🔧 Common Utilities
The Nodeblocks SDK provides general-purpose utility functions for common operations. These utilities handle basic tasks like UUID generation and type checking that are frequently used across applications.
🎯 Overview
Common utilities provide essential helper functions for everyday programming tasks. They focus on simplicity and reliability for common operations.
Key Features
- UUID Generation: Reliable UUID v4 generation
- Type Checking: Object type validation
- Cross-Platform: Works consistently across different environments
- Lightweight: Minimal dependencies and overhead
🆔 UUID Generation
generateUUID
Generates a UUID v4 string for unique identifiers.
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { generateUUID } = utils;
const id = generateUUID();
// Returns: "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
Usage Examples
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { generateUUID } = utils;
// Generate unique IDs
const userId = generateUUID();
const sessionId = generateUUID();
const requestId = generateUUID();
// Use in objects
const user = {
id: generateUUID(),
name: 'John Doe',
email: 'john@example.com'
};
// Generate multiple IDs
const ids = Array.from({ length: 5 }, () => generateUUID());
Integration with Entity Utilities
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { generateUUID, createBaseEntity } = utils;
// Custom entity creation with additional UUID fields
const createOrder = (orderData: OrderData) => {
const baseEntity = createBaseEntity(orderData);
return {
...baseEntity,
orderNumber: generateUUID(), // Additional UUID field
trackingId: generateUUID() // Another UUID field
};
};
🔍 Type Checking
isObject
Checks if a value is an object type (including functions).
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { isObject } = utils;
// Object checks
isObject({}); // true
isObject([]); // true
isObject(() => {}); // true
isObject(null); // false
isObject(undefined); // false
isObject('string'); // false
isObject(123); // false
isObject(true); // false
Usage Examples
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { isObject } = utils;
// Validate function parameters
const processData = (data: unknown) => {
if (!isObject(data)) {
throw new Error('Data must be an object');
}
// TypeScript now knows data is an object
return Object.keys(data);
};
// Safe object operations
const safeMerge = (target: unknown, source: unknown) => {
if (!isObject(target) || !isObject(source)) {
return target;
}
return { ...target, ...source };
};
// Conditional processing
const processValue = (value: unknown) => {
if (isObject(value)) {
// Handle object
return JSON.stringify(value);
} else {
// Handle primitive
return String(value);
}
};
🔧 Advanced Usage
Custom Type Guards
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { isObject } = utils;
// Build custom type guards
const isUserObject = (value: unknown): value is User => {
return isObject(value) &&
'id' in value &&
'name' in value &&
'email' in value;
};
const isProductObject = (value: unknown): value is Product => {
return isObject(value) &&
'id' in value &&
'name' in value &&
'price' in value;
};
// Usage
const validateUser = (data: unknown) => {
if (!isUserObject(data)) {
throw new Error('Invalid user data');
}
// TypeScript knows data is User type
return data.name;
};
UUID Utilities
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { generateUUID } = utils;
// UUID validation
const isValidUUID = (uuid: string): boolean => {
const uuidRegex = /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-4[0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i;
return uuidRegex.test(uuid);
};
// Generate UUID with prefix
const generatePrefixedUUID = (prefix: string): string => {
return `${prefix}-${generateUUID()}`;
};
// Generate short UUID (first 8 characters)
const generateShortUUID = (): string => {
return generateUUID().split('-')[0];
};
// Usage
const orderId = generatePrefixedUUID('order'); // "order-550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
const shortId = generateShortUUID(); // "550e8400"
Object Utilities
import { utils } from '@nodeblocks/backend-sdk';
const { isObject } = utils;
// Deep object validation
const isDeepObject = (value: unknown): boolean => {
if (!isObject(value)) return false;
// Check if all values are also objects or primitives
return Object.values(value).every(val =>
isObject(val) || typeof val === 'string' || typeof val === 'number' || typeof val === 'boolean'
);
};
// Safe object access
const safeGet = (obj: unknown, path: string): unknown => {
if (!isObject(obj)) return undefined;
return path.split('.').reduce((current, key) => {
return isObject(current) ? current[key] : undefined;
}, obj);
};
// Usage
const data = { user: { profile: { name: 'John' } } };
const userName = safeGet(data, 'user.profile.name'); // "John"
const invalid = safeGet(data, 'user.profile.age'); // undefined
📊 Performance Considerations
UUID Generation
- Performance: UUID generation is fast and efficient
- Uniqueness: Extremely low collision probability
- Distribution: Well-distributed across the UUID space
Type Checking
- Performance:
isObject
is optimized for speed - Accuracy: Handles edge cases like
null
andundefined
- Compatibility: Works with arrays and functions
📐️ Best Practices
1. Consistent UUID Usage
// ✅ Good: Use generateUUID for all unique identifiers
const userId = generateUUID();
const orderId = generateUUID();
const sessionId = generateUUID();
// ❌ Avoid: Mixing different ID generation methods
const userId = generateUUID();
const orderId = Date.now().toString(); // Inconsistent
2. Type Safety with isObject
// ✅ Good: Use isObject for type guards
const processData = (data: unknown) => {
if (!isObject(data)) {
throw new Error('Expected object');
}
// TypeScript knows data is an object
return Object.keys(data);
};
// ❌ Avoid: Direct type assertions
const processData = (data: unknown) => {
const obj = data as object; // Unsafe
return Object.keys(obj);
};
3. Error Handling
// ✅ Good: Proper error handling
const safeProcess = (data: unknown) => {
try {
if (!isObject(data)) {
return { error: 'Invalid data type' };
}
return { success: true, data };
} catch (error) {
return { error: 'Processing failed' };
}
};
🔗 See Also
- Entity Utilities - Using UUIDs in entity creation
- Authentication Utilities - Token generation and validation
- Error Handling - Error handling patterns