CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptmeteor
195436
195436

Reputation: 293

Meteor.isClient vs isServer when calling a method

I am implementing an offline mode for my iOS and web app that I am building with Meteor. So far the online mode works with an API, where I save and get all of my data using the HTTP package. Now I have started setting up a local db to save data when the app is offline using this solution: Link

So now, I can get my web app to use the API, and my mobile app to save data locally, but I can't find a nice way to have one piece of code that would work with both of them.

So here is my code:

1 - Where I call my method

Meteor.call('createDocument', myDataToSave, function( error, result)
{
   console.log(error, result);
});

2 - My methods:

// First option
if( Meteor.isServer){
   Meteor.methods({
     createDocument: function( myDataToSave){
        console.log('is server2');
        return HTTP.post( API_URL, {
            data: myDataToSave
        });
     }
   });
}


// Second option
Meteor.methods({
   createDocument: function(myDataToSave {
     if (Meteor.isCordova) {
        alert('is cordova');
        return Documents.insert(myDataToSave);
     } else if( Meteor.isServer){
        console.log('is server');
        return HTTP.post( API_URL, {
            data: myDataToSave
        });
    } else {
        console.log(Meteor);
    }
  }
});

So now what I don't understand is that when I am on my web browser testing the app locally, if I use the second option (comment out the first one), I have in my logs that Meteor.isClient is true, as the last else is used.

If I use first option and comment out the second one, everything works fine, Meteor.isServer is true, so I can save my data to the API

So I guess my question is, how come in the same file, same way of calling it, Meteor returns a different environment ? Does it come from declaring Metor.methods inside or outside the Meteor.isServer ?

PS: I have found a solution to use both at the same time, which is to have two different methods, one for the server and one for client:

if (Meteor.isCordova) {
   var method = 'createDocumentClient';
} else {
   var method = 'createDocument';
}
Meteor.call(method, myDataToSave, function( error, result)
{
   console.log(error, result);
});

But even though this solution seems to work, I still don't have a clue why this works and the first option doesn't, and would really appreciate if someone could help me understanding what is going on :)

Upvotes: 3

Views: 1619

Answers (1)

Michel Floyd
Michel Floyd

Reputation: 20226

Assuming your code is at root or in /lib, the method will run first on the client, then on the server. This is done for latency compensation and on the client is referred to as simulation. The .isServer and .isClient give you control over what environment you want your code to run in.

If you put methods in /client then they will only run on the client and vice versa if you put them in /server.

With the new ES6 imports you have specific control over what gets imported into each environment.

Upvotes: 1

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