Displaying data from external API without MongoDB collection

[jmacgowan]

I would like to reactively display data fetched from an external API on an interval without the overhead of persisting it to the database. I know how to achieve this on the client side using ReactiveVar, but what about calls on the server?

Example of what I’m trying to complish (does not do what I expect):

import { ReactiveVar } from 'meteor/reactive-var';
export const Time = new ReactiveVar(new Date().getTime());

if (Meteor.isServer) {
  Meteor.publish('time', function timePublication() {
    return Time.get();
  });

  Meteor.setInterval(() => { 
    Time.set(new Date().getTime());
  }, 3000);
}

In this particular example, I could of course move the interval call to client code and it would work, but I want this to occur on the server so I can make external HTTP calls. The client receives the initial value from new Date().getTime(), but not the updates from the interval in the server code. What am I missing here?

[robfallows]

Check this post:

Best Way to handle a 3rd Party endpoint

This is relatively straightforward. You set up a client-only collection and a subscription in the usual way. RestData = new Mongo.Collection('rest-data'); // client only Meteor.subscribe('rest-docs'); On the server, you poll the REST endpoint at a suitable interval within a roll-your-own publication. Something along the lines of: Meteor.publish('rest-docs', function() { var init = true; var self = this; Meteor.setInterval(function() { var data = HTTP.get('some url').data; // for J…