last-wins-and-cancels-prevs

A minimal async queue where only the latest task is executed, all previous are auto-cancelled via AbortController. Supports debounce/throttle, hooks for all task events, and guarantees that .result always reflects the last completed task.

TL;DR

• Only the latest task runs: previous are cancelled automatically
• AbortController-based: tasks should always check signal.aborted
• Debounce/throttle: control execution frequency (like lodash)
• .result: promise resolves only when the last real task completes
• No leaks or race-conditions: cancelled/errored tasks do not affect the result
• Hooks for all events: subscribe to abort, error, complete for any task
• Manual abort: cancel any running task instantly

queue.result lifecycle

• Before first run: queue.result === undefined — queue is empty, nothing to await
• While task is running: queue.result is a promise for the last (not-yet-cancelled) task
• After last task completes (and no new run): queue.result === undefined — queue is empty again

Example:

const queue = new LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious<number>();
console.log(queue.result); // undefined
queue.run(async () => 1);
console.log(typeof queue.result.then); // 'function' — it's a promise
await queue.result; // 1
console.log(queue.result); // undefined (queue is empty again)

Usage Example

import { LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious } from 'last-wins-and-cancels-prevs';

const queue = new LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious<string>({ debounceMs: 300 });
console.log(queue.result) //undefined - the queue is empty
queue.run(signal => fetch('/api?q=first', { signal }).then(r => r.text()));
queue.run(signal => fetch('/api?q=second', { signal }).then(r => r.text()));
queue.run(signal => fetch('/api?q=final', { signal }).then(r => r.text()));

const finalResult = await queue.result;
console.log(finalResult); // result of the last request

Vue Example: Debounced Search with Loading and Abort

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ref, watch, onUnmounted } from 'vue';
import { LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious } from 'last-wins-and-cancels-prevs';

const searchQuery = ref('');
const results = ref<string[]>([]);
const isLoading = ref(false);

// Create queue with 500ms debounce
const queue = new LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious<string[]>({ debounceMs: 500 });

queue.onSeriesStarted(() => {
  isLoading.value = true;
});
queue.onAborted(({ isSeriesEnd }) => {
  if (isSeriesEnd) isLoading.value = false;
});
queue.onError(({ isSeriesEnd }) => {
  if (isSeriesEnd) isLoading.value = false;

queue.onComplete(({ result, isSeriesEnd }) => {
  if (isSeriesEnd) {
    isLoading.value = false;
    if (result) results.value = result;
  }
});

watch(searchQuery, (q) => {
  queue.run(async (signal) => {
    // Simulate API call with abort support
    const res = await fetch(`/api/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(q)}`, { signal });
    return await res.json();
  });
});

onUnmounted(() => {
  queue.abort(); // Cancel any pending request when component unmounts
});
</script>

<template>
  <input v-model="searchQuery" placeholder="Search..." />
  <span v-if="isLoading">Loading...</span>
  <ul>
    <li v-for="item in results" :key="item">{{ item }}</li>
  </ul>
</template>

Hooks and abort

const queue = new LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious<number>();
queue.onAborted(({ signal, isSeriesEnd }) => {
  console.log('Aborted!', signal, 'isSeriesEnd:', isSeriesEnd);
  if (isSeriesEnd) {
    // All tasks are done/cancelled, queue is now idle
    cleanupOrNotify();
  }
});
queue.onError(({ error, isSeriesEnd }) => {
  console.error('Task error:', error, 'isSeriesEnd:', isSeriesEnd);
  if (isSeriesEnd) {
    // Show global error or reset UI
  }
});
queue.onComplete(({ result, isSeriesEnd }) => {
  console.log('Completed with', result, 'isSeriesEnd:', isSeriesEnd);
  if (isSeriesEnd) {
    // Final UI update, e.g. loading spinner off
  }
});

queue.run(async signal => {
  await doSomething(signal);
  return 42;
});

// Manual abort of queue.result 
queue.abort();

API

Class: LastWinsAndCancelsPrevious<R>

• run(task: (signal: AbortSignal) => Promise<R>): Promise<R | undefined> — start a new task, cancels previous
• result: Promise<R> | undefined — promise for last task, or undefined if idle
• abort(): void — manually abort current task
• onAborted(cb) — subscribe to any task abort
• onError(cb) — subscribe to any task error
• onComplete(cb) — subscribe to any task completion

Hook signature:

(args: { result?: R; error?: any; aborted: boolean; signal: AbortSignal; isSeriesEnd: boolean }) => void

• isSeriesEnd: boolean — true if this event marks the end of the current run series (queue is now idle), false if another task is queued or running.

What is isSeriesEnd?

• isSeriesEnd: true — This event marks the end of a "series" (all tasks are done/cancelled, queue is idle)
• isSeriesEnd: false — This event is intermediate (another task is queued or running)

Use this to distinguish between final/finalizing UI actions vs. intermediate (e.g. loading spinners, notifications, analytics, etc).

Edge-cases & Best Practices

• Always check signal.aborted in your tasks to avoid work after cancellation
• If the last task throws — .result is rejected with that error
• If debounce/trailing=false and the task is not executed — run returns Promise.resolve(undefined)
• Cancelled tasks never affect .result, even if they finish later
• Use hooks for logging, UI, analytics, or global error handling
• Use abort() to cancel on navigation or user action

FAQ

• Q: What if a previous task finishes after a new one? A: .result always reflects only the last completed task, cancelled ones are ignored.
• Q: How are errors handled? A: .result is rejected only with the last task's error. Errors from cancelled tasks are ignored.
• Q: How does debounce/throttle affect execution? A: Tasks are executed according to lodash.debounce/throttle rules. .result and hooks fire only for actually started tasks.
• Q: Can I unsubscribe hooks? A: Not yet. For advanced use, wrap your callback and filter manually.

Tests & Coverage

• 100% test coverage (see badge)
• All edge-cases covered: abort, errors, execution order, debounce/throttle
• See test/basic.test.ts for scenarios

Contributing

• PRs and issues are welcome!
• Please add tests for new features or bugfixes

License

MIT