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Jun 06 2023

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Asynchrony in JavaScript: An Introduction to async and await

Introduction:

JavaScript is a quintessential language for web development, frequently dealing with asynchronous operations like fetching data from a server or processing user inputs. To simplify handling these tasks, JavaScript introduced the async and await keywords. These keywords allow developers to write asynchronous code that resembles synchronous logic, making it more readable and maintainable.


An Introduction to async and await:

The async keyword is used to declare a function as asynchronous. A function marked as async will return a promise. If the function's return value isn't already a promise, it will be wrapped in one. If the function throws an exception, the returned promise gets rejected with the thrown error.

Inside an async function, the await keyword pauses the function's execution until the promise from the asynchronous operation is resolved or rejected. This creates a seemingly synchronous flow, making the code easier to follow.



Sample Code:

async function fetchData() {
try {
const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
console.log('Error fetching data:', error);
}
}

fetchData();


In the above example, we have a function named fetchData declared as async. It uses await to pause the execution until the data fetching operation is completed and the result is available. This results in a more readable and understandable code that appears as a sequence of synchronous operations.


Conclusion:

With async and await in JavaScript, we can write asynchronous code that is more readable and easier to maintain. They provide a structured and synchronous approach to handling asynchronous operations, allowing us to harness the full potential of JavaScript and build high-quality applications.


I hope this introduction to async and await has helped you understand and utilize these tools better. Practice using them in your projects and enjoy the convenience of writing asynchronous code in JavaScript.