xmlhttprequest

What is xmlhttprequest?

The xmlhttprequest npm package is a JavaScript library that allows you to perform HTTP client functionality, such as making GET and POST requests to servers. It is designed to mimic the behavior of the native XMLHttpRequest object provided by web browsers, making it useful for server-side applications or testing where the native object is not available.

What are xmlhttprequest's main functionalities?

Performing a GET request

This code sample demonstrates how to perform a simple GET request to retrieve data from a specified URL.

var XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.onreadystatechange = function() {
  if (xhr.readyState == 4 && xhr.status == 200) {
    console.log(xhr.responseText);
  }
};
xhr.open('GET', 'http://example.com', true);
xhr.send();

Performing a POST request

This code sample shows how to perform a POST request to send JSON data to a server.

var XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.onreadystatechange = function() {
  if (xhr.readyState == 4 && xhr.status == 200) {
    console.log(xhr.responseText);
  }
};
xhr.open('POST', 'http://example.com', true);
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
xhr.send(JSON.stringify({ key: 'value' }));

Setting request headers

This code sample illustrates how to set custom HTTP headers for a request.

var XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open('GET', 'http://example.com', true);
xhr.setRequestHeader('X-Custom-Header', 'value');
xhr.send();

Handling errors

This code sample demonstrates how to handle network errors that may occur during the request.

var XMLHttpRequest = require('xmlhttprequest').XMLHttpRequest;
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.onerror = function() {
  console.error('Request failed');
};
xhr.open('GET', 'http://example.com', true);
xhr.send();

Other packages similar to xmlhttprequest

axios

Axios is a promise-based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. It provides a more modern API, supports Promises out of the box, and has built-in CSRF protection. Axios is often preferred for its cleaner syntax and additional features.

fetch

The fetch package is a light-weight module that brings window.fetch to Node.js. It is based on the Fetch API, which is a modern alternative to XMLHttpRequest for making HTTP requests in web browsers. Fetch provides a more concise and powerful API compared to XMLHttpRequest.

request

Request is a simplified HTTP request client for Node.js. Although it has been deprecated, it was once one of the most popular HTTP request packages due to its simplicity and wide range of features. Compared to xmlhttprequest, it offers a higher-level API with more convenience methods.

superagent

Superagent is a small progressive client-side HTTP request library. It has a fluent API that allows chaining methods to configure requests, and it can be used both in Node.js and in browsers. Superagent offers more features and a more expressive API compared to xmlhttprequest.

got

Got is a human-friendly and powerful HTTP request library for Node.js. It is designed to be a simpler and more robust alternative to the core http module and third-party modules such as request and xmlhttprequest. Got supports Promises and async/await out of the box.

README

node-XMLHttpRequest

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.

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