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⚠️ This article was written in 2020. Some content may be outdated.

PM2: Node.js Production Deployment

In everyday development, PM2-based Node.js production deployment is being used more and more. This article walks through its usage, internals, and optimization strategies in a structured way.

Quick Start ​

Building on that, we can optimize further:

javascript
const fs = require('fs')
const { Transform, pipeline } = require('stream')
const { promisify } = require('util')
const pipelineAsync = promisify(pipeline)

const csvToJson = new Transform({
  transform(chunk, encoding, callback) {
    const lines = chunk.toString().split('\n')
    const headers = lines[0].split(',')
    for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
      if (!lines[i].trim()) continue
      const values = lines[i].split(',')
      const obj = {}
      headers.forEach((h, idx) => obj[h.trim()] = values[idx]?.trim())
      this.push(JSON.stringify(obj) + '\n')
    }
    callback()
  }
})

This pattern is especially handy in large projects, and it noticeably cuts maintenance cost.

Internal Principles ​

In a real project, the usage gets a bit more involved:

javascript
const fs = require('fs')
const { Transform, pipeline } = require('stream')
const { promisify } = require('util')
const pipelineAsync = promisify(pipeline)

const csvToJson = new Transform({
  transform(chunk, encoding, callback) {
    const lines = chunk.toString().split('\n')
    const headers = lines[0].split(',')
    for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
      if (!lines[i].trim()) continue
      const values = lines[i].split(',')
      const obj = {}
      headers.forEach((h, idx) => obj[h.trim()] = values[idx]?.trim())
      this.push(JSON.stringify(obj) + '\n')
    }
    callback()
  }
})

This way, the code becomes both more testable and more extensible.

Business Practice ​

Here is a complete example:

javascript
const fs = require('fs')
const { Transform, pipeline } = require('stream')
const { promisify } = require('util')
const pipelineAsync = promisify(pipeline)

const csvToJson = new Transform({
  transform(chunk, encoding, callback) {
    const lines = chunk.toString().split('\n')
    const headers = lines[0].split(',')
    for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
      if (!lines[i].trim()) continue
      const values = lines[i].split(',')
      const obj = {}
      headers.forEach((h, idx) => obj[h.trim()] = values[idx]?.trim())
      this.push(JSON.stringify(obj) + '\n')
    }
    callback()
  }
})

Mind the edge-case handling—that's critical in production.

Performance Comparison ​

The key is to understand the core logic:

javascript
const fs = require('fs')
const { Transform, pipeline } = require('stream')
const { promisify } = require('util')
const pipelineAsync = promisify(pipeline)

const csvToJson = new Transform({
  transform(chunk, encoding, callback) {
    const lines = chunk.toString().split('\n')
    const headers = lines[0].split(',')
    for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
      if (!lines[i].trim()) continue
      const values = lines[i].split(',')
      const obj = {}
      headers.forEach((h, idx) => obj[h.trim()] = values[idx]?.trim())
      this.push(JSON.stringify(obj) + '\n')
    }
    callback()
  }
})

Performance tuning should fit the specific scenario—you don't need to over-optimize every case.

Troubleshooting ​

Here are a few ways we can improve on this:

javascript
const fs = require('fs')
const { Transform, pipeline } = require('stream')
const { promisify } = require('util')
const pipelineAsync = promisify(pipeline)

const csvToJson = new Transform({
  transform(chunk, encoding, callback) {
    const lines = chunk.toString().split('\n')
    const headers = lines[0].split(',')
    for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
      if (!lines[i].trim()) continue
      const values = lines[i].split(',')
      const obj = {}
      headers.forEach((h, idx) => obj[h.trim()] = values[idx]?.trim())
      this.push(JSON.stringify(obj) + '\n')
    }
    callback()
  }
})

This approach has been running stably in production for over half a year, so it's battle-tested.

Summary ​

  • In a team, conventions and documentation matter more than the technology itself.
  • Keep an eye on the community—your technical approach needs to keep iterating.
  • Don't adopt new tech just for its own sake.
  • The code examples are for reference only—adapt them to your own use case.

MIT Licensed