local-xmlhttprequest

node-XMLHttpRequest

node-XMLHttpRequest is a wrapper for the built-in http client to emulate the browser XMLHttpRequest object.

This can be used with JS designed for browsers to improve reuse of code and allow the use of existing libraries.

Note: This library currently conforms to XMLHttpRequest 1. Version 2.0 will target XMLHttpRequest Level 2.

Difference from original node-XMLHttpRequest

When a protocol was missing from the original node-XMLHttpRequest, localhost was intended to be assumed and any path determined relative to localhost root.

This fork avoids the need for having a server set up and running, and instead assumes a local file.

This project aims to ensure that the top-most requiring user-file is used for determining the base path (but not relative to unrelated higher executables like nodeunit. More precisely speaking, the relativity of the path will be determined relative to the topmost file which meets either of the following criteria and is thus assumed to be the topmost user file:

1. No node_modules folder is present.
2. The file's nearest "node_modules" ancestor contains our node-XMLHttpRequest code (i.e., the user file has XMLHttpRequest as a dependency)

This may not be perfect (and alternative ideas are welcome), but it is hoped it will allow the likes of nodeunit tests to be used with portable and easy to follow relative paths (not to mention with the possibility of reusing those same tests in the browser via the likes of karma-nodeunit).

Usage

Here's how to include the module in your project and use as the browser-based XHR object.

    var XMLHttpRequest = require("local-xmlhttprequest").XMLHttpRequest;
    var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

Note: use the lowercase string "xmlhttprequest" in your require(). On case-sensitive systems (e.g., Linux) using uppercase letters won't work.

Versions

Prior to 1.4.0 version numbers were arbitrary. From 1.4.0 on they conform to the standard major.minor.bugfix. 1.x shouldn't necessarily be considered stable just because it's above 0.x.

Since the XMLHttpRequest API is stable this library's API is stable as well. Major version numbers indicate significant core code changes. Minor versions indicate minor core code changes or better conformity to the W3C spec.

License

MIT license. See LICENSE for full details.

Supports

• Async and synchronous requests
• GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests
• All spec methods (open, send, abort, getRequestHeader, getAllRequestHeaders, event methods)
• Requests to all domains

Known Issues / Missing Features

For a list of open issues or to report your own visit the github issues page.

• Local file access may have unexpected results for non-UTF8 files
• Synchronous requests don't set headers properly
• Synchronous requests freeze node while waiting for response (But that's what you want, right? Stick with async!).
• Some events are missing, such as abort
• getRequestHeader is case-sensitive
• Cookies aren't persisted between requests
• Missing XML support
• Missing basic auth