Sails: How to call an Action Controller from another?

[eltonk]

sailsjs version 1.2.3

I have one action controller where I'd like to call another action controller to finish the operation.
Let's say that the action 'client/create' would call the action 'user/create'.

I'm trying to use 'sails.controller.user.create' for example, but it's not working.

Any idea?

[sailsbot]

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[johnabrams7]

It's usually not best practice to call action controllers from each other, however...have you tried moving the shared code into a service (older/outdated) helper (for Sails 1.x), then calling it from the action controller(s) instead?

[eltonk]

Imagine one of the action controllers as a façade.
Services are not recommended to be used along with the Sails 1.x.
And I'd like to not add 'business logic' inside of helpers, that to me is responsible for executing pieces of reusable code.
If it's not possible to call an action controller from another, it's fine. I just would like to know if it is or not possible :)

[johnabrams7]

@eltonk My mistake, helpers indeed replaced services for Sails 1.x. Appreciate the feedback. I'll consult with the team for the best approach and reasoning for this case: calling action controllers directly from other action controllers without the use of helpers (to avoid adding business logic to the helper). In similar cases, many have ultimately used the services (pre 1.x) and helpers (post 1.x) approach to achieve what they were looking for and there's not much info concerning more direct controller to controller calling - so this issue feed should ultimately help expand upon that scenario for the community.

[wulfsolter]

Is it possible?

Sure, just require() the file and call the method. Everything is an object in JS, you can call anything from anywhere. As the controller method is expecting req and res objects as first and second arguments, you'll need to do some scaffolding.

const otherCont = require('./otherController.js');
otherCont.endPoint(
  {
    params: { .... },
  },
  {
    send: function(x) {
      \\ x is what the other controller/method "sends"
      \\ when getting to the end and calling res.send(x);
      console.log(x);
    },
  },
);

Should you do it?

No! Bad touching! No No No No. This is a terrible code smell and will lead to many many problems - do what jonabrams7 has suggested twice, and move common routines into Services/Helpers. Calling one controller from another is far worse than putting business logic into a Service/Helper.

[whichking]

@wulfsolter—Thanks for weighing in with such a helpful comment!

@eltonk—As wulfsolter so deftly explained above, there _are_ ways to do what you're asking, but our official recommendation is to use a helper.

[eltonk]

Thanks all!
Really appreciate all the feedback! :)