Q:What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous code in JavaScript?
When there are multiple tasks to be performed and tasks are performed in one by one fashion i.e. in sequential order. Each process is dependent on the completion of the previous process which means tasks or processes are in sync with each other and this type of code is termed as synchronous code.
Whereas, different tasks are independent of each other in asynchronous code, allowing the tasks to run in parallel. When the asynchronous function is called, the program will continue without waiting for the function to return a result or output. Instead, it will continue to the next line of code and the async function will be executed in the background.
Below is an example of synchronous code in JavaScript:
const result = syncFunction();
console.log(result);
### The program is dependent on syncFunction to return a result
In the above example, the syncFunction is a synchronous function that is being called and output is stored in the given variable. The program will stop and wait for the function to return a result before logging it to the console.
Below is an example of asynchronous code in JavaScript:
asyncFunction((err, result) => {
if (err) {
console.error(err);
} else {
console.log(result); ### The program will not wait for asyncFunction to give an output
}
});
In the above example, the asyncFunction is an asynchronous function which is being called and its output is passed to a callback function. The program will not stop and wait for the function to return a result, but will continue to the next line of code and execute the callback function when the async operation is complete.
Synchronous code is easier to understand and debug, but it can hold the program from doing other tasks until the synchronous operation is complete which will also be time consuming. Asynchronous code allows the program to do other tasks while waiting for the async operation to complete, but it can be more complex to understand and debug.