asynchronousawait

async and await are keywords in many programming languages, notably Python, JavaScript, C#, and others, used to write asynchronous code more cleanly and efficiently. Asynchronous programming allows a program to perform multiple tasks concurrently without blocking the main execution thread. This is particularly useful for I/O-bound operations like network requests or file system access, where waiting for a response can take a significant amount of time.

Traditionally, asynchronous operations were handled using callbacks, which could lead to complex and hard-to-read code, often referred to as "callback hell." Promises or Futures were introduced as an improvement, allowing for more structured chaining of asynchronous operations.

The async and await keywords build upon these concepts. The async keyword is used to define a function as asynchronous. When an async function is called, it returns a Promise (or a similar object representing the eventual result). The await keyword can only be used inside an async function. It pauses the execution of the async function until the awaited Promise is resolved or rejected, without blocking the entire program. Once the awaited operation completes, the async function resumes execution from that point, with the result of the awaited operation. This makes asynchronous code look and behave more like synchronous code, significantly improving readability and maintainability.