CODEWITHSUNDEEP
node.jshttpnode.js-connect
Stupid Stupid
Stupid Stupid

Reputation: 215

Node.js and the connect module: How do I get the message out of a request object sent to a web server

I'm using Node.js and connect to create a simple web server. I have something similar to the following code and I can't figure out how to access the actual request message body from the request object. I'm new to this so bear with me. I'm also taking out some of the stuff that's not necessary for the example.

function startServer(dir) {
  var port = 8888,
      svr  = connect().use(connect.static(dir, {"maxAge" : 86400000}))
                      .use(connect.directory(dir))
                      /*
                       * Here, I call a custom function for when 
                       * connect.static can't find the file.
                       */
                      .use(custom);

  http.createServer(svr).listen(port);
}

function custom(req, res) {
  var message = /* the message body in the req object */;
  // Do some stuff with message...
}

startServer('dirName');

Make sense? I've tried logging that object to the console and it is full of TONS of stuff. I can easily see headers in there plus the request URL and method. I just can't seem to isolate the actual message body.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 447

Answers (2)

robertklep
robertklep

Reputation: 203524

You should include the connect.bodyParser middleware as well:

  svr  = connect().use(connect.static(dir, {"maxAge" : 86400000}))
                  .use(connect.directory(dir))
                  .use(connect.bodyParser())
                  .use(custom);

That will provide the parsed message body as req.body to your handler.

If you want the raw message body, you shouldn't use it but instead read the req stream yourself:

function custom(req, res) {
  var chunks = [];
  req.on('data', function(chunk) {
    chunks.push(chunk);
  });
  req.on('end', function() {
    var rawbody = Buffer.concat(chunks);
    ...do stuff...
    // end the request properly
    res.end();
  });
}

Upvotes: 2

Strat
Strat

Reputation: 171

if(req.method == "POST"){
    var body = '';
    req.on('data', function(data){
        body += data;
    });
}

Then body should contain your message if you posted correctly.

A better idea would be to use Express, then use the bodyparser middleware - which will give you this functionality out of the box without worrying about somebody hammering your server. The code above has NO functionality to worry about attacks - but it will get you started.

Upvotes: 1

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