switchMap

signature: switchMap(project: function: Observable, resultSelector: function(outerValue, innerValue, outerIndex, innerIndex): any): Observable

Map to observable, complete previous inner observable, emit values.

If you would like more than one inner subscription to be maintained, try mergeMap!

This operator is generally considered a safer default to mergeMap!

This operator can cancel in-flight network requests!

Why use switchMap?

The main difference between switchMap and other flattening operators is the cancelling effect. On each emission the previous inner observable (the result of the function you supplied) is cancelled and the new observable is subscribed. You can remember this by the phrase switch to a new observable.

This works perfectly for scenarios like typeaheads where you are no longer concerned with the response of the previous request when a new input arrives. This also is a safe option in situations where a long lived inner observable could cause memory leaks, for instance if you used mergeMap with an interval and forgot to properly dispose of inner subscriptions. Remember, switchMap maintains only one inner subscription at a time, this can be seen clearly in the first example.

Be careful though, you probably want to avoid switchMap in scenarios where every request needs to complete, think writes to a database. switchMap could cancel a request if the source emits quickly enough. In these scenarios mergeMap is the correct option.

Examples

Example 1: Restart interval every 5 seconds

( StackBlitz | jsBin | jsFiddle )

// RxJS v6+
import { timer, interval } from 'rxjs';
import { switchMap } from 'rxjs/operators';

//emit immediately, then every 5s
const source = timer(0, 5000);
//switch to new inner observable when source emits, emit items that are emitted
const example = source.pipe(switchMap(() => interval(500)));
//output: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
const subscribe = example.subscribe(val => console.log(val));

Example 2: Reset on every click

( StackBlitz | jsBin | jsFiddle )

// RxJS v6+
import { interval, fromEvent } from 'rxjs';
import { switchMap, mapTo } from 'rxjs/operators';

//emit every click
const source = fromEvent(document, 'click');
//if another click comes within 3s, message will not be emitted
const example = source.pipe(
  switchMap(val => interval(3000).pipe(mapTo('Hello, I made it!')))
);
//(click)...3s...'Hello I made it!'...(click)...2s(click)...
const subscribe = example.subscribe(val => console.log(val));

Example 3: Using a resultSelector function

( StackBlitz | jsBin | jsFiddle )

// RxJS v6+
import { timer, interval } from 'rxjs';
import { switchMap } from 'rxjs/operators';

//emit immediately, then every 5s
const source = timer(0, 5000);
//switch to new inner observable when source emits, invoke project function and emit values
const example = source.pipe(
  switchMap(
    _ => interval(2000),
    (outerValue, innerValue, outerIndex, innerIndex) => ({
      outerValue,
      innerValue,
      outerIndex,
      innerIndex
    })
  )
);
/*
    Output:
    {outerValue: 0, innerValue: 0, outerIndex: 0, innerIndex: 0}
    {outerValue: 0, innerValue: 1, outerIndex: 0, innerIndex: 1}
    {outerValue: 1, innerValue: 0, outerIndex: 1, innerIndex: 0}
    {outerValue: 1, innerValue: 1, outerIndex: 1, innerIndex: 1}
*/
const subscribe = example.subscribe(val => console.log(val));

Example 4: Countdown timer with switchMap

( StackBlitz )

// RxJS v6+
import { interval, fromEvent, merge, empty } from 'rxjs';
import { switchMap, scan, takeWhile, startWith, mapTo } from 'rxjs/operators';

const countdownSeconds = 10;
const setHTML = id => val => (document.getElementById(id).innerHTML = val);
const pauseButton = document.getElementById('pause');
const resumeButton = document.getElementById('resume');
const interval$ = interval(1000).pipe(mapTo(-1));

const pause$ = fromEvent(pauseButton, 'click').pipe(mapTo(false));
const resume$ = fromEvent(resumeButton, 'click').pipe(mapTo(true));

const timer$ = merge(pause$, resume$)
  .pipe(
    startWith(true),
    switchMap(val => (val ? interval$ : empty())),
    scan((acc, curr) => (curr ? curr + acc : acc), countdownSeconds),
    takeWhile(v => v >= 0)
  )
  .subscribe(setHTML('remaining'));

HTML

<h4>
Time remaining: <span id="remaining"></span>
</h4>
<button id="pause">
Pause Timer
</button>
<button id="resume">
Resume Timer
</button>

Related Recipes

• Smart Counter
• Progress Bar
• HTTP Polling

Additional Resources

• switchMap - Official docs
• Avoiding switchMap-Related Bugs - Nicholas Jamieson
• Starting a stream with switchMap - John Linquist
• Use RxJS switchMap to map and flatten higher order observables - André Staltz
• Use switchMap as a safe default to flatten observables in RxJS - André Staltz

Source Code: https://github.com/ReactiveX/rxjs/blob/master/src/internal/operators/switchMap.ts