What are cancellation tokens and how do they compare to async/await?

Can you explain what cancellation tokens are in programming?

Cancellation tokens are a way to signal that an operation should be canceled. They are often used in asynchronous programming to allow tasks to be stopped before they complete.

How do cancellation tokens differ from async/await?

Async/await is a syntax for writing asynchronous code that makes it easier to read and maintain. Cancellation tokens, on the other hand, are a mechanism to cancel ongoing tasks, which can be used alongside async/await.

When should I use cancellation tokens?

You should use cancellation tokens when you have long-running tasks that may need to be stopped based on user input or other conditions, improving responsiveness in your application.

Can you give an example of using cancellation tokens with async/await?

Sure! You can create a cancellation token source, pass the token to an async method, and then check the token's status within that method to determine if it should exit early.