node.js - Exit after res.send() in Express.js

Question

I have a fairly simple Express.js app with a login component that I'd like to exit early if login fails. I'm seeing indications that the app isn't doing that and I haven't found a definitive answer that indicates whether calling res.send() halts any further processing. Here's my code as it stands now:

client.login( username, password, function( auth, client ) {
  if( !auth ) {
    res.send( 401 );
  }

  // DO OTHER STUFF IF AUTH IS SUCCESSFUL
}

If I read the source code correctly, it should end the request (aborting further processing), but I'm new to node, so I'm not quite ready to trust what I think I'm reading. To boil it down, I guess I'm mostly looking for a definitive answer from a more trustworthy source that my own interpretation of unfamiliar source code. If send() doesn't abort processing, what's the right way to do that?

Answer 1

Of course express can not magically make your javascript function stop executing from somewhere else.

I don't like the next([error]) solution because I think errors should be only used for circumstances you usually don't expect (like an unreachable database or something). In this case, a simple wrong password would cause an error. It is a common convention to not use exceptions/errors for ordinary control flow.

I therefore recommend to place a return statement after the res.send call to make your function stop executing further.

client.login( username, password, function( auth, client ) {
  if( !auth ) {
    res.send( 401 );
    return;
  }

  // DO OTHER STUFF REALLY ONLY IF AUTH IS SUCCESSFUL
}