Asynchronous programming with async and await

That's the goal of this syntax: enable code that reads like a sequence of statements, but executes in a much more complicated order based on external resource allocation and when tasks complete. It's analogous to how people give instructions for processes that include asynchronous tasks. Throughout this article, you'll use an example of instructions for making a breakfast to see how the async and await keywords make it easier to reason about code, that includes a series of asynchronous instructions. You'd write the instructions something like the following list to explain how to make a breakfast:

1. Pour a cup of coffee.

2. Heat up a pan, then fry two eggs.

3. Fry three slices of bacon.

4. Toast two pieces of bread.

5. Add butter and jam to the toast.

6. Pour a glass of orange juice.

If you have experience with cooking, you'd execute those instructions asynchronously. You'd start warming the pan for eggs, then start the bacon. You'd put the bread in the toaster, then start the eggs. At each step of the process, you'd start a task, then turn your attention to tasks that are ready for your attention.

Cooking breakfast is a good example of asynchronous work that isn't parallel. One person (or thread) can handle all these tasks. Continuing the breakfast analogy, one person can make breakfast asynchronously by starting the next task before the first completes. The cooking progresses whether or not someone is watching it. As soon as you start warming the pan for the eggs, you can begin frying the bacon. Once the bacon starts, you can put the bread into the toaster.

For a parallel algorithm, you'd need multiple cooks (or threads). One would make the eggs, one the bacon, and so on. Each one would be focused on just that one task. Each cook (or thread) would be blocked synchronously waiting for bacon to be ready to flip, or the toast to pop.

using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace AsyncBreakfast
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Coffee cup = PourCoffee();
            Console.WriteLine("coffee is ready");

            Egg eggs = FryEggs(2);
            Console.WriteLine("eggs are ready");

            Bacon bacon = FryBacon(3);
            Console.WriteLine("bacon is ready");

            Toast toast = ToastBread(2);
            ApplyButter(toast);
            ApplyJam(toast);
            Console.WriteLine("toast is ready");

            Juice oj = PourOJ();
            Console.WriteLine("oj is ready");
            Console.WriteLine("Breakfast is ready!");
        }

        private static Juice PourOJ()
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Pouring orange juice");
            return new Juice();
        }

        private static void ApplyJam(Toast toast) => 
            Console.WriteLine("Putting jam on the toast");

        private static void ApplyButter(Toast toast) => 
            Console.WriteLine("Putting butter on the toast");

        private static Toast ToastBread(int slices)
        {
            for (int slice = 0; slice < slices; slice++)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Putting a slice of bread in the toaster");
            }
            Console.WriteLine("Start toasting...");
            Task.Delay(3000).Wait();
            Console.WriteLine("Remove toast from toaster");

            return new Toast();
        }

        private static Bacon FryBacon(int slices)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"putting {slices} slices of bacon in the pan");
            Console.WriteLine("cooking first side of bacon...");
            Task.Delay(3000).Wait();
            for (int slice = 0; slice < slices; slice++)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("flipping a slice of bacon");
            }
            Console.WriteLine("cooking the second side of bacon...");
            Task.Delay(3000).Wait();
            Console.WriteLine("Put bacon on plate");

            return new Bacon();
        }

        private static Egg FryEggs(int howMany)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Warming the egg pan...");
            Task.Delay(3000).Wait();
            Console.WriteLine($"cracking {howMany} eggs");
            Console.WriteLine("cooking the eggs ...");
            Task.Delay(3000).Wait();
            Console.WriteLine("Put eggs on plate");

            return new Egg();
        }

        private static Coffee PourCoffee()
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Pouring coffee");
            return new Coffee();
        }
    }
}

Don't block, await instead

The preceding code demonstrates a bad practice: constructing synchronous code to perform asynchronous operations. As written, this code blocks the thread executing it from doing any other work. It won't be interrupted while any of the tasks are in progress. It would be as though you stared at the toaster after putting the bread in. You'd ignore anyone talking to you until the toast popped.

Let's start by updating this code so that the thread doesn't block while tasks are running. The await keyword provides a non-blocking way to start a task, then continue execution when that task completes. A simple asynchronous version of the make a breakfast code would look like the following snippet:

static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
    Coffee cup = PourCoffee();
    Console.WriteLine("coffee is ready");

    Egg eggs = await FryEggsAsync(2);
    Console.WriteLine("eggs are ready");

    Bacon bacon = await FryBaconAsync(3);
    Console.WriteLine("bacon is ready");

    Toast toast = await ToastBreadAsync(2);
    ApplyButter(toast);
    ApplyJam(toast);
    Console.WriteLine("toast is ready");

    Juice oj = PourOJ();
    Console.WriteLine("oj is ready");
    Console.WriteLine("Breakfast is ready!");
}