Jering.Javascript.NodeJS

Overview

Jering.Javascript.NodeJS enables you to invoke javascript in NodeJS, from C#. With this ability, you can use Node.js-javascript libraries and scripts from your C# projects.

You can use this library as a replacement for the obsoleted Microsoft.AspNetCore.NodeServices. InvokeFromFileAsync<T> replaces INodeService's InvokeAsync<T> and InvokeExportAsync<T>.

This library is flexible - it provides both a dependency injection (DI) based API and a static API. Also, it supports invoking both in-memory and on-disk javascript.

Static API example:

string javascriptModule = @"
module.exports = (callback, x, y) => {  // Module must export a function that takes a callback as its first parameter
    var result = x + y; // Your javascript logic
    callback(null /* If an error occurred, provide an error object or message */, result); // Call the callback when you're done.
}";

// Invoke javascript
int result = await StaticNodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<int>(javascriptModule, args: new object[] { 3, 5 });

// result == 8
Assert.Equal(8, result);

DI-based API example:

string javascriptModule = @"
module.exports = (callback, x, y) => {  // Module must export a function that takes a callback as its first parameter
    var result = x + y; // Your javascript logic
    callback(null /* If an error occurred, provide an error object or message */, result); // Call the callback when you're done.
}";

// Create an INodeJSService
var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNodeJS();
ServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
INodeJSService nodeJSService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<INodeJSService>();

// Invoke javascript
int result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<int>(javascriptModule, args: new object[] { 3, 5 });

// result == 8
Assert.Equal(8, result);

Target Frameworks

.NET Standard 2.0
.NET Framework 4.6.1
.NET Core 3.1
.NET 5.0
.NET 6.0

Platforms

Windows
macOS
Linux

Prerequisites

You'll need to install NodeJS and add the NodeJS executable's directory to the Path environment variable.

Installation

Using Package Manager:

PM> Install-Package Jering.Javascript.NodeJS

Using .NET CLI:

> dotnet add package Jering.Javascript.NodeJS

Usage

This section explains how to use this library. Topics:

Using the DI-Based API
Using the Static API
Invoking Javascript
Debugging Javascript
Configuring
Customizing Logic
Enabling Multi-Process Concurrency

Using the DI-Based API

First, create an INodeJSService. You can use any DI framework that has adapters for Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection. Here, we'll use vanilla Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection:

var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNodeJS();
ServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider(); 
INodeJSService nodeJSService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<INodeJSService>();

Once you've got an INodeJSService, you can invoke javascript using its invoke methods. All invoke methods are thread-safe. Here's one of its invoke-from-string methods:

string? result = nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, message);", args: new[] { "success" });
Assert.Equal("success", result);

We describe all of the invoke methods in detail later on.

No clean up is required when you're done: the NodeJS process INodeJSService sends javascript invocations to kills itself when it detects that its parent process has died.

If you'd like to manually kill the NodeJS process, you can call INodeJSService.Dispose(). Once the instance is disposed, all invoke methods throw ObjectDisposedException. This is important to keep in mind since services.AddNodeJS() registers INodeJSService as a singleton (same instance injected every where).

Using the Static API

This library provides a static alternative to the DI-based API. StaticNodeJSService wraps an INodeJSService, exposing most of its public members.

With the static API, you don't need to worry about creating or managing INodeJSService. Example usage;

string result = await StaticNodeJSService
    .InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, message);", args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result);

StaticNodeJSService's invoke methods are thread-safe.

Clean-up wise, StaticNodeJSService.DisposeServiceProvider() kills the NodeJS process immediately. Alternatively, the NodeJS process kills itself when it detects that its parent process has died.

Whether you use the static API or the DI-based API depends on your development needs. If you're already using DI and/or you want to mock out INodeJSService in your tests and/or you want to customize services, use the DI-based API. Otherwise, the static API works fine.

Invoking Javascript

We'll begin with the javascript side of things. You'll need a NodeJS module that exports either a function or an object containing functions. Exported functions can be of two forms:

Function With Callback Parameter

These functions take a callback as their first argument, and call the callback when they're done.

The callback takes two optional arguments:

The first argument is an error or an error message. It must be of type Error or string.
The second argument is the result. It must be a JSON-serializable type, a string, or a stream.Readable.

Note: this is known as an error-first callback. Such callbacks are used for error handling in NodeJS asynchronous code (check out NodeJS Event Loop for more information on asynchrony in NodeJS).

As mentioned before, you'll need a module that exports either a function or an object containing functions. This is a module that exports a valid function:

module.exports = (callback, arg1, arg2, arg3) => {
    ... // Do something with args

    callback(null /* error */, result /* result */);
}

This is a module that exports an object containing valid functions:

module.exports = {
    doSomething: (callback, arg1) => {
        ... // Do something with arg

        callback(null, result);
    },
    doSomethingElse: (callback) => {
        ... // Do something else

        callback(null, result);
    }
}

If an error or error message is passed to the callback, it's sent back to the calling .NET process, where an InvocationException is thrown.

Async Function

Async functions are the second valid function form. They're syntactic sugar for the function form described in the previous section (check out Callbacks, Promises and Async/Await for a summary on how callbacks, promises and async/await are related).

This is a module that exports a valid function:

module.exports = async (arg1, arg2) => {
    ... // Do something with args

    return result;
}

And this is a module that exports an object containing valid functions:

module.exports = {
    doSomething: async (arg1, arg2, arg3, arg4) => {
        ... // Do something with args

        // async functions can explicitly return promises
        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            resolve(result);
        });
    },
    doSomethingElse: async (arg1) => {
        ... // Do something with arg
            
        return result;
    }
}

If an error is thrown in an async function, the error message is sent back to the calling .NET process, where an InvocationException is thrown:

module.exports = async () => {
    throw new Error('error message');
}

Invoking Javascript From a File

Now that we've covered the javascript side of things, let's invoke some javascript from C#.

If you have a javascript file named exampleModule.js (located in NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath):

module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });

And a .NET class Result:

public class Result
{
    public string? Message { get; set; }
}

You can invoke the javascript using InvokeFromFileAsync<T>:

Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync<Result>("exampleModule.js", args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

If you change exampleModule.js to export an object containing functions:

module.exports = {
    appendExclamationMark: (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message + '!' }),
    appendFullStop: (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message + '.' })
}

You can invoke a specific function by specifying its name:

// Invoke appendExclamationMark
Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync<Result>("exampleModule.js", "appendExclamationMark", args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success!", result?.Message);

When using InvokeFromFileAsync, NodeJS always caches the module using the .js file's absolute path as cache identifier. This is great for performance, since the file will not be re-read or recompiled on subsequent invocations.

Invoking Javascript in String Form

You can invoke javascript in string form using InvokeFromStringAsync<T>:

string module = "module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });";

// Invoke javascript
Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>(module, args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

In the above example, the module string is sent to NodeJS and recompiled on every invocation.

If you're planning to invoke a module repeatedly, to avoid resending and recompiling, you'll want NodeJS to cache the module.

For that, you'll have to specify a custom cache identifier, since unlike a file, a string has no "absolute file path" for NodeJS to identify it by. Once NodeJS has cached the module, you can invoke from the NodeJS cache:

string cacheIdentifier = "exampleModule";

// Try to invoke from the NodeJS cache
(bool success, Result? result) = await nodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<Result>(cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });

// If the module hasn't been cached, cache it. If the NodeJS process dies and restarts, the cache will be invalidated, so always check whether success is false.
if(!success)
{
    // This is a trivialized example. In practice, to avoid holding large module strings in memory, you might retrieve the module 
    // string from an on-disk or remote source.
    string moduleString = "module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });"; 

    // Send the module string to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached.
    result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>(moduleString, cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });
}

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

The following InvokeFromStringAsync<T> overload abstracts away the above example's operations for you. We recommend it over the logic in the above example. If you've enabled multi-process concurrency, you must use this overload:

string module = "module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });";
string cacheIdentifier = "exampleModule";

// This is a trivialized example. In practice, to avoid holding large module strings in memory, you might retrieve the module 
// string from an on-disk or remote source.
Func<string> moduleFactory = () => module;

// Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. If the module hasn't been cached, NodeJS lets the .NET process know.
// The .NET process then creates the module string using moduleFactory and sends it to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached. 
Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>(moduleFactory, cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

Like when invoking javascript from a file, if the module exports an object containing functions, you can invoke a specific function by specifying its name.

Invoking Javascript in Stream Form

You can invoke javascript in stream form using InvokeFromStreamAsync<T> :

// Write the module to a MemoryStream for demonstration purposes.
streamWriter.Write("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, {message: message});");
streamWriter.Flush();
memoryStream.Position = 0;

Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<Result>(memoryStream, args: new[] { "success" });
    
Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

InvokeFromStreamAsync behaves like InvokeFromStringAsync with regard to caching, refer to Invoking Javascript in String Form for details.

Why bother invoking from streams? If your module is in stream form to begin with, for example, a NetworkStream, you avoid allocating a string. Avoiding string allocations can improve performance.

Configuring

If you're using the DI-based API, configure INodeJSService using the .NET options pattern. For example:

var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNodeJS();

// Options for the NodeJS process, here we enable debugging
services.Configure<NodeJSProcessOptions>(options => options.NodeAndV8Options = "--inspect-brk");

// Options for the INodeJSService implementation
// - HttpNodeJSService is the default INodeJSService implementation. It communicates with the NodeJS process via HTTP. Below, we set the HTTP version it uses to HTTP/2.0.
// - HttpNodeJSService extends OutOfProcessNodeJSService, an abstraction for NodeJS process management. Below we set the timeout for connecting to the NodeJS process and for invocations to -1 (infinite).
services.Configure<OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions>(options => options.TimeoutMS = -1);
services.Configure<HttpNodeJSServiceOptions>(options => options.Version = HttpVersion.Version20);

ServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
INodeJSService nodeJSService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<INodeJSService>(); // Configured INodeJSService

You can find the full list of options in the API section:

NodeJSProcessOptions
OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions
HttpNodeJSServiceOptions

Configure Using the Static API

Use StaticNodeJSService.Configure<T> to configure StaticNodeJSService:

// Options for the NodeJS process, here we enable debugging
StaticNodeJSService.Configure<NodeJSProcessOptions>(options => options.NodeAndV8Options = "--inspect-brk");

// Options for the INodeJSService implementation
// - HttpNodeJSService is the default INodeJSService implementation. It communicates with the NodeJS process via HTTP. Below, we set the HTTP version it uses to HTTP/2.0.
// - HttpNodeJSService extends OutOfProcessNodeJSService, an abstraction for NodeJS process management. Below we set the timeout for connecting to the NodeJS process and for invocations to -1 (infinite).
StaticNodeJSService.Configure<OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions>(options => options.TimeoutMS = -1);
StaticNodeJSService.Configure<HttpNodeJSServiceOptions>(options => options.Version = HttpVersion.Version20);

Configurations made using StaticNodeJSService.Configure<T> only apply to javascript invocations made using the static API.

We recommend making these configurations at application startup since:

StaticNodeJSService.Configure<T> is not thread-safe.
The NodeJS process is recreated after every StaticNodeJSService.Configure<T> call.

Debugging Javascript

Follow these steps to debug javascript invoked using INodeJSService:

Add debugger statements to your javascript module.
Configure the following options: NodeJSProcessOptions.NodeAndV8Options = --inspect-brk and OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.TimeoutMS = -1.
Create an INodeJSService (or use StaticNodeJSService).
Call a javascript invoking method.
Navigate to chrome://inspect/ in Chrome.
Click "Open dedicated DevTools for Node".
Click continue to advance to your debugger statements.

Customizing Logic

You can customize logic by overwriting DI services.

For example, if you'd like to customize how data sent to NodeJS is serialized/deserialized, create a custom IJsonService implementation:

// Create a custom implementation of IJsonService
public class MyJsonService : IJsonService
{
    public ValueTask<T?> DeserializeAsync<T>(Stream stream, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
    {
        ... // Custom deserializetion logic
    }

    public Task SerializeAsync<T>(Stream stream, T value, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
    {
        ... // Custom serialization logic
    }
}

And overwrite IJsonService's DI service:

var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNodeJS();

// Overwrite the DI service
services.AddSingleton<IJsonService, MyJsonService>();

ServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
INodeJSService nodeJSService = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<INodeJSService>();

These are some of the services you can overwrite:

Interface	Description
`IJsonService`	An abstraction for JSON serialization/deserialization.
`IHttpClientService`	An abstraction for `HttpClient`.
`INodeJSProcessFactory`	An abstraction for NodeJS process creation.
`IHttpContentFactory`	An abstraction for `HttpContent` creation.
`INodeJSService`	An abstraction for invoking code in NodeJS.
`IEmbeddedResourcesService`	An abstraction for reading of embedded resources.

You can find the full list of services in NodeJSServiceCollectionExtensions.cs.

Customizing Logic Using the Static API

Use StaticNodeJSService.SetServices to customize the logic executed by StaticNodeJSService's underlying INodeJSService:

var services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNodeJS();

// Overwrite the DI service
services.AddSingleton<IJsonService, MyJsonService>();

StaticNodeJSService.SetServices(services);

We recommend only calling StaticNodeJSService.SetServices at application startup since:

StaticNodeJSService.SetServices is not thread-safe.
The NodeJS process is recreated after every StaticNodeJSService.SetServices call.

Enabling Multi-Process Concurrency

To enable multi-process concurrency, set OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency to Concurrency.MultiProcess:

services.Configure<OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions>(options => {
    options.Concurrency = Concurrency.MultiProcess; // Concurrency.None by default
    options.ConcurrencyDegree = 8; // Number of processes. Defaults to the number of logical processors on your machine.
);

(see Configuring for more information on configuring)

Invocations will be distributed among multiple NodeJS processes using round-robin load balancing.

Why Enable Multi-Process Concurrency?

Multi-process concurrency speeds up CPU-bound workloads. We ran a benchmark executing the following logic 25-times, concurrently in NodeJS:

// Minimal CPU-bound operation
module.exports = (callback) => {
    // Block CPU
    var end = new Date().getTime() + 100; // 100ms block
    while (new Date().getTime() < end) { /* do nothing */ }

    callback(null);
};

The logic fully utilizes a CPU for 100ms.

With multi-process concurrency disabled, a single NodeJS process performs invocations synchronously, so the benchmark takes ~2500ms (25 tasks x 100ms).

With multi-process concurrency enabled, on an 8-core machine, the benchmark takes ~400ms ((25 tasks x 100ms) / 8 + overhead).

View the full results of our multi-process concurrency benchmark here.

Limitations

You can't use multi-process concurrency if your logic persists data between invocations. For example:

const string javascriptModule = @"
var lastResult;

module.exports = (callback, x) => {

    var result = x + (lastResult ? lastResult : 0); // Use persisted value here
    lastResult = result; // Persist

    callback(null, result);
}";

// result == 3
int result = await StaticNodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<int>(javascriptModule, "customIdentifier", args: new object[] { 3 });

// Intended for result == 8, but result == 5 since different processes perform the invocations
result = await StaticNodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<int>(javascriptModule, "customIdentifier", args: new object[] { 5 });

With concurrency enabled, you can't use the following caching pattern (previously described in Inoke Javascript in String Form):

string cacheIdentifier = "exampleModule";

// If you have an even number of NodeJS processes, success will always be false since the resulting caching attempt is
// sent to the next NodeJS process.
(bool success, Result? result) = await nodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<Result>(cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });

// False, so we attempt to cache
if(!success)
{
    string moduleString = "module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });"; 

    // Because of round-robin load balancing, this caching attempt is sent to the next NodeJS process.
    result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>(moduleString, cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });
}

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

Instead, call an overload that takes a moduleFactory argument. These overloads atomically handle caching and invoking:

string module = "module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { message: message });";
string cacheIdentifier = "exampleModule";

// This is a trivialized example. In practice, to avoid holding large module strings in memory, you might retrieve the module 
// string from an on-disk or remote source.
Func<string> moduleFactory = () => module;

// Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. If the module hasn't been cached, NodeJS lets the .NET process know.
// The .NET process then creates the module string using moduleFactory and sends it to *the same* NodeJS process where it's compiled, invoked and cached. 
Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>(moduleFactory, cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

API

INodeJSService Interface

Methods

INodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync<T>(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module on disk.

Task<T?> InvokeFromFileAsync<T>(string modulePath, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

modulePath string
The path to the module relative to NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath. This value must not be null, whitespace or an empty string.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if modulePath is null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

To avoid rereads and recompilations on subsequent invocations, NodeJS caches the module using the its absolute path as cache identifier.

Example

If we have a file named exampleModule.js (located in NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath), with contents:

module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { resultMessage: message });

Using the class Result:

public class Result
{
    public string? Message { get; set; }
}

The following assertion will pass:

Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync<Result>("exampleModule.js", args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

INodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module on disk.

Task InvokeFromFileAsync(string modulePath, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

modulePath string
The path to the module relative to NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath. This value must not be null, whitespace or an empty string.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if modulePath is null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

To avoid rereads and recompilations on subsequent invocations, NodeJS caches the module using the its absolute path as cache identifier.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(string, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in string form.

Task<T?> InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(string moduleString, [string? cacheIdentifier = null], [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

moduleString string
The module in string form. This value must not be null, whitespace or an empty string.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. If this value is null, NodeJS ignores its module cache..

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleString is null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

If cacheIdentifier is null, sends moduleString to NodeJS where it's compiled it for one-time use.

If cacheIdentifier isn't null, sends both moduleString and cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it compiles and caches the module.

Once the module is cached, you may use INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T> to invoke directly from the cache, avoiding the overhead of sending moduleString.

Example

Using the class Result:

public class Result
{
    public string? Message { get; set; }
}

The following assertion will pass:

Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { resultMessage: message });", 
    args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync(string, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in string form.

Task InvokeFromStringAsync(string moduleString, [string? cacheIdentifier = null], [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

moduleString string
The module in string form. This value must not be null, whitespace or an empty string.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. If this value is null, NodeJS ignores its module cache..

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleString is null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

If cacheIdentifier is null, sends moduleString to NodeJS where it's compiled for one-time use.

If cacheIdentifier isn't null, sends both moduleString and cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it compiles and caches the module.

Once the module is cached, you may use INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T> to invoke directly from the cache, avoiding the overhead of sending moduleString.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(Func<string>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in string form.

Task<T?> InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(Func<string> moduleFactory, string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

moduleFactory Func<string>
The factory that creates the module string. This value must not be null and it must not return null, whitespace or an empty string.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if module is not cached but moduleFactory is null.

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleFactory returns null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it informs the .NET process that the module isn't cached. The .NET process then creates the module string using moduleFactory and send it to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached.

If exportName is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked. Otherwise, invokes the function named exportName in module.exports.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync(Func<string>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in string form.

Task InvokeFromStringAsync(Func<string> moduleFactory, string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

moduleFactory Func<string>
The factory that creates the module string. This value must not be null and it must not return null, whitespace or an empty string.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if module is not cached but moduleFactory is null.

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleFactory returns null, whitespace or an empty string.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it informs the .NET process that the module isn't cached. The .NET process then creates the module string using moduleFactory and send it to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached.

If exportName is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked. Otherwise, invokes the function named exportName in module.exports.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Stream, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in stream form.

Task<T?> InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Stream moduleStream, [string? cacheIdentifier = null], [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

moduleStream Stream
The module in stream form. This value must not be null.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. If this value is null, NodeJS ignores its module cache..

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleStream is null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

If cacheIdentifier is null, sends the stream to NodeJS where it's compiled for one-time use.

If cacheIdentifier isn't null, sends both the stream and cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it compiles and caches the module.

Once the module is cached, you may use INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T> to invoke directly from the cache, avoiding the overhead of sending the module stream.

Example

Using the class Result:

public class Result
{
    public string? Message { get; set; }
}

The following assertion will pass:

using (var memoryStream = new MemoryStream())
using (var streamWriter = new StreamWriter(memoryStream))
{
    // Write the module to a MemoryStream for demonstration purposes.
    streamWriter.Write("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, {resultMessage: message});");
    streamWriter.Flush();
    memoryStream.Position = 0;

    Result? result = await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<Result>(memoryStream, args: new[] { "success" });
    
    Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);
}

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync(Stream, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in stream form.

Task InvokeFromStreamAsync(Stream moduleStream, [string? cacheIdentifier = null], [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

moduleStream Stream
The module in stream form. This value must not be null.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. If this value is null, NodeJS ignores its module cache..

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleStream is null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

If cacheIdentifier is null, sends the stream to NodeJS where it's compiled for one-time use.

If cacheIdentifier isn't null, sends both the stream and cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it compiles and caches the module.

Once the module is cached, you may use INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T> to invoke directly from the cache, avoiding the overhead of sending the module stream.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Func<Stream>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in stream form.

Task<T?> InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Func<Stream> moduleFactory, string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

moduleFactory Func<Stream>
The factory that creates the module stream. This value must not be null and it must not return null.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if module is not cached but moduleFactory is null.

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleFactory returns null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it informs the .NET process that the module isn't cached. The .NET process then creates the module stream using moduleFactory and send it to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached.

If exportName is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked. Otherwise, invokes the function named exportName in module.exports.

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync(Func<Stream>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Invokes a function from a NodeJS module in stream form.

Task InvokeFromStreamAsync(Func<Stream> moduleFactory, string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

moduleFactory Func<Stream>
The factory that creates the module stream. This value must not be null and it must not return null.

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if module is not cached but moduleFactory is null.

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ArgumentException
Thrown if moduleFactory returns null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Remarks

Initially, sends only cacheIdentifier to NodeJS. NodeJS reuses the module if it's already cached. Otherwise, it informs the .NET process that the module isn't cached. The .NET process then creates the module stream using moduleFactory and send it to NodeJS where it's compiled, invoked and cached.

If exportName is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked. Otherwise, invokes the function named exportName in module.exports.

INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T>(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Attempts to invoke a function from a module in NodeJS's cache.

Task<(bool, T?)> TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<T>(string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Type Parameters

T
The type of value returned. This may be a JSON-serializable type, string, or Stream.

Parameters

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation. On completion, the task returns a (bool, T) with the bool set to true on success and false otherwise.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

Example

Using the class Result:

public class Result
{
    public string? Message { get; set; }
}

The following assertion will pass:

// Cache the module
string cacheIdentifier = "exampleModule";
await nodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<Result>("module.exports = (callback, message) => callback(null, { resultMessage: message });", 
    cacheIdentifier,
    args: new[] { "success" });

// Invoke from cache
(bool success, Result? result) = await nodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync<Result>(cacheIdentifier, args: new[] { "success" });

Assert.True(success);
Assert.Equal("success", result?.Message);

INodeJSService.TryInvokeFromCacheAsync(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Attempts to invoke a function from a module in NodeJS's cache.

Task<bool> TryInvokeFromCacheAsync(string cacheIdentifier, [string? exportName = null], [object?[]? args = null], [CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken)])

Parameters

cacheIdentifier string
The module's cache identifier. This value must not be null.

exportName string
The name of the function in module.exports to invoke. If this value is null, module.exports is assumed to be a function and is invoked.

args object[]
The sequence of JSON-serializable arguments to pass to the function to invoke. If this value is null, no arguments are passed.

cancellationToken CancellationToken
The cancellation token for the asynchronous operation.

Returns

The Task representing the asynchronous operation. On completion, the task returns true on success and false otherwise.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException
Thrown if cacheIdentifier is null.

ConnectionException
Thrown if unable to connect to NodeJS.

InvocationException
Thrown if the invocation request times out.

InvocationException
Thrown if a NodeJS error occurs.

ObjectDisposedException
Thrown if this instance is disposed or if it attempts to use a disposed dependency.

OperationCanceledException
Thrown if cancellationToken is cancelled.

INodeJSService.MoveToNewProcess()

Moves subsequent invocations to a new NodeJS process.

void MoveToNewProcess()

Remarks

This method exposes the system used by file watching (see OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching) and process retries (see OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumProcessRetries) to move to new processes.

When is access to this system useful? Consider the situation where your application uses file watching. If your application knows when files change (e.g. your application is the actor changing files) you can manually invoke this method instead of using file watching. This enables you to avoid the overhead of file watching.

The method respects OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.GracefulProcessShutdown.

NodeJSProcessOptions Class

Constructors

NodeJSProcessOptions()

public NodeJSProcessOptions()

Properties

NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath

The base path for resolving NodeJS module paths.

public string ProjectPath { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is null, whitespace or an empty string and the application is an ASP.NET Core application, project path is IHostingEnvironment.ContentRootPath.

NodeJSProcessOptions.ExecutablePath

The value used to locate the NodeJS executable.

public string? ExecutablePath { get; set; }

Remarks

This value may be an absolute path, a relative path, or a file name.

If this value is a relative path, the executable's path is resolved relative to Directory.GetCurrentDirectory.

If this value is a file name, the executable's path is resolved using the path environment variable.

If this value is null, whitespace or an empty string, it is overridden with the file name "node".

Defaults to null.

NodeJSProcessOptions.NodeAndV8Options

NodeJS and V8 options in the form <NodeJS options> <V8 options>.

public string? NodeAndV8Options { get; set; }

Remarks

You can find the full list of NodeJS options here.

NodeJSProcessOptions.Port

The NodeJS server will listen on this port.

public int Port { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is 0, the OS will choose the port.

Defaults to 0.

NodeJSProcessOptions.EnvironmentVariables

The NodeJS process's environment variables.

public IDictionary<string, string> EnvironmentVariables { get; set; }

Remarks

You can configure NodeJS by specifying environment variables for it. Find the full list of environment variables here.

If this value doesn't contain an element with key "NODE_ENV" and the application is an ASP.NET Core application, an element with key "NODE_ENV" is added. The added element's value is "development" if IHostingEnvironment.EnvironmentName is EnvironmentName.Development, and "production" otherwise.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions Class

Constructors

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions()

public OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions()

Properties

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.TimeoutMS

The maximum duration to wait for the NodeJS process to connect and to wait for responses to invocations.

public int TimeoutMS { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is negative, the maximum duration is infinite.

Defaults to 60000.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumRetries

The number of times a NodeJS process retries an invocation.

public int NumRetries { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is negative, invocations are retried indefinitely.

If an invocation's module source is an unseekable stream, the invocation is not retried. If you require retries for such streams, copy their contents to a MemoryStream.

Defaults to 1.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumProcessRetries

The number of new NodeJS processes created to retry an invocation.

public int NumProcessRetries { get; set; }

Remarks

A NodeJS process retries invocations OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumRetries times. Once a process's retries are exhausted, if any process retries remain, the library creates a new process that then retries invocations OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumRetries times.

For example, consider the situation where OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumRetries and this value are both 1. The existing process first attempts the invocation. If it fails, it retries the invocation once. If it fails again, the library creates a new process that retries the invocation once. In total, the library attempt the invocation 3 times.

If this value is negative, the library creates new NodeJS processes indefinitely.

By default, process retries are disabled for invocation failures caused by javascript errors. See OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableProcessRetriesForJavascriptErrors for more information.

If the module source of an invocation is an unseekable stream, the invocation is not retried. If you require retries for such streams, copy their contents to a MemoryStream.

Defaults to 1.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableProcessRetriesForJavascriptErrors

Whether invocation failures caused by Javascript errors are retried in new processes.

public bool EnableProcessRetriesForJavascriptErrors { get; set; }

Remarks

Process retries were introduced to deal with process-level issues. For example, when a NodeJS process becomes unresponsive the only solution is to start a new process.

If this value is true, process retries also occur on Javascript errors. If it is false, they only occur for process-level issues.

Defaults to false.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumConnectionRetries

Number of times the library retries NodeJS connection attempts.

public int NumConnectionRetries { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is negative, connection attempts are retried indefinitely.

Defaults to 1.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency

The concurrency mode for invocations.

public Concurrency Concurrency { get; set; }

Remarks

By default, this value is Concurrency.None. In this mode, a single NodeJS process executes invocations synchronously. This mode has the benefit of lower memory overhead and it supports all modules. However, it is less performant.

If this value is Concurrency.MultiProcess, OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency NodeJS processes are created and invocations are distributed among them using round robin load balancing. This mode is more performant. However, it has higher memory overhead and doesn't work with modules that have persistent state.

Defaults to Concurrency.None.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.ConcurrencyDegree

The concurrency degree.

public int ConcurrencyDegree { get; set; }

Remarks

If OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency is Concurrency.MultiProcess, this value is the number of NodeJS processes.

If this value is less than or equal to 0, concurrency degree is the number of logical processors the current machine has.

This value does nothing if OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency is Concurrency.None.

Defaults to 0.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching

The value specifying whether file watching is enabled.

public bool EnableFileWatching { get; set; }

Remarks

If file watching is enabled, the library watches files in OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchPath with file name matching a pattern in OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchFileNamePatterns. The library restarts NodeJS when a watched file changes.

Works with all OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.Concurrency modes.

Defaults to false.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchPath

The directory to watch for file changes.

public string? WatchPath { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is null, the path NodeJSProcessOptions.ProjectPath is watched.

This value does nothing if OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching is false.

Defaults to null

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchSubdirectories

The value specifying whether subdirectories of OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchPath are watched.

public bool WatchSubdirectories { get; set; }

Remarks

This value does nothing if OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching is false.

Defaults to true.

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.WatchFileNamePatterns

The file name patterns to watch.

public IEnumerable<string> WatchFileNamePatterns { get; set; }

Remarks

In a pattern, "*" represents 0 or more of any character and "?" represents 0 or 1 of any character. For example, "TestFile1.js" matches the pattern "*File?.js".

This value does nothing if OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching is false.

Defaults to ".js", ".jsx", ".ts", ".tsx", ".json" and ".html".

OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.GracefulProcessShutdown

The value specifying whether NodeJS processes shutdown gracefully when moving to a new process.

public bool GracefulProcessShutdown { get; set; }

Remarks

If this value is true, NodeJS processes shutdown gracefully. Otherwise they're killed immediately.

What's a graceful shutdown? When the library creates a new NodeJS process, the old NodeJS process might still be handling earlier invocations. If graceful shutdown is enabled, the old NodeJS process is killed after its invocations complete. If graceful shutdown is disabled, the old NodeJS process is killed immediately and existing invocations are retried in the new NodeJS process (assuming they have remaining retries, see OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumRetries).

Should I use graceful shutdown? Shutting down gracefully is safer: chances of an invocation exhausting retries and failing is lower, also, you won't face issues from an invocation terminating midway. However, graceful shutdown does incur a small performance cost. Also, invocations complete using the outdated version of your script. Weigh these factors for your script and use-case to decide whether to use graceful shutdown.

This value does nothing if OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.EnableFileWatching is false and OutOfProcessNodeJSServiceOptions.NumProcessRetries is 0.

Defaults to true.

HttpNodeJSServiceOptions Class

Constructors

HttpNodeJSServiceOptions()

public HttpNodeJSServiceOptions()

Properties

HttpNodeJSServiceOptions.Version

The HTTP version to use.

public Version Version { get; set; }

Remarks

This value can be HttpVersion.Version11 or HttpVersion.Version20. HttpVersion.Version11 is faster than HttpVersion.Version20, but HttpVersion.Version20 may be more stable (unverified).

If this value is not HttpVersion.Version11 or HttpVersion.Version20, HttpVersion.Version11 is used.

This option is not available for the net461 and netstandard2.0 versions of this library because those framework versions do not support HTTP/2.0.

Defaults to HttpVersion.Version11.

Performance

These benchmarks compare modes offered by this library and Microsoft's INodeServices.

Latency

Inter-process communication latency benchmarks (1 invocation per iteration):

Method	Mean	Error	StdDev	Gen 0	Gen 1	Gen 2	Allocated
INodeJSService_Latency_InvokeFromFile	105.7 μs	1.59 μs	1.48 μs	1.2207	-	-	5.18 KB
INodeJSService_Latency_InvokeFromFile_GracefulShutdownEnabled	106.9 μs	0.54 μs	0.43 μs	1.2207	-	-	5.4 KB
INodeJSService_Latency_InvokeFromCache	103.8 μs	0.56 μs	0.53 μs	1.2207	-	-	5.25 KB
INodeServices_Latency	117.4 μs	1.73 μs	1.54 μs	2.4414	-	-	9.66 KB

NodeJS v12.18.3
BenchmarkDotNet=v0.12.1, OS=Windows 10.0.19041.985 (2004/?/20H1)
Intel Core i7-7700 CPU 3.60GHz (Kaby Lake), 1 CPU, 8 logical and 4 physical cores
.NET Core SDK=5.0.300-preview.21180.15
  [Host]     : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT
  DefaultJob : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT

View source here.

Multi-Process Concurrency

Asynchronous invocations benchmarks (25 invocations per iteration):

Method	Mean	Error	StdDev	Gen 0	Gen 1	Gen 2	Allocated
INodeJSService_Concurrency_MultiProcess	400.3 ms	0.60 ms	0.47 ms	-	-	-	120.75 KB
INodeJSService_Concurrency_None	2,500.0 ms	1.66 ms	1.55 ms	-	-	-	123.38 KB
INodeServices_Concurrency	2,500.3 ms	0.48 ms	0.40 ms	-	-	-	237.77 KB

NodeJS v12.18.3
BenchmarkDotNet=v0.12.1, OS=Windows 10.0.19041.985 (2004/?/20H1)
Intel Core i7-7700 CPU 3.60GHz (Kaby Lake), 1 CPU, 8 logical and 4 physical cores
.NET Core SDK=5.0.300-preview.21180.15
  [Host]     : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT
  Job-DXCSVX : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT
InvocationCount=1  UnrollFactor=1

View source here.

Real Workload

Real world benchmarks. These use the syntax highlighter, Prism, to highlight C# (25 invocations per iteration):

Method	Mean	Error	StdDev	Median	Gen 0	Gen 1	Gen 2	Allocated
INodeJSService_RealWorkload	2.269 ms	0.1627 ms	0.4535 ms	2.133 ms	-	-	-	213.17 KB
INodeServices_RealWorkload	5.352 ms	0.3976 ms	1.1343 ms	5.252 ms	-	-	-	270.98 KB

NodeJS v12.18.3
BenchmarkDotNet=v0.12.1, OS=Windows 10.0.19041.985 (2004/?/20H1)
Intel Core i7-7700 CPU 3.60GHz (Kaby Lake), 1 CPU, 8 logical and 4 physical cores
.NET Core SDK=5.0.300-preview.21180.15
  [Host]     : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT
  Job-DXJFJI : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT

View source here.

File Watching

How long it takes for NodeJS to restart and begin processing invocations (1 process swap per iteration):

Method	Mean	Error	StdDev	Gen 0	Gen 1	Gen 2	Allocated
HttpNodeJSService_FileWatching_GracefulShutdownEnabled_MoveToNewProcess	64.96 ms	0.253 ms	0.224 ms	-	-	-	253.43 KB
HttpNodeJSService_FileWatching_GracefulShutdownDisabled_MoveToNewProcess	64.99 ms	0.191 ms	0.160 ms	-	-	-	252.95 KB

NodeJS v12.18.3
BenchmarkDotNet=v0.12.1, OS=Windows 10.0.19041.985 (2004/?/20H1)
Intel Core i7-7700 CPU 3.60GHz (Kaby Lake), 1 CPU, 8 logical and 4 physical cores
.NET Core SDK=5.0.300-preview.21180.15
  [Host]     : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT
  DefaultJob : .NET Core 5.0.6 (CoreCLR 5.0.621.22011, CoreFX 5.0.621.22011), X64 RyuJIT

View source here.

Building and Testing

You can build and test this project in Visual Studio 2019/2022.

This project uses source generators. They have a critical limitation - Visual Studio only loads source generator dlls once, at startup.

This means for builds to succeed, you have to:

Build the solution once (outputs the source generator project dlls)
Restart Visual Studio
Rebuild (this should succeed)

Thereafter, if you make changes to the source generator projects, you'll have to build, restart Visual Studio, and rebuild.

Projects Using this Library

Jering.Web.SyntaxHighlighters.HighlightJS - Use the Syntax Highlighter, HighlightJS, from C#. Jering.Web.SyntaxHighlighters.Prism - Use the Syntax Highlighter, Prism, from C#.
NodeReact.NET - Library to render React library components on the server-side with C# as well as on the client.

Related Concepts

What is NodeJS?

NodeJS is a javascript runtime. Essentially, it provides built-in libraries for interfacing with the operating system (OS) and it executes javascript. Built-in ibraries include fs for interfacing with the file system and http for interfacing with with sockets.

Similarities can be drawn to the Core Common Language Runtime (CoreCLR), which provides a set of base libraries and executes .NET Intermediate Language (typically generated by compiling C# or some other .NET language).

When Should I Use NodeJS?

Use NodeJS when you're writing javascript that interfaces with the OS. This includes when you use a library, e.g. from npm, that interfaces with the OS.

Under the hood, NodeJS uses V8 to execute javascript. If you logic doesn't interface with the OS, you can use V8 directly through an alternative library.

NodeJS Modules

Javascript modules can seem like a complicated topic, not least because of the existence of competing specifications (CommonJS, AMD, ES6, ...), and the existence of multiple implementations of each specification (SystemJS, RequireJS, Dojo, NodeJS, ...). In reality, javascript modules are simple.

In the following sections, we'll explain the basics of javascript modules. In particular, we'll look at NodeJS modules, a type of javascript module.

What is a NodeJS Module?

The following line is a valid NodeJS module:

// Note that the module variable isn't declared (no "var module = ...")
module.exports = ['chocolate', 'strawberry', 'vanilla'];

Let's imagine that the module above exists in the file C:/NodeJS_Modules_Example/flavours.js.

The following is another valid NodeJS module:

var flavours = require('./flavours.js');

flavours.forEach((flavour) => console.log(flavour));

Let's imagine that it exists in C:/NodeJS_Modules_Example/printer.js:

If we run node printer.js on the command line, the flavours are printed:

PS C:\NodeJS_Modules_Example> node printer.js
chocolate
strawberry
vanilla

A NodeJS module is simply a block of javascript with module.exports and/or require statements. These statements are explained in the next section.

How does a NodeJS Module Work?

Consider the first module we described above. To load it, NodeJS first wraps it:

// Note how the module object is supplied by the wrapper.
function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) {
    module.exports = ['chocolate', 'strawberry', 'vanilla'];
}

Next, NodeJS invokes the generated function, passing a newly created module object (plain javascript object) to it.
The module sets module.exports to ['chocolate', 'strawberry', 'vanilla'] and returns.

After the function returns, NodeJS caches the module object in a simple map, using the module's absolute path, C:/NodeJS_Modules_Example/flavours.js, as cache identifier. Once the module object is cached, the module is considered to be loaded.

Consider the second module we described above. To load it, NodeJS first wraps it:

function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) {
    // Note how the require function is supplied by the wrapper.
    var flavours = require('./flavours.js');

    flavours.forEach((flavour) => console.log(flavour));
}

Next, NodeJS invokes the generated function, passing a require function to it. require('./flavours.js') does the following:

Resolves the path ./flavours.js to C:/NodeJS_Modules_Example/flavours.js.
Looks for a module object with cache identifier C:/NodeJS_Modules_Example/flavours.js in its module cache.
If the flavours.js module is already cached, returns module.exports.
Otherwise, loads the flavours.js module and returns module.exports.

require('./flavours.js') eventually returns ['chocolate', 'strawberry', 'vanilla']. The printer.js module then prints the contents of the array and returns. Note that the printer.js module receives a module object but does not set its exports property. The module object is still cached, at which point the printer.js module is considered to be loaded.

To further illustrate caching of module objects, consider the following example:

var flavours = require('./flavours.js');

flavours.forEach((flavour) => console.log(flavour));

// Clear the array
flavours.length = 0;

// Add three new flavours
flavours.push('apple');
flavours.push('green tea');
flavours.push('sea salt');

// Require the module again, require returns a reference to the same array (module only ever runs once)
flavours = require('./flavours.js');

flavours.forEach((flavour) => console.log(flavour));

Running node printer.js on the command line prints all of the flavours since require returns the same array both times:

PS C:\Users\Jeremy\Desktop\JSTest> node entry.js
chocolate
strawberry
vanilla
apple
green tea
sea salt

In summary, NodeJS modules work by creating closures around logic. Why do that? We'll explain in the next section.

Why do NodeJS Modules exist?

To answer this question, let's consider the impetus for the creation of javascript modules in general. Web pages used to include scripts like so:

<html>
    ...
    <script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/coolLibrary.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/myScript.js"></script>
    ...
</html>

Browsers loaded the scripts like so:

// Contents of coolLibrary.js
var somePrivateObject = ...;
var usefulFunction = function() {
    ...
}

// Contents of myScript.js
var somePrivateObject = ...;
usefulFunction();

Note how the variable somePrivateObject collides. How can we prevent the collision? We can wrap the scripts in functions:

var module = {};

// This is an immediately invoked function expression, shorthand for assigning the function to a variable then calling it - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/IIFE
(function(module){
    // Contents of coolLibrary.js
    var somePrivateObject = ...;
    var usefulFunction = function() {
        ...
    }
    
    module.exports = usefulFunction;
})(module)

// Contents of myScript.js
var somePrivateObject = ...;
module.usefulFunction();

We've successfully hidden coolLibrary's somePrivateObject variable from the global scope using a module-esque pattern.

NodeJS modules exist to serve a similar purpose. By wrapping modules in functions, NodeJS creates a closure for each module so internal details can be kept private.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 476 Commits
generators		generators
perf/NodeJS		perf/NodeJS
src/NodeJS		src/NodeJS
test/NodeJS		test/NodeJS
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
Changelog.md		Changelog.md
Jering.Javascript.NodeJS.sln		Jering.Javascript.NodeJS.sln
License.md		License.md
NuGet.Config		NuGet.Config
ReadMe.md		ReadMe.md
ThirdPartyLicenses.md		ThirdPartyLicenses.md
azure-pipelines.yml		azure-pipelines.yml
codecov.yml		codecov.yml
keypair.snk		keypair.snk
nuget_icon.png		nuget_icon.png

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Jering.Javascript.NodeJS

Table of Contents

Overview

Target Frameworks

Platforms

Prerequisites

Installation

Usage

Using the DI-Based API

Using the Static API

Invoking Javascript

Function With Callback Parameter

Async Function

Invoking Javascript From a File

Invoking Javascript in String Form

Invoking Javascript in Stream Form

Configuring

Configure Using the Static API

Debugging Javascript

Customizing Logic

Customizing Logic Using the Static API

Enabling Multi-Process Concurrency

Why Enable Multi-Process Concurrency?

Limitations

API

INodeJSService Interface

Methods

INodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync<T>(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Type Parameters

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

Example

INodeJSService.InvokeFromFileAsync(string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Parameters

Exceptions

Remarks

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(string, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Type Parameters

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

Example

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync(string, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync<T>(Func<string>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Type Parameters

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStringAsync(Func<string>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Stream, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Type Parameters

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

Example

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync(Stream, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)

Parameters

Returns

Exceptions

Remarks

INodeJSService.InvokeFromStreamAsync<T>(Func<Stream>, string, string, object[], CancellationToken)