How Do You Tame the Async BEAST with Kotlin and JavaScript?

Explore the fundamental challenges of asynchronous programming and discover how JavaScript and Kotlin provide different solutions to tame the complexity of async control flow in this 21-minute conference talk from the ACCU York Meetup. Begin with an examination of JavaScript's evolution from callbacks to async/await, uncovering common pitfalls including diverging code paths, frozen UI threads, and hidden background tasks that plague asynchronous applications. Learn how structured programming principles apply to async code and why traditional blocking approaches fail in modern applications. Dive deep into Kotlin's coroutines and suspend functions, understanding how they offer a more structured concurrency model that makes asynchronous programming intuitive and manageable. Master the underlying structured programming problems that cause async complexity, enabling you to use async tools effectively rather than memorizing arbitrary rules. Discover practical solutions for managing resource leaks, handling try/catch blocks in async contexts, and controlling background task execution. Compare the benefits and limitations of async/await in JavaScript with Kotlin's suspend function approach, gaining insights into when each solution excels. Examine real-world examples demonstrating how diverging control flow creates maintenance nightmares and learn techniques to maintain clean, readable async code. Understand the relationship between event loops, callbacks, and parallel programming concepts across both languages. Access additional resources including books and articles on structured concurrency and asynchronous code design to deepen your knowledge beyond the talk.