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JavaScript Node.js Basics 2017 Building a Command Line Application Parsing JSON

Posted by Osaro Igbinovia
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Osaro Igbinovia
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 15,928 Points

How can I display my message?

SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0.

My code:

// Problem: We need a simple way to look at a user's badge count and JavaScript points
// Solution: Use Node.js to connect to Treehouse's API to get profile information to print out

// Require https module
const https = require('https');

const profileName = 'osaroigbinovia';

// Function which prints message to the console
function printMessage (profileName, badges, totalPoints) {
    const message = `${profileName} has ${badges} badges and a total of ${totalPoints} points in the JavaScript programme.`;
    console.log(message);
}

// Connect to the API URL (https://teamtreehouse.com/username.json)
const request = https.get(`https://teamtreehouse.com/${profileName}`, (response) => {

                          // Read the data
                          let body = '';

                          response.on('data', (info) => {
                            body += info.toString();
                          });

                          response.on('end', () => {

                             // Parse the data
                            const profile = JSON.parse(body);

                             // Print the data
                             printMessage(profileName, profile.badges.length, profile.points.JavaScript);
                           });

                });

4 Answers

Tom Gooding
Tom Gooding
16,735 Points
Tom Gooding
Tom Gooding
16,735 Points

Hi Osaro,

You need to add .json to the url after the profileName variable. Otherwise you are requesting the HTML version of the page.

const request = https.get(`https://teamtreehouse.com/${profileName}.json`, (response) => {
                          // Read the data
                          let body = '';
                          response.on('data', (info) => {
                            body += info.toString();
                          });
                          response.on('end', () => {
                             // Parse the data
                             const profile = JSON.parse(body);
                             // Print the data
                             printMessage(profileName, profile.badges.length, profile.points.JavaScript);
                           });

                });
Osaro Igbinovia
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Osaro Igbinovia
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 15,928 Points

Thank you very much Tom, my code is working now.

Osaro Igbinovia
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Osaro Igbinovia
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 15,928 Points
Osaro Igbinovia
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Osaro Igbinovia
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 15,928 Points

You're using normal punctuation marks (' ') with interpolation e.g. ${username}, and it doesn't work like that in JavaScript. You need to use template literals i.e. backticks (``) when storing values in a variable you add in your statement(interpolating) e.g. 

const message = `${username} has ${badgeCount} total badge(s) and ${points} points in JavaScript`;

`https://teamtreehouse.com/${username}.json`

The backtick key is found just above the 'tab' key on a QWERTY keyboard and also put the 'use strict' statement at the top of all your code.

Joshua Bowden
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Joshua Bowden
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 29,312 Points
Joshua Bowden
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Joshua Bowden
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 29,312 Points

I am getting the same error but I have .json after my url:

// JavaScript Document
const https = require('https');
const username = "joshbowden2";

function printMessage(username, badgeCount, points) {
    "use strict";
    const message = '${username} has ${badgeCount} total badge(s) and ${points} points in JavaScript' ;
    console.log(message);
}

printMessage("joshbowden2", 100 ,200);
//Connect to the API URL (https://teamtreehouse.com/joshbowden2.json)
const request = https.get('https://teamtreehouse.com/${username}.json', (response) => {
    let body = "";
    // Read the data
    response.on('data', data => {
        body += data.toString();
    });

    response.on('end', () => {
        // Parse the data
        const profile = JSON.parse(body);
    //console.dir(profile);
        printMessage(username , profile.badges.length, profile.points.JavaScript);
        // Print out info from API
    });
});