async-await.md

async/await

will change your life

By CJ R.

Lead Instructor @ Galvanize

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Show of hands:

Who here writes JavaScript code daily?

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Show of hands:

Who here deals with callbacks or promises daily?

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JavaScript is an "A" word

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Asynchronous

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Callbacks

request('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars', (error, response, body) => {
	const results = JSON.parse(body);
	console.log(results);
});

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"callback hell"

function getFirstMovie(callback) {
	// Make request to get ID
	request('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars', (error, response, body) => {
		const results = JSON.parse(body);
		//requires the ID of the previous request
		request('http://www.omdbapi.com/?i=' + results.Search[0].imdbID, (error, response, body) => {
			const movie = JSON.parse(body);
			callback(movie);
		});
	});
}

getFirstMovie(movie => {
	console.log(movie);
});

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Promises to the rescue

// rp is the request-promise library
function getFirstMovie() {
	return rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars')
		.then(body => {
			const results = JSON.parse(body);
			return rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?i=' + results.Search[0].imdbID)
		}).then(body => {
			const movie = JSON.parse(body);
			return movie;
		});
}

getFirstMovie()
	.then(movie => {
		console.log(movie);
	}).catch(error => {
		console.log('Error!!', error);
	});

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Promise Basics

• Represents a value that may or may not resolve in the future
• Pass a callback to .then to be called when the promise is resolved
• Pass a callback to .catch to be called when the promise is rejected

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Promises are just cleaner callbacks

• The rp function might be implemented like this:

function rp(url) {
	return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
		request(url, (error, response, body) => {
			if(error) {
				reject(error);
			} else {
				resolve(body);
			}
		});
	});
}

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Enter: async/await

• Introduced in ES2016 (ES7)

async function getFirstMovie() {
	try {
		const resultsBody = await rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars');
		const results = JSON.parse(resultsBody);
		const movieBody = await rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?i=' + results.Search[0].imdbID);
		const movie = JSON.parse(movieBody);
		return movie;
	} catch (error) {
		console.log('Error!', error);
	}

}

getFirstMovie()
	.then(movie => {
		console.log(movie);
	});

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How does that work?

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Async Functions

• Add the async keyword to any function that will await a promise

async function doTheThing() {
	//stuff happens
}

• When an async function is called, it returns a Promise.

  • The value returned is "resolved"
  • Any exception thrown is "rejected"

• An async function can contain an await expression

  • This pauses the execution of the async function and waits for the passed Promise's resolution, and then resumes the async function's execution and returns the resolved value.

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Promises

// rp is the request-promise library
function getFirstMovie() {
	return rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars')
		.then(body => {
			const results = JSON.parse(body);
			return rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?i=' + results.Search[0].imdbID)
		}).then(body => {
			const movie = JSON.parse(body);
			return movie;
		});
}

getFirstMovie()
	.then(movie => {
		console.log(movie);
	}).catch(error => {
		console.log('Error!!', error);
	});

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async/await

async function getFirstMovie() {
    try {
        const resultsBody = await rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?s=star%20wars');
        const results = JSON.parse(resultsBody);
        const movieBody = await rp('http://www.omdbapi.com/?i=' + results.Search[0].imdbID);
        const movie = JSON.parse(movieBody);
        return movie;
    } catch (error) {
        console.log('Error!', error);
    }

}

getFirstMovie()
    .then(movie => {
        console.log(movie);
    });

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async/await gotchas

• Be wary of code that is too synchronous

async function doThings() {
	for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
		await doTheThing(array[i])
	}
}

Instead, use your promise know how:

async function doThings() {
	await Promise.all(array.map(item => {
		return doTheThing(item);
	}));
}

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async/await support

• Supported in Node.js 7.6.x

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Conclusion

1. Use async/await to make asynchronous code look synchronous
2. ????
3. Profit

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Resources

• These slides: https://git.io/async-await
• You Don't Know JS: Async & Performance
• MDN: AsyncFunction
• MDN: async function
• The Evolution of Asynchronous JavaScript
• Asynchronous Adventures in JavaScript: Promises
• Ponyfoo: Understanding JavaScript’s async await
• ES7 Async Await BIBLE

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Thanks!

CJ R.

[email protected]

cj on Denver Devs