08. HTTP COLLECT

HTTP COLLECT (Exercise 8 of 13)

Write a program that performs an HTTP GET request to a URL provided to you
as the first command-line argument. Collect all data from the server (not
just the first "data" event) and then write two lines to the console
(stdout).

The first line you write should just be an integer representing the number
of characters received from the server. The second line should contain the
complete String of characters sent by the server.

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HINTS

There are two approaches you can take to this problem:

1. Collect data across multiple "data" events and append the results
   together prior to printing the output. Use the "end" event to determine
   when the stream is finished and you can write the output.

2. Use a third-party package to abstract the difficulties involved in
   collecting an entire stream of data. Two different packages provide a
   useful API for solving this problem (there are likely more!): bl (Buffer
   List) and concat-stream; take your pick!

https://npmjs.com/bl https://npmjs.com/concat-stream

To install a Node package, use the Node Package Manager npm. Simply type:

 $ npm install bl  

And it will download and install the latest version of the package into a
subdirectory named node_modules. Any package in this subdirectory under
your main program file can be loaded with the require syntax without being
prefixed by './':

 var bl = require('bl')  

Node will first look in the core modules and then in the node_modules
directory where the package is located.

If you don't have an Internet connection, simply make a node_modules
directory and copy the entire directory for the package you want to use
from inside the learnyounode installation directory:

file:///home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v6.11.2/lib/node_modules/learnyouno
de/node_modules/bl
file:///home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v6.11.2/lib/node_modules/learnyouno
de/node_modules/concat-stream

Both bl and concat-stream can have a stream piped in to them and they will
collect the data for you. Once the stream has ended, a callback will be
fired with the data:

 response.pipe(bl(function (err, data) { /* ... */ }))  
 // or  
 response.pipe(concatStream(function (data) { /* ... */ }))  

Note that you will probably need to data.toString() to convert from a
Buffer.

Documentation for both of these modules has been installed along with
learnyounode on your system and you can read them by pointing your browser
here:

file:///home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v6.11.2/lib/node_modules/learnyouno
de/docs/bl.html
file:///home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v6.11.2/lib/node_modules/learnyouno
de/docs/concat-stream.html

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HTTP COLLECT (Exercise 8 of 13)

//////////////////////////////////////////////
/*  function exercise 8  HTTP COLLECT       */
//////////////////////////////////////////////

//npm install bl

function httpCollect(){
    
    var http = require('http'); // load http module
    var bl = require('bl'); // load bl module
    var url = process.argv[2]; // get url from args
    
    http.get(url, function(response) {    
        
        response.pipe(bl(function (err, data) { 
            
            if(!err){
                    
               var strString = data.toString(); // convert the buffer object to string      
               console.log(data.length);  // Print length
               console.log(strString);  // Print data
                
            }
            
        }));

    });
    
}

    httpCollect();

Your submission results compared to the expected:

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1. ACTUAL: "310"

2. EXPECTED: "310"

3. ACTUAL: "He's got a massive shazza heaps trent from punchy middy. It'll be rip snorter to flat out like a bushie. Built like a cranky heaps flat out like a ya."

4. EXPECTED: "He's got a massive shazza heaps trent from punchy middy. It'll be rip snorter to flat out like a bushie. Built like a cranky heaps flat out like a ya."

5. ACTUAL: "Trent from punchy freo when as dry as a pretty spiffy. Shazza got us some show pony heaps he hasn't got a good oil. Trent from punchy wuss and gutful of slab. "

6. EXPECTED: "Trent from punchy freo when as dry as a pretty spiffy. Shazza got us some show pony heaps he hasn't got a good oil. Trent from punchy wuss and gutful of slab. "

7. ACTUAL: ""

8. EXPECTED: ""

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✓

Submission results match expected

PASS Your solution to HTTP COLLECT passed!

Here's the official solution in case you want to compare notes:

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    var http = require('http')
    var bl = require('bl')
    
    http.get(process.argv[2], function (response) {
      response.pipe(bl(function (err, data) {
        if (err) {
          return console.error(err)
        }
        data = data.toString()
        console.log(data.length)
        console.log(data)
      }))
    })

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