FnCache

Snippet Package Manager by SpicySpices

---

The node package manager is a great tool, it allows for entire scripts of code to be ran in a single line of code. It is a great tool to use in any Node.js project. Although NPM's power is unmatched, it is much too excessive for minute usage.

Take an example, imagine a user is trying to create a 3 dimensional rendering engine. There are many things to calculate, rotation matrices, 3d points to ordered pairs on a screen - the point is that there are many functions that need to be created for a simple creation. The user would also like these functions to be written with utmost precision and speed. A solution for all of these problems would be FnCache.

---

What is FnCache

FnCache is an NPM package and website with the purpose of being an easy way to retrieve small functions without the trouble of going through the process of installing NPM packages. It is basically the node package manager, but for smaller functions and with more ease. Need to check if a number is prime using the quickest known algorithm? fn.isPrime(22679) BOOM, someone made a function for that. Need to send a GET request to your server? fn.getRequest(url) BOOM, a function for that.

Any function that can be written is a function that can be created in FnCache. No matter whether it is asynchronous, returns a value, or takes 10 minutes to resolve, any function can be added to FnCache, even ones containing other functions.

---

Installation

Now knowing what FnCache is, how do we implement it? It is a simple process, but first it is necessary to download the NPM package for FnCache npm i @spicyspices/fncache We can then add a require or import statement into the code

const fn = require('@spicyspices/fncache');

After that, we need to use await on a starter FnCache function, with the first parameter being the node file that is running, and the other being the variable that FnCache is saved to.

await fn('index.js', 'fn');

With that done, we can use any function in the FnCache library.

console.log(fn.add(5483, 3395)); // Logs '8878'

---

Usage

Getting a function is as simple as typing fn. and then whatever function you desire to use. For instance, if you were to have a dice roller, you could enter let diceRoll = fn.randomInt(1, 6);, and then variable diceRoll would become a random integer from 1 to 6. There are many functions and they are all catalogued on this website

Creating a function is also very simple. There are 2 ways to do so, either by using the website directly, or manually doing it by using code. The website is very straight-forward, so I will not explain that, but the code is a bit different. To create a function, everything will need to be setup to start. Next you will need to write fn.set() this will take 3 required parameters and a callback. These parameters are desired function name, current function, and description. The callback will need an error and data parameters. After following these, it should look something like this:

function divBy2(x){
    return x % 2 == 0;
}

fn.set('isEven', divBy2, "Check if given argument is even", (err, data) => {
    if(err) throw err;
    console.log(data);
})

---

How it Works

FnCache is an online service, meaning it has a server. This server stores information such as the code, the parameters, and the number of downloads, to view on the website, and to send to users. Obviously, the client is not going to be able to store the tens of thousands of possible functions, that would be many megabytes of data, and this is where the Cache in FnCache comes in. The package @spicyspices/fncache will first start by scanning the main Node.js file to look for possible fn functions that might be called; this is in the await fn('index.js', 'fn'); method. After collecting the possible functions, it will send a request to the server to get the code for those functions. It will store these into another file and format the functions plus the module.exports = {} to allow Node.js to recognize them as a script. The package will then use require(''); on the file, and copy the functions into the global fn object. For speed however, only during the caching process, the package will use eval() to set the functions into the fn object, and synchronously format the file while the rest of the code is running. During any other times that the code might be ran, the package will use the other file with the cached functions for ease and speed.

---

Test Programs

Random String Generator

const fn = require('@spicyspices/fncache');

async function main(){
    await fn('index.js', 'fn');

    let str = '';
    for(let i = 0; i < 8; i++){
        let random = fn.randomInt(65, 122);
        str += fn.intToChar(random);
    }

    console.log(str);
}

main();

Creating a Sleep Function

const fn = require('@spicyspices/fncache');

async function main(){
    await fn('index.js', 'fn');

    fn.set('sleep', sleep, 'An asynchronous function that only finishes once a timespan (ms) has passed', (err, data) => {
        if(err) throw err;
        console.log(data);
    });
}

function sleep(ms){
    return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}

main();

Simulating a Roll of Dice

const fn = require('@spicyspices/fncache');

async function main(){
    await fn('index.js', 'fn');

    let sides = 20;
    let amount = 4;
    let rolls = [];

    for(let i = 0; i < amount; i++){
        rolls.push(fn.randomInt(1, 20));
    }

    console.log(rolls);
}

main();