New Node.js 8 runtime for IBM Cloud Functions

Introducing a new runtime for JavaScript IBM Cloud Functions based on Node.js version 8. Now you can take advantage of the new features that are offered by the recently released Node.js version 8 on Long Term Support (LTS).

This new runtime comes with pre-installed npm packages (bm_db, ibm-cos-sdk, cloudant, watson-developer-cloud) that are useful when integrating serverless functions with IBM Cloud services. For more details on the Node.js 8 environment, check the documentation.

What’s new in Node.js version 8

The next major release of Node.js brings a range or significant changes and additions for JavaScript users. This article highlights the most significant changes and features.

With version 6 of Node.js, you are taking advantage of ES2015 language specification, such as Object destructuring. Now with version 8 of Node.js, you can leverage more language features in your IBM Functions, like JavaScript ES2017 async functions, which makes it easier to write code that can use and create Promises.

Using async functions, waiting for a Promise to resolve is as simple as typing await before it, and proceeding as if the value were synchronously available (without using callbacks).

Example

In this easy to follow example, you can see how to use async and await with IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud service.

1. Create a JavaScript file “Employees.js” with the following code:

<br>
   const ibmdb = require('ibm_db')<br>
   const queryString = 'SELECT FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME, EMAIL from GOSALESHR.employee FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY'<br>
   async function main ({<br>
   __bx_creds: { dashDB: { ssldsn } }<br>
   }) {<br>
     let connection, result, rows<br>
     try {<br>
      connection = await ibmdb.open(ssldsn)<br>
      rows = await connection.query(queryString)<br>
      connection.close()<br>
      result = { employees: rows }<br>
    } catch (err) {<br>
      console.error(err.message)<br>
      result = { message: err.message }<br>
    }<br>
    return result<br>
   };<br>

2. Deploy your function by using the CLI, and give it the name “Employees”.

bx wsk action update Employees Employees.js --kind nodejs:8

Important: When you create or update an Action, always specify the kind nodejs:8. If the kind is not explicitly provided, the action uses the default nodejs:6 version.

3. Bind the IBM Cloud service to your function to set the ssldsn as a default parameter.

<br>
bx wsk service bind dashDB Employees<br>

For more information about the new service bind for IBM Cloud Functions, see the following blog post.

If you don’t yet have the service created in your Namespace, use the following command to create the service instance.

<br>
bx service create dashDB Entry db2<br>

4. Invoke the Action from the CLI for testing, and retrieve the results:

<br>
bx wsk action invoke Employees -r<br>

<br>
  {<br>
    "employees": [<br>
      {<br>
        "EMAIL": "DPage@grtd123.com",<br>
        "FIRST_NAME": "Denis",<br>
        "LAST_NAME": "Pagé"<br>
      },<br>
      {<br>
        "EMAIL": "EMichel@grtd123.com",<br>
        "FIRST_NAME": "Élizabeth",<br>
        "LAST_NAME": "Michel"<br>
      },<br>
      {<br>
        "EMAIL": "EClermont@grtd123.com",<br>
        "FIRST_NAME": "Émile",<br>
        "LAST_NAME": "Clermont"<br>
      }<br>
    ]<br>
  }<br>

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