64( "my plaintext string", "sha256", 8 );
// --> "a0_f1wXQWxE"

numKeys

INTEGER numKeys( OBJECT )

This function returns the number of keys in the specified hash.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let num = Tools.numKeys( my_hash ); // 2

firstKey

STRING firstKey( OBJECT )

This function returns the first key of the hash when iterating over it. Note that hash keys are stored in an undefined order.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let key = Tools.firstKey( my_hash ); // foo or baz

hashKeysToArray

ARRAY hashKeysToArray( OBJECT )

This function returns all the hash keys as an array. The values are discarded. Useful for sorting and then iterating over the sorted list.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let keys = Tools.hashKeysToArray( my_hash ).sort();

for (let idx = 0, len = keys.length; idx < len; idx++) {
	let key = keys[idx];
	// do something with key and my_hash[key]
}

hashValuesToArray

ARRAY hashValuesToArray( OBJECT )

This function returns all the hash values as an array. The keys are discarded.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let values = Tools.hashValuesToArray( my_hash );

for (let idx = 0, len = values.length; idx < len; idx++) {
	let value = values[idx];
	// do something with value
}

isaHash

BOOLEAN isaHash( MIXED )

This function returns true if the provided argument is a hash (object), false otherwise.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let is_hash = Tools.isaHash( my_hash );

isaArray

BOOLEAN isaArray( MIXED )

This function returns true if the provided argument is an array (or is array-like), false otherwise.

let my_arr = [ "foo", "bar", 12345 ];
let is_arr = Tools.isaArray( my_arr );

copyHash

OBJECT copyHash( OBJECT, DEEP )

This function performs a shallow copy of the specified hash, and returns the copy. Pass true as the 2nd argument to perform a deep copy, which uses JSON parse/stringify.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let my_copy = Tools.copyHash( my_hash );

copyHashRemoveKeys

OBJECT copyHashRemoveKeys( OBJECT, REMOVE )

This function performs a shallow copy of the specified hash, and returns the copy, but omits any keys you specify in a separate hash.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let omit_these = { baz: true };
let my_copy = Tools.copyHashRemoveKeys( my_hash, omit_these );

copyHashRemoveProto

OBJECT copyHashRemoveProto( OBJECT )

This function performs a shallow copy of the specified hash, and returns the copy, but ensures that the copy is a "pure" object with no prototype, constructor, or any of the special properties that all standard Objects implicitly have.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let clean_copy = Tools.copyHashRemoveProto( my_hash );

mergeHashes

OBJECT mergeHashes( OBJECT_A, OBJECT_B )

This function merges two hashes (objects) together, and returns a new hash which contains the combination of the two keys (shallow copy). The 2nd hash takes precedence over the first, in the event of duplicate keys.

let hash1 = { foo: "bar" };
let hash2 = { baz: 12345 };
let combo = Tools.mergeHashes( hash1, hash2 );

mergeHashInto

VOID mergeHashInto( OBJECT_A, OBJECT_B )

This function shallow-merges OBJECT_B into OBJECT_A. There is no return value. Existing keys are replaced in OBJECT_A.

let hash1 = { foo: "bar" };
let hash2 = { baz: 12345 };
Tools.mergeHashInto( hash1, hash2 );

parseQueryString

OBJECT parseQueryString( URL )

This function parses a standard URL query string, and returns a hash with key/value pairs for every query parameter. Duplicate params are clobbered, the latter prevails. Values are URL-unescaped, and all of them are strings. The function accepts a full URL, or just the query string portion.

let url = 'http://something.com/hello.html?foo=bar&baz=12345';
let query = Tools.parseQueryString( url );
let foo = query.foo; // "bar"
let baz = query.baz; // "12345"

Please note that this is a very simple function, and you should probably use the built-in Node.js querystring module instead.

composeQueryString

STRING composeQueryString( OBJECT )

This function takes a hash of key/value pairs, and constructs a URL query string out of it. Values are URL-escaped.

let my_hash = { foo: "bar", baz: 12345 };
let qs = Tools.composeQueryString( my_hash );
// --> "?foo=bar&baz=12345"

Please note that this is a very simple function, and you should probably use the built-in Node.js querystring module instead.

findObjectsIdx

ARRAY findObjectsIdx( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns all the array indexes whose objects have keys which match a given criteria hash.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

let idxs = Tools.findObjectsIdx( list, criteria );
// --> [0, 2]

findObjectIdx

INTEGER findObjectIdx( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns the first array index whose object has keys which match a given criteria hash. If no objects match, -1 is returned.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

let idx = Tools.findObjectIdx( list, criteria );
// --> 0

findObject

OBJECT findObject( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns the first item whose object has keys which match a given criteria hash. If no objects match, null is returned.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

let obj = Tools.findObject( list, criteria );
// --> { id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" }

findObjects

ARRAY findObjects( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns all the items whose objects have keys which match a given criteria hash.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

let objs = Tools.findObjects( list, criteria );
// --> [{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" }, { id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }]

findObjectDeep

OBJECT findObjectDeep( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns the first item whose object has deep properties which match a given criteria hash with dot.path.properties. If no objects match, null is returned. The format of the criteria properties should be compatible with getPath().

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, params: { name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" } },
	{ id: 12346, params: { name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" } },
	{ id: 12347, params: { name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" } }
];
let criteria = { 'params.eyes': "blue" };

let obj = Tools.findObjecDeep( list, criteria );
// --> { id: 12345, params: { name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" } }

findObjectsDeep

ARRAY findObjectsDeep( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and returns all the items whose objects have deep properties which match a given criteria hash with dot.path.properties. If none match, an empty array is returned. The format of the criteria properties should be compatible with getPath().

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, params: { name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" } },
	{ id: 12346, params: { name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" } },
	{ id: 12347, params: { name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" } }
];
let criteria = { 'params.eyes': "blue" };

let objs = Tools.findObjectsDeep( list, criteria );
// --> [{ id: 12345, params: { name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" } }, { id: 12347, params: { name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" } }]

deleteObject

BOOLEAN deleteObject( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and deletes the first item whose object has keys which match a given criteria hash. It returns true for success or false if no matching object could be found.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

Tools.deleteObject( list, criteria );
// list will now contain only Frank and Cynthia

deleteObjects

INTEGER deleteObjects( ARRAY, CRITERIA )

This function iterates over an array of hashes, and deletes all items whose objects have keys which match a given criteria hash. It returns the number of objects deleted.

let list = [
	{ id: 12345, name: "Joe", eyes: "blue" },
	{ id: 12346, name: "Frank", eyes: "brown" },
	{ id: 12347, name: "Cynthia", eyes: "blue" }
];
let criteria = { eyes: "blue" };

Tools.deleteObjects( list, criteria );
// list will now contain only Frank

alwaysArray

ARRAY alwaysArray( MIXED )

This function will wrap anything passed to it into an array and return the array, unless the item passed is already an array, in which case it is simply returned verbatim.

let arr = Tools.alwaysArray( maybe_array );

sub

STRING sub( TEMPLATE, ARGS, [FATAL, [FALLBACK, [FILTER]]] )

This function performs placeholder substitution on a string, using square bracket delimited placeholders which may contain simple keys or even paths. The paths can use either slash notation or dot notation. Example:

let tree = {
	folder1: {
		file1: "foo",
		folder2: {
			file2: "bar"
		}
	}
};
let template = "Hello, I would like [/folder1/folder2/file2] and also [/folder1/file1] please!";

let str = Tools.sub( template, tree );
// --> "Hello, I would like bar and also foo please!"

You can omit the leading slashes if you are doing single-level hash lookups.

The three arguments at the end are all optional:

  • If you pass true for the FATAL argument, the function will return null if any variable lookups fail. The default behavior is to preserve the original formatting (with placeholders and all) if the lookup fails.
  • If you pass a string for the FALLBACK argument, it will be used as a fallback substitution value if the path lookup fails (only applies if FATAL is false).
  • If you pass a function for the FILTER argument, all string values will be passed through that function before they are inserted into the template. For example, pass the global encodeURIComponent function to URL-encode all substituted values.

setPath

BOOLEAN setPath( OBJECT, PATH, VALUE )

This function will set a property value inside a hash/array tree, by first traversing a directory-style path. Will auto-create new objects if needed. You can use either dir/slash/syntax or dot.path.syntax. Returns true on success or false on failure.

let tree = {
	folder1: {
		file1: "foo"
	}
};

Tools.setPath( tree, "folder1/folder2/file2", "bar" );

For walking through arrays, simply provide the index number of the element you want.

getPath

MIXED getPath( OBJECT, PATH )

This function will perform a directory-style path lookup on a hash/array tree, returning whatever object or value is pointed to, or undefined if not found. You can use either dir/slash/syntax or dot.path.syntax.

let tree = {
	folder1: {
		file1: "foo",
		folder2: {
			file2: "bar"
		}
	}
};

let file = Tools.getPath( tree, "folder1/folder2/file2" );
// --> "bar"

let file = Tools.getPath( tree, "folder1.folder2.file2" );
// --> "bar"

For walking into arrays, simply provide the index number of the element you want.

deletePath

BOOLEAN deletePath( OBJECT, PATH )

This function will delete a property value inside a hash/array tree, by first traversing a directory-style path. You can use either dir/slash/syntax or dot.path.syntax. Returns true on success or false on failure.

let tree = {
	folder1: {
		file1: "foo",
		file2: "bar"
	}
};

Tools.deletePath( tree, "folder1/file1" );

For walking through arrays, simply provide the index number of the element you want. However, note that the final element in your path should not be an array index, as that cannot be deleted using this API.

getDateArgs

OBJECT getDateArgs( MIXED )

This function parses any date string, Epoch timestamp or Date object, and produces a hash with the following keys (all localized to the current timezone):

Key Sample Value Description
year 2015 Full year as integer.
yy "15" 2-digit year as string, with padded zeros if needed.
yyyy "2015" 4-digit year as string.
mon 3 Month of year as integer (1 - 12).
mm "03" 2-digit month as string with padded zeros if needed.
mmm "Mar" Month name abbreviated to first three letters.
mmmm "March" Full month name.
mday 6 Day of month as integer (1 - 31).
dd "06" 2-digit day as string with padded zeros if needed.
wday 4 Day of week as integer (0 - 6), starting with Sunday.
ddd "Thu" Weekday name abbreviated to first three letters.
dddd "Thursday" Full weekday name.
hour 9 Hour of day as integer (0 - 23).
hour12 9 Hour expressed in 12-hour time (i.e. 3 PM = 3).
hh "09" 2-digit hour as string with padded zeros if needed.
min 2 Minute of hour as integer (0 - 59).
mi "02" 2-digit minute as string with padded zeros if needed.
sec 10 Second of minute as integer (0 - 59).
ss "10" 2-digit second as string with padded zeros if needed.
msec 999 Millisecond of second as integer (0 - 999).
ampm "am" String representing ante meridiem (am) or post meridiem (pm).
AMPM "AM" Upper-case version of ampm.
yyyy_mm_dd "2015/03/06" Formatted string representing date in YYYY/MM/DD format.
hh_mi_ss "09:02:10" Formatted string representing local time in HH:MI:SS format.
epoch 1425661330 Epoch seconds used to generate all the date properties.
offset -8 Local offset from GMT/UTC in hours.
tz "GMT-8" Formatted GMT hour offset string.

Example usage:

let args = Tools.getDateArgs( new Date() );
let date_str = args.yyyy + '/' + args.mm + '/' + args.dd;

getTimeFromArgs

INTEGER getTimeFromArgs( OBJECT )

This function will recalculate a date given an args object as returned from getDateArgs(). It allows you to manipulate the year, mon, mday, hour, min and/or sec properties, and will return the computed Epoch seconds from the new set of values. Example:

let args = Tools.getDateArgs( new Date() );
args.mday = 15;

let epoch = Tools.getTimeFromArgs(args);

This example would return the Epoch seconds from the 15th day of the current month, in the current year, and using the current time of day.

normalizeTime

INTEGER normalizeTime( INTEGER, OBJECT )

This function will "normalize" (i.e. quantize) an Epoch value to the nearest minute, hour, day, month, or year. Meaning, you can pass in an Epoch time value, and have it return a value of the start of the current hour, midnight on the current day, the 1st of the month, etc. To do this, pass in an object containing any keys you wish to change, e.g. year, mon, mday, hour, min and/or sec. Example:

let midnight = Tools.normalizeTime( Tools.timeNow(), { hour: 0, min: 0, sec: 0 } );

You can actually set the values to non-zero. For example, to return the Epoch time of exactly noon today:

let noon = Tools.normalizeTime( Tools.timeNow(), { hour: 12, min: 0, sec: 0 } );

formatDate

STRING formatDate( MIXED, STRING )

This function parses any date string, Epoch timestamp or Date object, and produces a formatted date/time string according to a custom template, and in the local timezone. The template is populated using sub() (i.e. square bracket syntax) and can use any of the date/time properties returned by getDateArgs(). Examples:

let now = new Date();

let str = Tools.formatDate( now, "[yyyy]/[mm]/[dd]" );
// 2019/03/22

let str = Tools.formatDate( now, "[dddd], [mmmm] [mday], [yyyy]" );
// Friday, March 22, 2019

let str = Tools.formatDate( now, "[hour12]:[mi] [ampm]" );
// 10:43 am

getTextFromBytes

STRING getTextFromBytes( BYTES, PRECISION )

This function generates a human-friendly text string given a number of bytes. It reduces the units to K, MB, GB or TB as needed, and allows a configurable amount of precision after the decimal point. The default is one decimal of precision (specify as 1, 10, 100, etc.).

let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 0 );    // "0 bytes"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1023 ); // "1023 bytes"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1024 ); // "1 K"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1126 ); // "1.1 K"

let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1599078, 1 ); // "1 MB"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1599078, 10 ); // "1.5 MB"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1599078, 100 ); // "1.52 MB"
let str = Tools.getTextFromBytes( 1599078, 1000 ); // "1.525 MB"

getBytesFromText

INTEGER getBytesFromText( STRING )

This function parses a string containing a human-friendly size count (e.g. 45 bytes or 1.5 MB) and converts it to raw bytes.

let bytes = Tools.getBytesFromText( "0 bytes" ); // 0
let bytes = Tools.getBytesFromText( "1023 bytes" ); // 1023
let bytes = Tools.getBytesFromText( "1 K" ); // 1024
let bytes = Tools.getBytesFromText( "1.1k" ); // 1126
let bytes = Tools.getBytesFromText( "1.525 MB" ); // 1599078

commify

STRING commify( INTEGER )

This function adds international symbols to long numbers following the current server locale formatting rules (for e.g. in the US this will add comma every 3 digits counting from right side).

let c = Tools.commify( 123 ); // "123"
let c = Tools.commify( 1234 ); // "1,234"
let c = Tools.commify( 1234567890 ); // "1,234,567,890"

shortFloat

NUMBER shortFloat( NUMBER, [PLACES] )

This function "shortens" a floating point number by only allowing up to N digits after the decimal point (defaults to 2). You can customize this by passing an optional 2nd argument. Examples:

let num1 = Tools.shortFloat( 0.12345 ); // 0.12
let num2 = Tools.shortFloat( 0.00001 ); // 0.0
let num3 = Tools.shortFloat( 0.00123, 3 ); // 0.001

pct

STRING pct( AMOUNT, MAX, FLOOR )

This function calculates a percentage given an arbitrary numerical amount and a maximum value, and returns a formatted string with a '%' symbol. Pass true as the 3rd argument to floor the percentage to the nearest integer. Otherwise the value is shortened with shortFloat().

let p = Tools.pct( 5, 10 ); // "50%"
let p = Tools.pct( 0, 1 );  // "0%"
let p = Tools.pct( 751, 1000 ); // "75.1%"
let p = Tools.pct( 751, 1000, true ); // "75%"

zeroPad

STRING zeroPad( NUMBER, MAX )

This function adds zeros to the left side of a number, until the total string length meets a specified maximum (up to 10 characters). The return value is a string, not a number.

let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 5, 1 ); // "5"
let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 5, 2 ); // "05"
let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 5, 3 ); // "005"
let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 100, 3 ); // "100"
let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 100, 4 ); // "0100"
let padded = Tools.zeroPad( 100, 5 ); // "00100"

clamp

NUMBER clamp( NUMBER, MIN, MAX )

This function performs a simple mathematical "clamp" operation, restricting a value between a defined range. This is just a convenience method, which can save you a few keystrokes. Example:

let clamped = Tools.clamp( 50, 0, 10 );
// --> 10

lerp

NUMBER lerp( START, END, AMOUNT )

This function performs linear interpolation between two values and a specified amount between 0.0 and 1.0. This is just a convenience method, which can save you a few keystrokes. Example:

let lerped = Tools.lerp( 0, 50, 0.25 );
// --> 12.5

getTextFromSeconds

STRING getTextFromSeconds( NUMBER, ABBREVIATE, SHORTEN )

This function generates a human-friendly time string given a number of seconds. It reduces the units to minutes, hours or days as needed. You can also abbreviate the output, and shorten the extra precision.

let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 0 ); // "0 seconds"
let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 86400 ); // "1 day"
let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 90 ); // "1 minute, 30 seconds"
let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 90, true ); // "1 min, 30 sec"
let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 90, false, true ); // "1 minute"
let str = Tools.getTextFromSeconds( 90, true, true ); // "1 min"

getSecondsFromText

INTEGER getSecondsFromText( STRING )

This function parses a string containing a human-friendly time (e.g. 45 minutes or 7 days) and converts it to raw seconds. It accepts seconds, minutes, hours, days and/or weeks. It does not interpret "months" or "years" because those are non-exact measurements.

let sec = Tools.getSecondsFromText( "1 second" ); // 1
let sec = Tools.getSecondsFromText( "2min" ); // 120
let sec = Tools.getSecondsFromText( "30m" ); // 1800
let sec = Tools.getSecondsFromText( "12 HOURS" ); // 43200
let sec = Tools.getSecondsFromText( "1day" ); // 86400

getNiceRemainingTime

STRING getNiceRemainingTime( ELAPSED, COUNTER, MAX, ABBREV, SHORTEN )

This function calculates the estimated remaining time on a job in progress, given the elapsed time in seconds, an arbitrary counter representing the job's progress, and a maximum value for the counter.

let remain = Tools.getNiceRemainingTime( 45, 0.75, 1.0 );
// --> "15 seconds"

let remain = Tools.getNiceRemainingTime( 3640, 0.75, 1.0 );
// --> "20 minutes, 13 seconds"

let remain = Tools.getNiceRemainingTime( 3640, 0.75, 1.0, true );
// --> "20 min, 13 sec"

let remain = Tools.getNiceRemainingTime( 3640, 0.75, 1.0, false, true );
// --> "20 minutes"

let remain = Tools.getNiceRemainingTime( 3640, 0.75, 1.0, true, true );
// --> "20 min"

Note that this works best when the job's progress is somewhat constant. If it proceeds at a varying pace, the remaining time may appear to go too fast or too slow at times. It always computes the average speed over the course of the time elapsed, versus the current progress.

randArray

MIXED randArray( ARRAY )

This function picks a random element from the given array, and returns it.

let fruit = ['apple', 'orange', 'banana'];
let rand = Tools.randArray( fruit );

pluralize

STRING pluralize( STRING, NUMBER )

This function pluralizes a string using US-English rules, given an arbitrary number. This is useful when constructing human-friendly sentences containing a quantity of things, and you wish to say either "thing" or "things" depending on the number.

let list = ['apple', 'orange', 'banana'];
let text = "You have " + list.length + Tools.pluralize(" item", list.length) + " in your list.";
// --> "You have 3 items in your list.";

escapeRegExp

STRING escapeRegExp( STRING )

This function escapes a string so that it can be used inside a regular expression. Meaning, any regular expression metacharacters are prefixed with a backslash, so they are interpreted literally. It was taken from the MDN Regular Expression Guide.

ucfirst

STRING ucfirst( STRING )

The function upper-cases the first character of a string, and lower-cases the rest. This is very similar to the Perl core function of the same name. Example:

let first_name = Tools.ucfirst( 'george' );
// --> "George"

getErrorDescription

STRING getErrorDescription( ERROR )

This function takes a standard Node.js System Error object, such as one emitted when a filesystem or network error occurs, and produces a prettier and more verbose string description. It uses the 3rd party errno package, and adds its own decorations as well. Example:

require('fs').readFile( '/bad/file.txt', function(err, data) {
	if (err) {
		console.log( "Native Error: " + err.message );
		console.log( "Better Error: " + Tools.getErrorDescription(err) );
	}
} );

// Outputs:
// Native Error: ENOENT, open '/bad/file.txt'
// Better Error: No such file or directory (ENOENT, open '/bad/file.txt')

Basically it resolves the Node.js error codes such as ENOENT to a human-readable string (i.e. No such file or directory), but also appends the raw native error message in parenthesis as well.

bufferSplit

ARRAY bufferSplit( BUFFER, SEPARATOR )

This function splits a buffer into an array of chunks, given a separator (string or buffer). It works similarly to the String.split core function, with two main differences. First, the separator cannot be a regular expression (it must be a string or another buffer), and second, the returned split buffer chunks will occupy the same memory space as the original buffer. Example:

const EOL = require('os').EOL;
let data = require('fs').readFileSync( 'some_file.csv' );
let lines = Tools.bufferSplit( data, EOL );

fileEachLine

VOID fileEachLine( FILE, OPTS, ITERATOR, CALLBACK )

This function iterates over a file line by line, firing ITERATOR for each. This is done in asynchronous fashion, akin to the async module. Your ITERATOR function is passed the line (encoded string or buffer) and a callback to fire. When all the lines are completed, the main CALLBACK is fired once, including an error or not. This is designed to handle huge files without using much memory at all.

The OPTS object may include:

Property Name Default Value Description
buffer_size 1024 How many bytes to read from the file at a time.
eol os.EOL The end-of-line separator, defaults to the current system EOL.
encoding utf8 The encoding to use for each line, set to null if you want buffers.

Example:

Tools.fileEachLine( "my_large_spreadsheet.csv",
	function(line, callback) {
		// this is fired for each line
		let columns = line.split(/\,\s*/);
		// do something with the data here, possibly async
		// fire callback for next line, pass error to abort
		callback();
	},
	function(err) {
		// all lines are complete
		if (err) throw err;
	}
);

getpwnam

OBJECT getpwnam( USERNAME, [USE_CACHE] )

This function fetches local user account information, give a username or numerical UID. This is similar to the POSIX getpwnam function, which is missing from Node.js core. This function works on Linux and OS X only. It runs in synchronous mode, and returns an object with the following properties, or null on error:

Property Name Sample Value Description
username jhuckaby The username of the account.
password **** The hashed password of the account (often masked).
uid 501 The numerical UID (User ID) of the account.
gid 501 The numeric GID (Group ID) of the account.
name Joseph Huckaby The full name of the user.
dir /home/jhuckaby The home directory path of the user.
shell /bin/bash The login shell used by the user.

If you pass true as the 2nd argument, the user information will be cached in RAM for future queries on the same username or UID. Example use:

let info = Tools.getpwnam( "jhuckaby", true );
if (info) {
	process.chdir( info.dir );
}

getgrnam

OBJECT getgrnam( GROUP, [USE_CACHE] )

This function fetches local group account information, give a name or numerical GID. This is similar to the POSIX getgrnam function, which is missing from Node.js core. This function works on Linux and OS X only. It runs in synchronous mode, and returns an object with the following properties, or null on error:

Property Name Sample Value Description
name games The name of the group.
gid 20 The numeric GID (Group ID) of the group.

If you pass true as the 2nd argument, the group information will be cached in RAM for future queries on the same name or GID. Example use:

let info = Tools.getgrnam( "games", true );
if (info) {
	console.log( "GID: ", info.gid );
}

tween

NUMBER tween( START, END, AMOUNT, MODE, ALGORITHM )

This function calculates a tween between two numbers, and returns the in-between value. For example, this can be used to control animation with "easing" (i.e. ease-in, ease-out), and also custom mathematical curves like quadratic, quintic, etc. Example use:

let x = Tools.tween( 0, 150, 0.5, 'EaseOut', 'Quadratic' );

The output will be somewhere between 0 and 150, controlled by the EaseOut mode and Quadratic algorithm. If you had selected the Linear algorithm, this would be exactly 75 (halfway between the start and end).

Here is a more detailed list of the function arguments:

Argument Description
START The starting value for the property (any number).
END The ending value for the property (any number).
AMOUNT This value should be between 0.0 and 1.0, and sets the position along the animation path.
MODE The animation mode as string, one of EaseIn, EaseOut or EaseInOut.
ALGORITHM The algorithm name as string, one of Linear, Quadratic, Cubic, Quartetic, Quintic, Sine or Circular.

findFiles

VOID findFiles( DIR, [OPTS], CALLBACK )

The findFiles() function will recursively scan for files on the filesystem, and can include several filters for customization. You need to specify a starting directory path, an object containing options (see below), and a callback to receive the list of files. Your callback will be called with two arguments: an error if any, and an array of files. The options object can include:

Property Type Description
filespec RegExp / String An optional regular expression or string to match against filenames (not paths). Defaults to /.+/.
recurse Boolean Recurse into nested subdirectories, defaults to true. Set this to false to only scan the outermost directory.
all Boolean Normally, dotfiles are skipped. When this is set to true, dotfiles will be included (unless filtered out by filespec).
filter Function Optional custom filter function, called for each file. See example below for usage.
dirs Boolean Optionally return directories as well as files, if they match the filespec.
stats Boolean Optionally return an object for each file, containing path, size and mtime properties.

Here is a simple example that finds all image files:

Tools.findFiles( "/path/to/starting/dir", {
	filespec: /\.(jpg|png|gif)$/i
},
function(err, files) {
	console.log("All the images: ", files);
});

Here is an example of using a custom filter function:

Tools.findFiles( "/path/to/starting/dir", {
	filter: function(file, stats) {
		return stats.size <= 32768; // only include files 32K or less
	}
},
function(err, files) {
	console.log("All files 32K or less: ", files);
});

If you just want all the files, you can omit the options object:

Tools.findFiles( "/path/to/starting/dir", function(err, files) {
	console.log("All the files: ", files);
});

Please note that this function specifically returns files, not directories (unless you set the dirs option to true). Also, for more low-level control over this process, see walkDir() below, which this function calls internally.

findFilesSync

ARRAY findFilesSync( DIR, [OPTS] )

The findFilesSync() function will recursively scan for files on the filesystem, and can include several filters for customization. This is the synchronous version of the function, so there is no callback. You need to specify a starting directory path, and an object containing options (see below). The return value will be an array of files. The options object can include:

Property Type Description
filespec RegExp / String An optional regular expression or string to match against filenames (not paths). Defaults to /.+/.
recurse Boolean Recurse into nested subdirectories, defaults to true. Set this to false to only scan the outermost directory.
all Boolean Normally, dotfiles are skipped. When this is set to true, dotfiles will be included (unless filtered out by filespec).
filter Function Optional custom filter function, called for each file. See example below for usage.
dirs Boolean Optionally return directories as well as files, if they match the filespec.
stats Boolean Optionally return an object for each file, containing path, size and mtime properties.

Here is a simple example that finds all image files:

let files = Tools.findFilesSync( "/path/to/starting/dir", {
	filespec: /\.(jpg|png|gif)$/i
});
console.log("All the images: ", files);

Here is an example of using a custom filter function:

let files = Tools.findFilesSync( "/path/to/starting/dir", {
	filter: function(file, stats) {
		return stats.size <= 32768; // only include files 32K or less
	}
});
console.log("All files 32K or less: ", files);

If you just want all the files, you can omit the options object:

let files = Tools.findFiles( "/path/to/starting/dir");
console.log("All the files: ", files);

Please note that this function specifically returns files, not directories (unless you set the dirs option to true). Also, for more low-level control over this process, see walkDirSync() below, which this function calls internally.

walkDir

VOID walkDir( DIR, ITERATOR, CALLBACK )

The walkDir() function recursively walks a directory on the filesystem, including all subdirectories, and fires a custom iterator function for each file or directory encountered. Your iterator function is passed the file path, an fs.Stats object, and a callback. It needs to fire the callback function, and pass true to recurse for directories, or false to skip it. When the full directory tree is walked, the final callback is fired. Example:

Tools.walkDir( "/path/to/starting/dir",
	function(file, stats, callback) {
		// called for each file and directory
		if (stats.isDirectory()) callback(true); // recurse into
		else {
			console.log("Found file: " + file);
			callback();
		}
	},
	function() {
		// all done!
		console.log("Walk complete!");
	}
);

walkDirSync

VOID walkDirSync( DIR, ITERATOR )

The walkDirSync() function recursively walks a directory on the filesystem, including all subdirectories, and fires a custom iterator function for each file or directory encountered. This is the synchronous version of the function, so there is no callback. Your iterator function is passed the file path, and an fs.Stats object. It can return true to recurse for directories, or false to skip. Example:

Tools.walkDirSync( "/path/to/starting/dir",
	function(file, stats) {
		// called for each file and directory
		if (stats.isDirectory()) return true; // recurse into
		else {
			console.log("Found file: " + file);
		}
	}
);
console.log("Walk complete!");

glob

VOID glob( FILESPEC, CALLBACK )

The glob() function searches for files using a glob pattern. Example:

Tools.glob( "/path/to/files/*.jpg", function(err, files) {
	if (err) throw err;
	console.log("Found files: ", files);
});

globSync

VOID globSync( FILESPEC )

The globSync() function searches for files using a glob pattern. This is the synchronous version of the function, so there is no callback. Example:

let files = Tools.globSync( "/path/to/files/*.jpg");
console.log("Found files: ", files);

This function is also available via glob.sync, for convenience.

rimraf

VOID rimraf( FILESPEC, CALLBACK )

The rimraf() function recursively deletes files and folders using a glob pattern. The name comes from the standard Linux rm -rf shell command. It will not fail if no files were found. Example use:

Tools.rimraf( "/path/to/files/*.jpg", function(err) {
	if (err) throw err;
});

rimrafSync

VOID rimrafSync( FILESPEC )

The rimrafSync() function recursively deletes files and folders using a glob pattern. The name comes from the standard Linux rm -rf shell command. This is the synchronous version of the function, so there is no callback. It will not fail if no files were found. Example use:

Tools.rimrafSync( "/path/to/files/*.jpg");

This function is also available via rimraf.sync, for convenience.

mkdirp

VOID mkdirp( PATH, CALLBACK )

The mkdirp() function creates a directory, and all parent directories as needed. The name comes from the standard Linux mkdir -p shell command. It will not fail if the directory already exists. Example use:

Tools.mkdirp( "/path/to/my/dir", function(err) {
	if (err) throw err;
});

mkdirpSync

VOID mkdirpSync( PATH )

The mkdirpSync() function creates a directory, and all parent directories as needed. The name comes from the standard Linux mkdir -p shell command. It will not fail if the directory already exists. This is the synchronous version of the function, so there is no callback. Example use:

Tools.mkdirpSync( "/path/to/my/dir");

This function is also available via mkdirp.sync, for convenience.

writeFileAtomic

VOID writeFileAtomic( FILE, DATA, OPTS, CALLBACK )

This function writes a file atomically. That is, it writes to a temp file first, and then renames that file atop the original. This ensures that no corruption can occur with multiple threads or processes writing to the same file at the same time. In this case the latter prevails. The temp file is created in the same directory to ensure the same filesystem (cross-FS renames are not atomic), and is named with a .tmp.[UNIQUE] file extension. It accepts the same arguments as fs.writeFile(). Example:

Tools.writeFileAtomic( "/path/to/my/file.json", data, function(err) {
	if (err) throw err;
});

writeFileAtomicSync

VOID writeFileAtomicSync( FILE, DATA, OPTS )

This function writes a file atomically and synchronously. That is, it writes to a temp file first, and then renames that file atop the original. This ensures that no corruption can occur with multiple threads or processes writing to the same file at the same time. In this case the latter prevails. The temp file is created in the same directory to ensure the same filesystem (cross-FS renames are not atomic), and is named with a .tmp.[UNIQUE] file extension. It accepts the same arguments as fs.writeFileSync(). Example:

try {
	Tools.writeFileAtomicSync( "/path/to/my/file.json", data );
}
catch (err) {
	throw err;
}

parseJSON

OBJECT parseJSON( TEXT )

This function is a wrapper around the built-in JSON.parse(). It works in exactly the same way, except that it throws improved error messages in the event of parser errors. Specifically, it specifies the exact line number and column of the error in the source JSON. This is mainly useful for multi-line (i.e. pretty-printed) JSON files. Here is an example:

let bad_json = `{
	"good_property_name": 12345,
	bad_missing_quotes: 67890
}`;

let obj = Tools.parseJSON(bad_json);
// Error: Unexpected token b in JSON on line 3 column 2

findBin

VOID findBin( FILENAME, CALLBACK )

This function locates the path to a binary executable given a filename and a callback. It searches all directories in the current environment PATH, as well as a number of known common locations (/usr/local/bin, /usr/bin, /bin, /usr/sbin, and /sbin). Your callback is invoked with an error (or false on success), and the path to the first binary executable found. Example use:

Tools.findBin( 'lsof', function(err, file) {
	if (err) throw err;
	console.log("Found: " + file);
} );

findBinSync

STRING findBinSync( FILENAME )

A synchronous version of findBin. This returns the binary path, or false if none was found. It will not throw.

sortBy

ARRAY sortBy( ARRAY, KEY, OPTS )

This function sorts an array of objects by a specific named property inside each object. The options object may include the following:

Property Name Type Description
type String Specify a numerical (number) or locale-aware string (string) sort. The default is string.
dir Number Specify an ascending (1) or descending (-1) sort direction. The default is ascending (1).
copy Boolean Set this to true to return a shallow copy of the sorted array (and don't touch the original). The default (false) is to sort the original array in place.

Here is an example:

let list = [
	{ username: 'joe', date: 1654987195.435 },
	{ username: 'fred', date: 1473634873 },
	{ username: 'nancy', date: 1883476393.2 },
	{ username: 'jane', date: 1289898989 },
];

let sorted = Tools.sortBy( list, "date", { type: "number", dir: 1, copy: true } );

includesAny

BOOLEAN includesAny( HAYSTACK, NEEDLES )

Returns true if haystack contains any needles, false otherwise. Both arguments must be arrays. This is similar to Array.includes except that it searches the first array (haystack) for any matches in the second array (needles). Example use:

var haystack = ['red', 'green', 'yellow', 'blue', 'purple', 'black'];
var matched = Tools.includesAny(haystack, ['red', 'white', 'blue']); // true

includesAll

BOOLEAN includesAll( HAYSTACK, NEEDLES )

Returns true if haystack contains all needles (in any order), false otherwise. Both arguments must be arrays. This is similar to Array.includes except that it searches the first array (haystack) for all matches in the second array (needles). Example use:

var haystack = ['red', 'green', 'yellow', 'blue', 'purple', 'black'];
var matched = Tools.includesAll(haystack, ['red', 'white', 'blue']); // false
var matched = Tools.includesAll(haystack, [ 'black', 'purple', 'blue', 'yellow', 'green', 'red' ]); // true

stripANSI

STRING stripANSI( STRING )

Safely strips all ANSI escape codes from a given string, returning a new string. We are borrowing the regular expression from ansi-regex for this work. Example use:

let text = '\u001B[4mcake\u001B[0m';
let stripped = Tools.stripANSI(text);
// --> cake

The raw regexp itself is also available at Tools.MATCH_ANSI should you need it.

noop

This is a no-op function which does nothing.

Misc

Here are a few non-functions available in the Tools object.

async

This is a reference to the extremely awesome async package from NPM. I use this so frequently that I decided to include in tools. Access it like this:

const async = Tools.async;

isLinux

This boolean will be true if the current platform is Linux.

isMac

This boolean will be true if the current platform is macOS (Darwin).

isWindows

This boolean will be true if the current platform is Windows.

NEVER_MATCH

This pre-compiled regular expression will never match no matter what.

MATCH_ANSI

This pre-compiled regular expression will match any ANSI escape codes. Used by stripANSI.

MATCH_BAD_KEY

This pre-compiled regular expression will match any of the "hidden" keys that exist in all objects, e.g. __proto__.

License

The MIT License

Copyright (c) 2015 - 2025 Joseph Huckaby.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

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A set of miscellaneous utility functions for Node.JS.

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