New Answer:
Just use socket.io, it's so much easier and better!
https://www.npmjs.com/package/socket.io#in-conjunction-with-express
basic setup:
const express = require('express');
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;
const app = express();
const server = require('http').createServer(app);
const io = require('socket.io')(server);
// listen to socket connections
io.on('connection', function(socket){
// get that socket and listen to events
socket.on('chat message', function(msg){
// emit data from the server
io.emit('chat message', msg);
});
});
// Tip: add the `io` reference to the request object through a middleware like so:
app.use(function(request, response, next){
request.io = io;
next();
});
server.listen(PORT);
console.log(`Listening on port ${PORT}...`);
and in any route handler, you can use socket.io:
app.post('/post/:post_id/like/:user_id', function likePost(request, response) {
//...
request.io.emit('action', 'user liked your post');
})
client side:
<script src="/socket.io/socket.io.js"></script>
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.1.js"></script>
<script>
$(function () {
var socket = io();
$('form').submit(function(e){
e.preventDefault(); // prevents page reloading
socket.emit('chat message', $('#m').val());
$('#m').val('');
return false;
});
socket.on('chat message', function(msg){
$('#messages').append($('<li>').text(msg));
});
});
</script>
full example: https://socket.io/get-started/chat/
Original Answer:
Someone (user: https://stackoverflow.com/users/451634/benny-neugebauer | from this article: addEventListener on custom object) literally gave me a hint on how to implement this without any other package except express! I have it working!
First, import Node's EventEmitter:
const EventEmitter = require('events');
Then create an instance:
const Stream = new EventEmitter();
Then create a GET route for event streaming:
app.get('/stream', function(request, response){
response.writeHead(200, {
'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream',
'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
'Connection': 'keep-alive'
});
Stream.on("push", function(event, data) {
response.write("event: " + String(event) + "\n" + "data: " + JSON.stringify(data) + "\n\n");
});
});
In this GET route, you are writing back that the request is 200 OK, content-type is text/event-stream, no cache, and to keep-alive.
You are also going to call the .on method of your EventEmitter instance, which takes 2 parameters: a string of the event to listen for and a function to handle that event(that function can take as much params as it is given)
Now.... all you have to do to send a server event is to call the .emit method of your EventEmitter instance:
Stream.emit("push", "test", { msg: "admit one" });
The first parameter is a string of the event you want to trigger (make sure that it is the same as the one in the GET route). Every subsequent parameter to the .emit method will be passed to the listener's callback!
That is it!
Since your instance was defined in a scope above your route definitions, you can call the .emit method from any other route:
app.get('/', function(request, response){
Stream.emit("push", "test", { msg: "admit one" });
response.render("welcome.html", {});
});
Thanks to how JavaScript scoping works, you can even pass that EventEmitter instance around to other function, even from other modules:
const someModule = require('./someModule');
app.get('/', function(request, response){
someModule.someMethod(request, Stream)
.then(obj => { return response.json({}) });
});
In someModule:
function someMethod(request, Stream) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
Stream.emit("push", "test", { data: 'some data' });
return resolve();
})
}
That easy! No other package needed!
Here is a link to Node's EventEmitter Class: https://nodejs.org/api/events.html#events_class_eventemitter
My example:
const EventEmitter = require('events');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const Stream = new EventEmitter(); // my event emitter instance
app.get('/stream', function(request, response){
response.writeHead(200, {
'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream',
'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
'Connection': 'keep-alive'
});
Stream.on("push", function(event, data) {
response.write("event: " + String(event) + "\n" + "data: " + JSON.stringify(data) + "\n\n");
});
});
setInterval(function(){
Stream.emit("push", "test", { msg: "admit one" });
}, 10000)
Connection: keep-aliveheader (masteringjs.io/tutorials/express/server-sent-events). Definitely don't use socket.io, because that uses websockets, which is NOT the same thing as server-sent events. SSE is over HTTP, websockets are a distinct protocol. – Favoritism