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Understanding Asynchronous JavaScript

Started by codeNinja - 2 days ago

codeNinja 2 days ago

Hey everyone!

I've been trying to get a solid grasp on asynchronous JavaScript, specifically with Promises and async/await. I understand the basic concepts, but I'm having trouble with more complex scenarios like handling multiple concurrent promises and error propagation. Any tips or good resources for diving deeper?

Here's a snippet of what I'm working with:

async function fetchData() { try { const response1 = await fetch('/api/users'); const users = await response1.json(); const userIds = users.map(user => user.id); const postsPromises = userIds.map(id => fetch(`/api/posts/${id}`)); const responses2 = await Promise.all(postsPromises); const posts = await Promise.all(responses2.map(res => res.json())); console.log(posts); } catch (error) { console.error("Failed to fetch data:", error); } }
javaScriptGuru 2 days ago

Hey @codeNinja, great question! That's a common hurdle.

For handling multiple promises concurrently, Promise.all() is indeed the go-to. Your snippet looks good for that. A key thing to remember is that if *any* of the promises in Promise.all() reject, the entire Promise.all() will reject immediately with the reason of the first rejected promise.

If you need to handle individual rejections while still waiting for others, Promise.allSettled() is a fantastic option. It returns an array of objects, each describing the outcome of a promise (fulfilled or rejected).

Example with Promise.allSettled():

async function fetchDataWithAllSettled() { try { const response1 = await fetch('/api/users'); const users = await response1.json(); const userIds = users.map(user => user.id); const postsPromises = userIds.map(id => fetch(`/api/posts/${id}`)); const results = await Promise.allSettled(postsPromises); results.forEach((result, index) => { if (result.status === 'fulfilled') { result.value.json().then(data => { console.log(`Post data for user ${userIds[index]}:`, data); }); } else { console.error(`Failed to fetch post for user ${userIds[index]}:`, result.reason); } }); } catch (error) { console.error("Failed to fetch users:", error); } }

Regarding error propagation with async/await, the `try...catch` block around your `await` calls is the standard and correct way to handle errors. Make sure your catch block is specific enough to handle the potential errors from network requests, JSON parsing, etc.

For more in-depth learning, I highly recommend the MDN docs on Promises and async functions, and maybe checking out some advanced patterns like Promise chaining with `.then()` and `.catch()` for specific error handling within a chain.

devGem 1 day ago

Great explanation @javaScriptGuru!

I also found this article very helpful in understanding the nuances:

Understanding Advanced Async Patterns in JavaScript

It covers scenarios like race conditions and how to use Promise.race() effectively.

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