How to execute functions sequentially in Angular 2/4 Typescript

I am having trouble trying to run functions sequentially in my Angular 2/4 project.

I have a function retrieveData()

that fetches data from a data service and assigns it to an array I declared.

Then I have a function displayData()

that takes the data stored in an array and displays it in a chart.

When I try to run them like:

function(){
  this.retrieveData();
  this.displayData();
}

      

        
        
        
      

    

displayData()

the function starts earlier than retrieveData()

, mainly due to the data service in the function retrieveData()

. Therefore, the graph cannot be displayed correctly.

One way I've found that I can run functions sequentially is async.waterfall

from a library async

, but I can't manage to import the library into my project, with the console log saying: Uncaught Error: Unexpected value 'waterfall' imported by the module 'AppModule'. Please add a @NgModule annotation.

I don't want to use Promises and Observables because they require the initial function to have some kind of return value in order to progress to the next functions. I managed to achieve this with a function setTimeOut()

, but I really doubt the robustness and reliability of the approach.

So, any help with use async

in Angular 2/4, or any ways to make the functions wait without any promises returning?

UPDATE

Sorry for the confusion and inconvenience the guys have caused. I posted and requested an overly simplified version. Here's a more complete piece of my code. I am Angular and Typescript noob, and more a noob when it comes to Async programming techniques.

Below is my implementation of the Promises method in retrieveAllData()

. It doesn't give any compile-time or run-time errors. But when functions are still running asynchronously, that is, refreshAllCharts()

everything is still running before retrieveAllData()

. Are there any downsides to my implementation of promises?

import { Component, OnInit, AfterContentInit } from '@angular/core';
import { DataService } from '../data.service';
import {BaseChartDirective} from 'ng2-charts/ng2-charts';
import {IMyDpOptions,IMyDateModel} from 'mydatepicker';

//import {MomentTimezoneModule} from 'angular-moment-timezone';
import * as moment from 'moment-timezone';

// import async from 'async-waterfall';

@Component({
  templateUrl: 'chartjs.component.html'
})
export class ChartJSComponent {

  tempArr = []; //array to store temperature values for the chart
  timeTempArr = []; //array to store timestamps for the chart label

  device = "1CB001"; //a parameter used for the data service method to query the database

  dateSelected; //variable to store the date chosen from the datepicker on the html side of the component

  constructor(private dataService: DataService){
  }

  ngOnInit(){
  }

//function to retrieve temperature values and assign them into "tempArr" array
  retrieveTempDataAssign(){
    var _arr = new Array();

    this.dataService.getData(this.device, this.dateSelected).subscribe(response => {

      console.log("Response: " + JSON.stringify(response));
      for(var item of response){
        _arr.push(item.Temperature);
      }

      this.tempArr = _arr;
      console.log("Array assigned Temp: " + this.tempArr);
    });

    this.retrieveTempTimeDataAssign();

  }

//function to retrieve time values and assign the date and time objects into "timeTempArr" array
  retrieveTempTimeDataAssign(){

    var _arr = new Array();

    this.dataService.getData(this.device, this.dateSelected).subscribe(response => {

      for(var item of response){
        // var value = "'" + item.Date + "'";
        // _arr.push(value);

        var value = item.Date;
        var time = moment.tz(value, "Asia/singapore");
        _arr.push(time);
      }
      this.timeTempArr = _arr;
      console.log("Array assigned Time: " + this.timeTempArr);
    });
  }

//function to refresh the whole of Temperature chart
  refreshTempChart(){
    this.showTempData();
    setTimeout(() => this.showTempLabels(), 500);
  }

//function to assign the "tempArr" array into the dataset for the temperature chart
  showTempData(){
    console.log("To display: " + this.tempArr);
    this.datasetsTemp = [{
      label: "Values",
      data: this.tempArr
    }];
  }

//function to assign the "timeTempArr" array into the labels for the temperature chart
  showTempLabels(){
    console.log("To label: " + this.timeTempArr);
    this.labels = this.timeTempArr;
  }

//date picker format
  private myDatePickerOptions: IMyDpOptions = {
        dateFormat: 'yyyy-mm-dd',    
  };

//change event listener on the datepicker
  onDateChanged(event: IMyDateModel){

    this.dateSelected= event.formatted;
    console.log("Selected Date: " + this.dateSelected);

//**The implementation part**
    this.retrieveAllData().then(()=>{
      this.refreshAllCharts();
    })

  }

//to run all functions to retrieve respective data
  retrieveAllData(){
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      this.retrieveTempDataAssign(); //assign the retrieved values into the array first

      return true;
    });
  }

//to run all functions to update all the charts
  refreshAllCharts(){
    this.refreshTempChart();
  }

//objects used by the chart to display data
  private datasetsTemp = [
    {
      label: "Values",
      data: []
    }
  ];

  private labels = [];

  private options = {
    scales: {
      xAxes: [{
          display: true,
          type: "time",
          time: {
              unit: "hour",
              tooltipFormat: 'YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm A'
          },
          scaleLabel: {
              display: true,
              labelString: 'Time'
          }
      },],
      yAxes: [{
        ticks: {
          beginAtZero: false
        }
      }]
    }
  };
}