when apply

when.apply

// 1. Declare an array of 4 elements
var data = [1,2,3,4]; // the ids coming back from serviceA
// 2. Declare an array of Deferred objects
var processItemsDeferred = [];

// 3. For each element of data, create a Deferred push push it to the array
for(var i = 0; i < data.length; i++){
  processItemsDeferred.push(processItem(data[i]));
}

// 4. WHEN ALL Deferred objects in the array are resolved THEN call the function
//    Note : same as $.when(processItemsDeferred[0], processItemsDeferred[1], ...).then(everythingDone);
$.when.apply($, processItemsDeferred).then(everythingDone); 

// 3.1. Function called by the loop to create a Deferred object (data is numeric)
function processItem(data) {
  // 3.1.1. Create the Deferred object and output some debug
  var dfd = $.Deferred();
  console.log('called processItem');

  // 3.1.2. After some timeout, resolve the current Deferred
  //in the real world, this would probably make an AJAX call.
  setTimeout(function() { dfd.resolve() }, 2000);    

  // 3.1.3. Return that Deferred (to be inserted into the array)
  return dfd.promise();
}

// 4.1. Function called when all deferred are resolved
function everythingDone(){
  // 4.1.1. Do some debug trace
  console.log('processed all items');
}