fluture

Fluture

A complete Fantasy Land compatible Future library.

npm install --save fluture ^{Requires node 5.0.0 or later}

Usage

Future.node(done => fs.readFile('package.json', 'utf8', done))
.chain(x => Future.try(() => JSON.parse(x)))
.map(x => x.name)
.fork(console.error, console.log)
//> "fluture"

Motivation

• A stand-alone Fantasy Future package.
• Async control utilities included.
• Easier debugging than f(...).fork is not a function.
• Still maintain decent speed.

Documentation

Future

A (monadic) container which represents an eventual value. A lot like Promise but more principled in that it follows the Fantasy Land algebraic JavaScript specification.

const eventualThing = Future((reject, resolve) => {
  setTimeout(resolve, 500, 'world');
});

eventualThing.fork(console.error, thing => console.log(`Hello ${thing}!`));
//> "Hello world!"

---

of :: b -> Future a b

A constructor that creates a Future containing the given value.

const eventualThing = Future.of('world');
eventualThing.fork(console.error, thing => console.log(`Hello ${thing}!`));
//> "Hello world!"

after :: Number -> b -> Future a b

A constructor that creates a Future containing the given value after n milliseconds.

const eventualThing = Future.after(500, 'world');
eventualThing.fork(console.error, thing => console.log(`Hello ${thing}!`));
//> "Hello world!"

try :: (Void -> !a | b) -> Future a b

A constructor that creates a Future which resolves with the result of calling the given function, or rejects with the error thrown by the given function.

const data = {foo: 'bar'}
Future.try(() => data.foo.bar.baz).fork(console.error, console.log)
//> [TypeError: Cannot read property 'baz' of undefined]

node :: ((a, b -> Void) -> Void) -> Future a b

A constructor that creates a Future which rejects with the first argument given to the function, or resolves with the second if the first is not present.

This is a convenience for NodeJS users who wish to easily obtain a Future from a node style callback API.

Future.node(done => fs.readFile('package.json', 'utf8', done))
.fork(console.error, console.log)
//> "{...}"

---

map :: Future a b ~> (b -> c) -> Future a c

Map over the value inside the Future. If the Future is rejected, mapping is not performed.

Future.of(1).map(x => x + 1).fork(console.error, console.log);
//> 2

chain :: Future a b ~> (b -> Future a c) -> Future a c

FlatMap over the value inside the Future. If the Future is rejected, chaining is not performed.

Future.of(1).chain(x => Future.of(x + 1)).fork(console.error, console.log);
//> 2

ap :: Future a (b -> c) ~> Future a b -> Future a c

Apply the value in the Future to the value in the given Future. If the Future is rejected, applying is not performed.

Future.of(x => x + 1).ap(Future.of(1)).fork(console.error, console.log);
//> 2

---

race :: Future a b -> Future a b -> Future a b

Race two Futures against eachother. Creates a new Future which resolves or rejects with the resolution or rejection value of the first Future to settle.

Future.race(Future.after(100, 'hello'), Future.after(50, 'bye'))
.fork(console.error, console.log)
//> "bye"

const first = futures => futures.reduce(Future.race);
first([
  Future.after(100, 'hello'),
  Future.after(50, 'bye'),
  Future(rej => setTimeout(rej, 25, 'nope'))
])
.fork(console.error, console.log)
//> [Error nope]

Road map

• Implement Future Monad
• Write tests
• Write benchmarks
• Implement Traversable?
• Implement Future.cache
• Implement Future.mapRej
• Implement Future.chainRej
• Implement Future.swap
• Implement Future.and
• Implement Future.or
• Implement Future.race
• Implement Future.parallel
• Create documentation
• Wiki: Comparison between Future libs
• Wiki: Comparison Future and Promise
• Add test coverage
• A transpiled ES5 version if demand arises

Benchmarks

Simply run node ./bench/<file> to see how a specific method compares to implementations in data.task, ramda-fantasy.Future and Promise*.

* Promise is not included in all benchmarks because it tends to make the process run out of memory.

The name

A conjunction of the acronym to Fantasy Land (FL) and Future. Also "fluture" means butterfly in Romanian; A creature you might expect to see in Fantasy Land.