Summary
Asynchronous programming is a programming model that is based on task coordination through task switching. It is different from traditional sequential (or synchronous) programming since it creates an overlap between processing and waiting time, which provides potential improvements in speed. Asynchronous programming is also different from threading and multiprocessing, as it only takes place within one single thread in one single process.
Asynchronous programming is mostly used to improve the responsiveness of a program. When a large input takes a significant amount of time to process, the sequential version of a program will appear to be hanging, while the asynchronous program will move to other less heavy tasks. This allows small inputs to finish executing first and help the program to be more responsive.
In the next chapter, we will learn about the main structure of an asynchronous program and look into the asyncio module and its functionalities in more detail.
