How can i execute asynchronous code when an RxJS observable complete? - rxjs

Question

I would like to execute code when the observable complete. In my code, i execute this:
compact(): Observable<FileManifest> {
return this.loadIndex().pipe(
mergeMap((index) => index.walk()),
map((entry) => entry.manifest),
notUndefined(),
writeAllMessages(this.newPath, ProtoFileManifest),
finalize(async () => {
await Promise.all([
promises.rm(this.journalPath, { force: true }),
promises.rm(this.manifestPath, { force: true }),
]);
await promises.rename(this.newPath, this.manifestPath);
}),
);
}
The problem is that the finalize method is made for synchronous code. When i execute asynchronous code like above, the code will be executed independently from the subscribe.
I would like this will be execute when disposing resource of the observable but i want that when i subscribe, i always receive the event.
How can i put asynchronous code in the finalize method ?
Thanks
Ulrich

Answer 1

One way to do it is to create three observables instead of trying to do it all
in one. Each will make up a link in the sequential async chain you want to
make.
In order for the side effects in the promise-based observables to be lazy, we use defer.
Note that the defer callback's return value can be an observable, or an
"ObservableInput", which is what RxJS calls values it knows how to turn
into observables. This value can be (among other things) a promise.
({
compact(): Observable<FileManifest> {
const writeToTempManifest$ = this.loadIndex().pipe(
mergeMap((index) => index.walk()),
map((entry) => entry.manifest),
notUndefined(),
writeAllMessages(this.newPath, ProtoFileManifest)
);
const removeOldManifest$ = defer(() =>
Promise.all([
promises.rm(this.journalPath, { force: true }),
promises.rm(this.manifestPath, { force: true }),
])
);
const renameNewManifest$ = defer(() =>
promises.rename(this.newPath, this.manifestPath)
);
return from([
writeToTempManifest$,
removeOldManifest$,
renameNewManifest$,
]).pipe(concatAll());
},
});
Note that each of these observables potentially emits something (though I'm not familiar with the API). The first emits whatever the writeAllMessages operator does, while the second and third emit the resolved values of their respective promises. In the case of the second one, that's a two element array from the Promise.all.
If you want to suppress an observable's emitted values while still keeping it open until it completes, you can create an operator that does just that:
const silence = pipe(concatMapTo(EMPTY));