Async/Await in JavaScript

async and await simplify asynchronous programming by allowing asynchronous code to look like synchronous code while still being non-blocking.

async Keyword

• Declares a function as asynchronous.
• Always returns a Promise.
• Returning a value automatically wraps it in Promise.resolve.
• Throwing an error returns a rejected Promise.

Example:

async function greet() {
  return "Hello";
}
greet().then(console.log); // Output: "Hello"
// Equivalent to:
function greet() {
  return Promise.resolve("Hello");
}

await Keyword

• Pauses execution until the Promise resolves.
• Returns the resolved value or throws an error if the Promise rejects.
• Can only be used inside async functions.

Example:

async function myDisplay() {
  let myPromise = new Promise(resolve => resolve("I love You !!"));
  let value = await myPromise;
  console.log(value); // Output: "I love You !!"
}
myDisplay();

Examples of Practical Usage

a) Waiting for a Timeout:

async function delayedMessage() {
  let message = await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(() => resolve("Hello after 3s"), 3000));
  console.log(message);
}
delayedMessage();

b) Fetching Files (XMLHttpRequest):

async function getFile() {
  let myPromise = new Promise(resolve => {
    let req = new XMLHttpRequest();
    req.open("GET", "mycar.html");
    req.onload = () => resolve(req.status === 200 ? req.response : "File not Found");
    req.send();
  });
  console.log(await myPromise);
}
getFile();

c) Modern Fetch Alternative:

async function getFile() {
  try {
    const response = await fetch("mycar.html");
    const text = await response.text();
    console.log(response.ok ? text : "File not Found");
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Error:", error.message);
  }
}
getFile();

Error Handling

Always wrap await in try/catch blocks to catch rejected Promises.

async function myDisplay() {
  try {
    let myPromise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      setTimeout(() => reject(new Error("Failed")), 1000);
    });
    console.log(await myPromise);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Error:", error.message);
  }
}
myDisplay();

Best Practices

Use try/catch for error handling

async function example() {
  try {
    const data = await fetch("<https://invalid-url>").then(res => res.json());
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Failed:", error);
  }
}

Parallel Execution with Promise.all

async function fetchMultiple() {
  const [data1, data2] = await Promise.all([
    fetch("<https://api1.example.com>").then(res => res.json()),
    fetch("<https://api2.example.com>").then(res => res.json())
  ]);
  console.log(data1, data2);
}

Avoid sequential await in loops for performance

// Sequential (slower)
for (const url of urls) {
  const data = await fetch(url).then(res => res.json());
}

// Parallel (faster)
const promises = urls.map(url => fetch(url).then(res => res.json()));
const results = await Promise.all(promises);
results.forEach(data => console.log(data));

Top-Level Await (ES2022+)

// In a module
const data = await fetch("<https://api.example.com/data>").then(res => res.json());
console.log(data);

Cleanup Resources

async function fetchWithTimeout(url, ms) {
  const controller = new AbortController();
  const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), ms);
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, { signal: controller.signal });
    clearTimeout(timeout);
    return await response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
}