How do promises differ from async/await?

Great question! Both **Promises** and **async/await** are tools in JavaScript used for handling asynchronous operations, but they differ in syntax, readability, and how they manage asynchronous flow. ### Promises A Promise is an object representing the eventual completion (or failure) of an asynchronous operation and its resulting value. With Promises, you typically use `.then()`, `.catch()`, and `.finally()` methods to handle the resolved value, errors, and cleanup, respectively. For example: ```javascript fetchData() .then(data => console.log(data)) .catch(error => console.error(error)); ``` Promises allow you to chain asynchronous operations and handle errors explicitly, but this can sometimes lead to nested or complicated chains, especially with multiple sequential or dependent async calls. ### Async/Await `async/await` is syntactic sugar built on top of Promises that makes asynchronous code look and behave more like synchronous code. When you declare a function as `async`, you can use the `await` keyword inside it to pause execution until a Promise resolves or rejects, making the code easier to read and write: ```javascript async function getData() { try { const data = await fetchData(); console.log(data); } catch (error) { console.error(error); } } ``` This approach tends to be more readable, especially when dealing with multiple sequential async calls, error handling, or complex logic. It reduces the need for chaining `.then()` calls and nesting callbacks. ### When to Use Which? - **Use Promises when:** - You need to handle multiple asynchronous operations in parallel using `Promise.all()`. - You want to attach handlers dynamically or manage multiple callbacks. - You’re writing library code or APIs where exposing raw Promises might be preferred. - **Use async/await when:** - You want cleaner, more readable code, especially for sequential asynchronous operations. - You prefer synchronous-looking code that’s easier to debug and maintain. - You want to use standard `try/catch` for error handling with asynchronous code. In modern JavaScript development, `async/await` is generally favored for most application-level code due to its clarity. However, since `async/await` is built on Promises, understanding Promises is essential, and sometimes combining both approaches makes sense depending on the situation. I hope this helps clarify the differences! Let me know if you’d like examples of more complex use cases.