xmlhttprequest-ssl

What is xmlhttprequest-ssl?

The xmlhttprequest-ssl package is a Node.js module that provides an implementation of the XMLHttpRequest object, which is primarily used in web browsers for making HTTP requests. This package is designed to work with SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for secure data transmission and is particularly useful for server-side applications that need to make HTTP requests in a way that's similar to client-side JavaScript code.

What are xmlhttprequest-ssl's main functionalities?

Making GET Requests

This feature allows you to make GET requests to retrieve data from a specified URL. The code sample demonstrates how to initiate a GET request, handle the response, and print the result or error.

const XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest-ssl').XMLHttpRequest;
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open('GET', 'https://api.example.com/data', true);
xhr.onload = function () {
  if (xhr.status >= 200 && xhr.status < 300) {
    console.log('Response:', xhr.responseText);
  } else {
    console.error('Request failed');
  }
};
xhr.send();

Sending POST Requests

This feature enables sending POST requests to submit data to a server. The code sample shows how to set up a POST request, including setting the request header and sending data in JSON format.

const XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest-ssl').XMLHttpRequest;
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open('POST', 'https://api.example.com/submit', true);
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json;charset=UTF-8');
xhr.onload = function () {
  if (xhr.status >= 200 && xhr.status < 300) {
    console.log('Success:', xhr.responseText);
  } else {
    console.error('Request failed');
  }
};
xhr.send(JSON.stringify({ key: 'value' }));

Other packages similar to xmlhttprequest-ssl

axios

Axios is a popular HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. It provides a promise-based API and is capable of making XMLHttpRequests from the browser and http requests from Node.js. Compared to xmlhttprequest-ssl, Axios offers a more modern API, automatic JSON data transformation, and request and response interception.

node-fetch

node-fetch is a lightweight module that brings the Fetch API to Node.js. It aims to provide a consistent API with the browser's Fetch API, making it easy for developers to write isomorphic code that works on both the client and server. Unlike xmlhttprequest-ssl, node-fetch uses Promises, which can simplify asynchronous code.

got

Got is a human-friendly and powerful HTTP request library for Node.js. It supports redirections, retries, streams, and more. Got is designed to be a simpler and more usable alternative to Node's native http module, and it offers more advanced features compared to xmlhttprequest-ssl, such as built-in JSON parsing and improved error handling.

README

node-XMLHttpRequest

Fork of node-XMLHttpRequest by driverdan. Forked and published to npm because a pull request is not being created and merged. Changes made by rase- are needed for engine.io-client.

Original README

node-XMLHttpRequest is a wrapper for the built-in http client to emulate the browser XMLHttpRequest object.

This can be used with JS designed for browsers to improve reuse of code and allow the use of existing libraries.

Note: This library currently conforms to XMLHttpRequest 1. Version 2.0 will target XMLHttpRequest Level 2.

Usage

Here's how to include the module in your project and use as the browser-based XHR object.

var XMLHttpRequest = require("xmlhttprequest").XMLHttpRequest;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

Note: use the lowercase string "xmlhttprequest" in your require(). On case-sensitive systems (eg Linux) using uppercase letters won't work.

Versions

Prior to 1.4.0 version numbers were arbitrary. From 1.4.0 on they conform to the standard major.minor.bugfix. 1.x shouldn't necessarily be considered stable just because it's above 0.x.

Since the XMLHttpRequest API is stable this library's API is stable as well. Major version numbers indicate significant core code changes. Minor versions indicate minor core code changes or better conformity to the W3C spec.

License

MIT license. See LICENSE for full details.

Supports

• Async and synchronous requests
• GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests
• All spec methods (open, send, abort, getRequestHeader, getAllRequestHeaders, event methods)
• Requests to all domains

Known Issues / Missing Features

For a list of open issues or to report your own visit the github issues page.

• Local file access may have unexpected results for non-UTF8 files
• Synchronous requests don't set headers properly
• Synchronous requests freeze node while waiting for response (But that's what you want, right? Stick with async!).
• Some events are missing, such as abort
• getRequestHeader is case-sensitive
• Cookies aren't persisted between requests
• Missing XML support
• Missing basic auth