Asana Error Phrase Factory

A random phrase generator used to create memorable error codes, as used by Asana.

Installation

Node

Install with npm:

npm install asana-phrase --save

Browser

Include the latest release directly from GitHub.

<script src="https://github.com/Asana/node-asana-phrase/releases/download/<LATEST_RELEASE>/asana-phrase-min.js"></script>

OR

1. Download the latest distribution in releases.
2. Make sure to serve it from your webserver.
3. Include it on the client from a SCRIPT tag.

Overview

This package is designed to convert large numbers (like IDs) into human-readable phrases, which are more entertaining and memorable, and suitable for error codes.

The package can support conversion of numbers of arbitrary length if represented as a hex string, as well as integers up to 53 bits. The default phrase factory provided converts 32-bit numbers, but custom ones can be created to work with larger bit sizes.

It operates on a simple bitwise substitution principle, so given a particular phrase factory, there is a deterministic way to map any set of bits into a phrase and vice versa.

Usage

If you just want 32-bit numbers translated to phrases in the same way Asana does, you can use the default phrase factory.

var phrase = require('asana-phrase');
phrase.default32BitFactory().randomPhrase();

>>> ["6", "sad", "squid", "snuggle", "softly"]

If you want to customize the generated phrases (or create ones with a larger bit space), you can very easily add your own word generators. There are two predefined types of word generator: Dictionary and NumberRange, which you can plug into the Factory to make your own combinations. You can also access the dictionaries that comprise the default phrase factory so you can leverage it in your custom factory:

var factory = new phrase.Factory([
  new phrase.Dictionary(phrase.dictionaries.subjects),
  new phrase.Dictionary(phrase.dictionaries.verbs),
  new phrase.Dictionary(["with", "against", "for", "around"]),
  new phrase.Dictionary(phrase.dictionaries.subjects)
]);
factory.randomPhrase();

>>> ["trout", "behave", "around", "sharks"]

If you want some logic that isn't based on making sequential numbers or choosing words from a dictionary, it's very easy to make your own word generator. Simply subclass WordGenerator and fulfill its simple contract.