Async Programming Patterns Skill
Master asynchronous programming - the foundation of Node.js performance and scalability.
Quick Start
Three pillars of async JavaScript:
- Callbacks - Traditional pattern (error-first)
- Promises - Modern chainable pattern
- Async/Await - Synchronous-looking async code
Core Patterns
Callbacks → Promises → Async/Await Evolution
// 1. Callbacks (old way)
fs.readFile('file.txt', (err, data) => {
if (err) throw err;
console.log(data);
});
// 2. Promises (better)
fs.promises.readFile('file.txt')
.then(data => console.log(data))
.catch(err => console.error(err));
// 3. Async/Await (modern)
async function readFile() {
try {
const data = await fs.promises.readFile('file.txt');
console.log(data);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
}Sequential vs Parallel
// ❌ Slow: Sequential (300ms total)
async function slow() {
const a = await fetch('/api/a'); // 100ms
const b = await fetch('/api/b'); // 100ms
const c = await fetch('/api/c'); // 100ms
return [a, b, c];
}
// ✅ Fast: Parallel (100ms total)
async function fast() {
const [a, b, c] = await Promise.all([
fetch('/api/a'),
fetch('/api/b'),
fetch('/api/c')
]);
return [a, b, c];
}Promise Methods
// Promise.all - Wait for all (fails if one fails)
const [users, posts] = await Promise.all([getUsers(), getPosts()]);
// Promise.allSettled - Wait for all (never fails)
const results = await Promise.allSettled([fetch1(), fetch2(), fetch3()]);
// Promise.race - First to complete
const fastest = await Promise.race([server1(), server2()]);
// Promise.any - First to succeed
const result = await Promise.any([tryAPI1(), tryAPI2()]);Learning Path
Beginner (1-2 weeks)
- ✅ Understand event loop
- ✅ Master callbacks
- ✅ Learn Promises basics
- ✅ Practice async/await
Intermediate (3-4 weeks)
- ✅ Error handling patterns
- ✅ Sequential vs parallel execution
- ✅ Promise composition
- ✅ Event emitters
Advanced (5-6 weeks)
- ✅ Streams and backpressure
- ✅ Concurrency control
- ✅ Circuit breakers
- ✅ Performance optimization
Common Patterns
Error Handling
// Try/catch for async/await
async function safeOperation() {
try {
const result = await riskyOperation();
return { success: true, data: result };
} catch (error) {
console.error('Operation failed:', error);
return { success: false, error: error.message };
}
}
// Process-level handlers
process.on('unhandledRejection', (reason, promise) => {
console.error('Unhandled Rejection:', reason);
});Retry with Exponential Backoff
async function retryWithBackoff(fn, maxRetries = 3) {
for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
try {
return await fn();
} catch (error) {
if (i === maxRetries - 1) throw error;
const delay = Math.pow(2, i) * 1000;
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay));
}
}
}Concurrency Limit
async function batchProcess(items, concurrency = 5) {
const results = [];
for (let i = 0; i < items.length; i += concurrency) {
const batch = items.slice(i, i + concurrency);
const batchResults = await Promise.all(
batch.map(item => processItem(item))
);
results.push(...batchResults);
}
return results;
}Streams
const { pipeline } = require('stream');
const fs = require('fs');
// Efficient file processing
pipeline(
fs.createReadStream('input.txt'),
transformStream,
fs.createWriteStream('output.txt'),
(err) => {
if (err) console.error('Pipeline failed:', err);
else console.log('Pipeline succeeded');
}
);Event Emitters
const EventEmitter = require('events');
class MyEmitter extends EventEmitter {}
const emitter = new MyEmitter();
emitter.on('event', (data) => {
console.log('Event fired:', data);
});
emitter.emit('event', { id: 123 });When to Use
Use async patterns when:
- Handling I/O operations (file, network, database)
- Building scalable Node.js applications
- Managing multiple concurrent operations
- Processing streams of data
- Creating event-driven architectures
Related Skills
- Express REST API (async route handlers)
- Database Integration (async queries)
- Testing & Debugging (test async code)
- Performance Optimization (async performance)