files/en-us/web/api/transformstream/index.md
{{APIRef("Streams")}}{{AvailableInWorkers}}
The TransformStream interface of the Streams API represents a concrete implementation of the pipe chain transform stream concept.
It may be passed to the {{domxref("ReadableStream.pipeThrough()")}} method in order to transform a stream of data from one format into another. For example, it might be used to decode (or encode) video frames, decompress data, or convert the stream from XML to JSON.
A transformation algorithm may be provided as an optional argument to the object constructor. If not supplied, data is not modified when piped through the stream.
TransformStream is a transferable object.
readable end of a TransformStream.writable end of a TransformStream.None
In the following example, a transform stream passes through all chunks it receives as {{jsxref("Uint8Array")}} values.
const transformContent = {
start() {}, // required.
async transform(chunk, controller) {
chunk = await chunk;
switch (typeof chunk) {
case "object":
// just say the stream is done I guess
if (chunk === null) {
controller.terminate();
} else if (ArrayBuffer.isView(chunk)) {
controller.enqueue(
new Uint8Array(chunk.buffer, chunk.byteOffset, chunk.byteLength),
);
} else if (
Array.isArray(chunk) &&
chunk.every((value) => typeof value === "number")
) {
controller.enqueue(new Uint8Array(chunk));
} else if (
typeof chunk.valueOf === "function" &&
chunk.valueOf() !== chunk
) {
this.transform(chunk.valueOf(), controller); // hack
} else if ("toJSON" in chunk) {
this.transform(JSON.stringify(chunk), controller);
}
break;
case "symbol":
controller.error("Cannot send a symbol as a chunk part");
break;
case "undefined":
controller.error("Cannot send undefined as a chunk part");
break;
default:
controller.enqueue(this.textencoder.encode(String(chunk)));
break;
}
},
flush() {
/* do any destructor work here */
},
};
class AnyToU8Stream extends TransformStream {
constructor() {
super({ ...transformContent, textencoder: new TextEncoder() });
}
}
This is a useful one, where multiple streams can be conjoined. Examples include building a PWA with progressive loading and progressive streaming.
let responses = [
/* conjoined response tree */
];
let { readable, writable } = new TransformStream();
responses.reduce(
(a, res, i, arr) =>
a.then(() => res.pipeTo(writable, { preventClose: i + 1 !== arr.length })),
Promise.resolve(),
);
Note that this is not resilient to other influences.
{{Specifications}}
{{Compat}}