Episode-06 libuv and async IO

Understanding Synchronous and Asynchronous

Overview

libuv

Libuv is a library written in the programming language C that helps nodejs to improve efficiency while running tasks parallelly. However, nodejs already have async API's. It uses Libuvs's thread pools if async API is not available in nodejs and processes are blocking the operations. Libuv doesn't perform the task itself, it only manages the operations.

• Event-driven asynchronous I/O model is integrated.
• It allows the CPU and other resources to be used simultaneously while still performing I/O operations, thereby resulting in efficient use of resources and network.
• It facilitates an event-driven approach wherein I/O and other activities are performed using callback-based notifications.

Synchronous Javascript

In synchronous programming, operations are performed one after the other, in sequence. So, basically each line of code waits for the previous one to finish before proceeding to the next. This means that the program executes in a predictable, linear order, with each task being completed before the next one starts.

Asynchronous Javascript

Asynchronous programming, on the other hand, allows multiple tasks to run independently of each other. In asynchronous code, a task can be initiated, and while waiting for it to complete, other tasks can proceed. This non-blocking nature helps improve performance and responsiveness, especially in web applications.