What is the async/await feature in Rust?

What is the async/await feature in Rust?

The async/await feature in Rust allows you to write asynchronous code that is easier to read and maintain. It helps manage tasks that can run concurrently without blocking the main thread.

How do I use async/await in a simple Rust program?

To use async/await, you need to mark your functions with async fn and use .await on asynchronous calls. Here's a simple example:

use tokio;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    let result = async_function().await;
    println!("Result: {}", result);
}

async fn async_function() -> i32 {
    42
}

What libraries do I need to use async/await in Rust?

You typically need the tokio or async-std library to work with async/await in Rust. These libraries provide the necessary runtime and utilities for asynchronous programming.

Can you explain the difference between async/await and threads?

Sure! Async/await is a way to write non-blocking code that runs on a single thread, while threads allow for true parallelism by running code on multiple threads. Async is more lightweight and efficient for I/O-bound tasks.