[Concurrency] Fixing race conditions in async/await example

@Vladimir,

Default values are a problem for await/async when combined with parallel running because await returns a value and not an optional (unlike future's get). Below is a more realistic code for parallel running and a default value using async/await:

Thank you for the reply. Seems I'm missing something important, but

async render(image: await image, text: await text)

, as I understand currently, should NOT block the execution, execution will back here when image&text are 'ready', while

render(image: image.get ?? defaultImage, text: text.get ?? defaultText)

should block on .get(). No? This is why I asked if we need some 'sync' modifier like

sync preprocessImage(someImage)
, if we need to call func declared as async synchronously.

Vladimir.

···

On 30.08.2017 3:43, Howard Lovatt wrote:

    func updateImage() async {

        let image: Image

        async do { // Runs in parallel (async)

            image = try async preprocessImage(downloadImage())

        } catch {

            image = defaultImage

        }

        let text: String

        async do { // Runs in parallel (async)

            text = try async translate(downloadText())

        } catch {

            text = defaultText

        }
        // This line is complicated! We want render not to block (async), but have to
        await for image and text.
        // Render does not throw because it always has valid input.
        // If async were allowed to prevent blocking then await could not

        async render(image: await image, text: await text)

    }

Which I don't think reads as well as the Future version:

    func updateImage() -> Future<Void> {

        return AsynchronousFuture { _ -> Void in

            let image = preprocessImage(downloadImage()) // Parallel, Futures are
            queued on creation

            let text = translate(downloadText()) // Parallel, Futures are queued on
            creation

            // Does not block (Futures are queued on creation), but has to wait for
            its inputs (get).

            render(image: image.get ?? defaultImage, text: text.get ?? defaultText)

        }

    }

In addition the async/await version does not have timeout; unlike the Future version.

Suppose that downloadImage doesn't fail, it just takes forever to download the image. The Future version will timeout automatically and the default image will be used. With async/await the code for downloadImage and downloadText will have to start timers and throw if the timers timeout. Nothing to do in the Future version, it handles timeout for you.

Neither or the above versions have cancel or control over the queue they execute on, but both would be much easier to add to the Future version, like timeout is much easier to add, since Futures support cancel and queue control directly.

   -- Howard.

On 30 August 2017 at 02:45, Vladimir.S via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org > <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:

    On 29.08.2017 19:02, Wallacy via swift-evolution wrote:

        In this example i think we lose clarity, just looking for the code we cant
        know if this two line will run on parallel or not!
        Also, image.get blocks the thread, in this case we need the await anyway! And
        `async` can throws too... So the error handler can be pretty similar.

        let image= asyncpreprocessImage(downloadImage()) // These first two lines
        run in parallel and I can "see" the async keyword.
        let text= asynctranslate(downloadText())
        await render(image: image ?? defaultImage,text: text ?? defaultText) // No
        blocking!

    FWIW: I'm following the whole discussion from the start, and do support the
    opinion that async/await is much clear solution that proposed Futures, especially
    for beginners.
    We need a low-level building blocks which can be used to implement
    Futures/Promises in libraries.
    Also I really like the idea of 'async' on the caller side to have code running in
    parallel.

    The 'async' version of func declaration is clearly saying what type it *want* to
    return, and 'async' modifier just saying *how* it will/can return that
    type('Image' in examples). So on both sides, on declaration and on caller side,
    we are clear what types we are working with.
    Future<Type> - is mixing of what is returning and how this will be returned. Code
    is saying that we preprocessesImage, but actually we have Future<Image> type, no
    'markers' of asynchronous code.

    Also, I wonder(if I missed that in proposal/discussion, please let me know), if I
    have async function like

    func foo() async -> Type {}

    , may I want to call it synchronously? If so, what would be a solution here? I
    can think about something like 'sync' modifier on caller side:
    let x = sync foo() // calling asynchronous function synchronously

    I believe that is what Future.get is doing, no?
    let future = ...
    future.get() // blocks the execution, waits for the result.

    Probably it is reasonable to allow just call foo() to get blocking result, just
    like any other 'simple' blocking funcs that we call, but this can lead to
    unexpected behavior as user can expect async execution.

    With Futures, it seems like we can't "just" call such function and need to call
    .get() later:
    let future = someFuncReturnsFuture() // already returns Future<Type> type

    Vladimir.

        Like i said before! Today's, the proposal only lack two things over the
        `Future`....
        Parallel computing: Can be implemented by a third party library or a personal
        one, but i don't think this is a good approach to the first version.
        Coordination: This we can wait! And why? Because coordination, can be made in
        different ways, maybe is more suitable to a standard library class/function,
        not a language level resource.

        Also, coordination cant be applied to all variants of the runtimes in the
        same way! async/await as language level works just as well with GCD as with
        pthreads or another API. And coordination is a compromise that we can make
        after that one.

        Em ter, 29 de ago de 2017 às 05:23, Howard Lovatt via swift-evolution > <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org> > <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> escreveu:

             @David,

             Using the `Future` library based on GCD that I have previously posted your
             example would be:

             let image= preprocessImage(downloadImage()) // These first two lines
        run in parallel
             let text= translate(downloadText())
             render(image: image.get ?? defaultImage,text: text.get ?? defaultText)

             The main difference, and I would argue an improvement, is that the `Future`
             version handles errors.

             So what advantage does async/await have over a `Future` library we can
        write today?

                -- Howard.

             On 29 August 2017 at 15:28, David Hart via swift-evolution > <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org> > <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> wrote:

                     On 29 Aug 2017, at 02:22, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution > <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org> > <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> wrote:

                     On Mon, Aug 28, 2017 at 16:10 Adam Kemp via swift-evolution > <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org> > <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> wrote:

                         I know what the proposal said. I’m making a case that there
            is value in
                         doing it differently.

                         The composability of futures is valuable. Mixing and matching
                         async/await with futures is also valuable. The
            queue-returning behavior
                         that you can get from futures is also valuable, and building
                         async/await on top of futures means async/await can get that
            for free.

                     Why couldn't you mix and match async/await and futures and get the
                     queue-return behavior of futures if futures are built on top of
            async/await
                     instead off the other way around?

                 We could, but the syntax is much worse. Contrast:

                 *async/await built on top of Futures*
                 *

                 let image= preprocessImage(downloadImage())
                 let text= translate(downloadText())
                 awaitrender(image: image,text: text)

                 *Futures built on top of async/await*
                 *

                 let image= Future(downloadImage).then({preprocessImage($0) })
                 let text= Future(downloadText).then({translate($0) })
                 awaitrender(image: image.get(),text: text.get())

                         Maybe you don’t value those things, which is fine. But I do,
            and maybe
                         other people do too. That’s why we’re having a discussion
            about it.

                         It can also be valuable having a minimal implementation, but
            we have to
                         acknowledge that it comes with a downside as well. The
            problem with
                         doing a minimal implementation is that you can be stuck with the
                         consequences for a long time. I want to make sure that we’re
            not stuck
                         with the consequences of a minimal implementation that doesn’t
                         adequately address the problems that async/await should be
            addressing.
                         I’d hate for Swift to get an async/await that is so weak
            that it has to
                         be augmented by tedious boilerplate code before it’s useful.

                             On Aug 28, 2017, at 1:54 PM, Wallacy <wallacyf@gmail.com > <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com> > <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com>>> > wrote:

                             We don't need to this now!

                             Again: (Using proposal words)

                             "It is important to understand that this is proposing
                compiler support
                             that is completely concurrency runtime-agnostic. This
                proposal does
                             not include a new runtime model (like "actors") - it
                works just as
                             well with GCD as with pthreads or another API.
                Furthermore, unlike
                             designs in other languages, it is independent of
                specific coordination
                             mechanisms, such as futures or channels, allowing these
                to be built as
                             library feature"

                             and

                             "This proposal does not formally propose a |Future|
                type, or any other
                             coordination abstractions. There are many rational
                designs for
                             futures, and a lot of experience working with them. On
                the other hand,
                             there are also completely different coordination
                primitives that can
                             be used with this coroutine design, and incorporating
                them into this
                             proposal only makes it larger."

                             and

                             We focus on task-based concurrency abstractions commonly
                encountered
                             in client and server applications, particularly those
                that are highly
                             event driven (e.g. responding to UI events or requests
                from clients).
                             This does not attempt to be a comprehensive survey of
                all possible
                             options, nor does it attempt to solve all possible
                problems in the
                             space of concurrency. Instead, it outlines a single
                coherent design
                             thread that can be built over the span of years to
                incrementally drive
                             Swift to further greatness.

                             and

                             This proposal has been kept intentionally minimal, but
                there are many
                             possible ways to expand this in the future.

                             ....

                             The point is: No Future type is indeed proposed yet!

                             The proposal try to include de "minimum" required to
                implement a basic
                             async/await to solve the problem created by the GCD!
                (Pyramid of doom)

                             The question is: How do you do the same using
                dispatch_async ?
                             dispatch_async also does not return nothing to do what
                you are
                             intentend do do!

                             Algo, by Swift 5 manifesto, there's no compromise to
                make a "complete"
                             concurrency model by this time!

                             My intention is only make parity to dispatch_async, but
                also make the
                             ground free to make more complex implementation like
                Futures in
                             another round on top of this one.

                             This 'async T' can be a real type in the future? Maybe
                will... But
                             doesn't matter now! Now we only need to is some kind of
                type which
                             need to be unwrapped using await before use. Maybe this
                             intermediary/virtual type can be a real thing and gain
                some abilities
                             at some point! Maybe a full Future type, why not?

                             Em seg, 28 de ago de 2017 às 17:33, Adam Kemp > <adam.kemp@apple.com <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com> > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com>>> escreveu:

                                 How would these anonymous types get composed? If I
                wanted to
                                 implement a function that takes a collection of
                futures and wait
                                 on it, how would I do that? That is, how would I
                implement the
                                 equivalent of C#’s Task.WhenAll and Task.WhenAny
                methods?

                                 More generally, how do you pass one of these
                typeless futures to
                                 some other function so that we can do the waiting there?

                                     On Aug 28, 2017, at 1:23 PM, Wallacy > <wallacyf@gmail.com <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com> > <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com > <mailto:wallacyf@gmail.com>>> wrote:

                                     And that's why I (and others) are suggesting:

                                     func processImageData1a() async -> Image {
                                       let dataResource = async
                    loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt") //
                                     No future type here... Just another way to call
                    dispatch_async
                                     under the hood.
                                       let imageResource = async
                    loadWebResource("imagedata.dat")
                                       // ... other stuff can go here to cover load
                    latency...
                                       let imageTmp = await decodeImage(dataResource,
                                     imageResource) // Compiles force await call here...
                                       let imageResult = await
                    dewarpAndCleanupImage(imageTmp)
                                       return imageResult
                                     }

                                     And now we gain all advantages of async/await
                    again without to
                                     handle with one more type.

                                     Em seg, 28 de ago de 2017 às 17:07, Adam Kemp
                    via swift-evolution
                                     <swift-evolution@swift.org
                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org
                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>>

                                     escreveu:

                                         I think the biggest tradeoff is clearer when
                    you look at the
                                         examples from the proposal where futures are
                    built on top of
                                         async/await:

                                             func processImageData1a() async -> Image {
                                               let dataResource = Future { await
                                             loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt") }
                                               let imageResource = Future { await
                                             loadWebResource("imagedata.dat") }
                                               // ... other stuff can go here to
                    cover load latency...
                                               let imageTmp = await
                    decodeImage(dataResource.get(),
                                             imageResource.get())
                                               let imageResult = await
                    dewarpAndCleanupImage(imageTmp)
                                               return imageResult
                                             }

                                         With this approach you have to wrap each
                    call site to create
                                         a future. Compare to this:

                                             func processImageData1a() -> Future<Image> {
                                               let dataResourceFuture =
                                             loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt”);
                                               let imageResourceFuture =
                    loadWebResource("imagedata.dat”);
                                               // ... other stuff can go here to
                    cover load latency...
                                               let imageTmp = await decodeImage(await
                                             dataResourceFuture, await
                    imageResourceFuture)
                                               let imageResult = await
                    dewarpAndCleanupImage(imageTmp)
                                               return imageResult
                                             }

                                         Here, not only are the explicit wrappers
                    gone, but this
                                         function itself can be used with either
                    await or as a future.
                                         You get both options with one implementation.

                                         As I’ve mentioned before, C#’s
                    implementation is not tied to
                                         any one particular futures implementation.
                    The Task type is
                                         commonly used, but async/await does not
                    directly depend on
                                         Task. Instead it works with any return type
                    that meets
                                         certain requirements (detailed here:
                    await anything; - .NET Parallel Programming
                    <https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/pfxteam/2011/01/13/await-anything/&gt;\).
                                         Swift could do this using a protocol, which
                    can be
                                         retroactively applied using an extension.

                                         Obviously for this to be useful we would
                    need some kind of
                                         existing future implementation, but at least
                    we wouldn’t be
                                         tied to any particular one. That would mean
                    library
                                         maintainers who have already been using
                    their own futures
                                         implementations could quickly adopt
                    async/await in their code
                                         without having to rewrite their futures
                    library or throw
                                         wrappers around every usage of async/await.
                    They could just
                                         adopt a protocol (using an extension, even)
                    and get
                                         async/await support for free.

                                         The downside is that this feature would be
                    specific to the
                                         async/await use case rather than a generic
                    coroutine
                                         implementation (i.e., there would have to be
                    a separate
                                         compiler transform for yield return). It’s
                    not clear to me
                                         why it should be a goal to have just one
                    generic coroutine
                                         feature. The real-world usages of
                    async/await and yield
                                         return are different enough that I’m not
                    convinced we could
                                         have a single compiler feature that meets
                    the needs of both
                                         cleanly.

                                             On Aug 27, 2017, at 7:35 PM, Florent Vilmart > <florent@flovilmart.com > <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com> > <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com > <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com>>> wrote:

                                             Adam, you’re completely right, languages
                        as c# and JS have
                                             been through the path before, (callback,
                        Promises ,
                                             async/await) I believe Chris’s goal it
                        to avoid building a
                                             promise implementation and go straight
                        to a coroutines
                                             model, which is more deeply integrated
                        with the compiler. I
                                             don’t see a particular trade off,
                        pursuing that route, and
                                             the main benefit is that coroutines can
                        power any
                                             asynchronous metaphor (Signals, Streams,
                        Futures, Promises
                                             etc...) which is not true of Futures so
                        i would tend to
                                             think that for the long run, and to
                        maximize usability,
                                             async/await/yield would probably be the
                        way to go.

                                             On Aug 27, 2017, 22:22 -0400, Adam Kemp > <adam.kemp@apple.com <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com> > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com>>>, wrote:

                                                 As has been explained, futures can
                            be built on top of
                                                 async/await (or the other way
                            around). You can have the
                                                 best of both worlds. We are not
                            losing anything by having
                                                 this feature. It would be a huge
                            improvement to have this
                                                 as an option.

                                                 However, using futures correctly
                            requires more nested
                                                 closures than you have shown in your
                            examples to avoid
                                                 blocking any threads. That's why
                            you're not seeing the
                                                 advantage to async/await. You're
                            comparing examples that
                                                 have very different behaviors.

                                                 That said, I have also expressed my
                            opinion that it is
                                                 better to build async/await on top
                            of futures rather than
                                                 the other way around. I believe it
                            is more powerful and
                                                 cleaner to make async/await work
                            with any arbitrary future
                                                 type (via a protocol). The
                            alternative (building futures on
                                                 top of async/await) requires more
                            code when the two are
                                                 mixed. I very much prefer how it's
                            done in C#, where you
                                                 can freely mix the two models
                            without having to resort to
                                                 ad-hoc wrappers, and you can use
                            async/await with any
                                                 futures implementation you might
                            already be using.

                                                 I really think we should be having
                            more discussion about
                                                 the tradeoffs between those two
                            approaches, and I'm
                                                 concerned that some of the opinions
                            about how C# does it
                                                 are not based on a clear and
                            accurate understanding of how
                                                 it actually works in that language.

                                                 -- Adam Kemp

                                                 On Aug 27, 2017, at 6:02 PM, Howard
                            Lovatt
                                                 <howard.lovatt@gmail.com
                            <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com>
                            <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com
                            <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com>>>
                                                 wrote:

                                                     The async/await is very similar
                                to the proposed Future (as
                                                     I posed earlier) with regard to
                                completion-handler code,
                                                     they both re-write the imported
                                completion-handler
                                                     function using a closure, the
                                relevant sentence from the
                                                     Async Proposal is:

                                                         "Under the hood, the
                                compiler rewrites this code using
                                                         nested closures ..."

                                                     Unlike the proposed future code
                                the async code is not
                                                     naturally parallel, in the
                                running example the following
                                                     lines from the async code are
                                run in series, i.e. await
                                                     blocks:

                                                        let dataResource= awaitloadWebResource("dataprofile.txt")
                                                        let imageResource= awaitloadWebResource("imagedata.dat")
                                                     The equivalent lines using the
                                proposed Future:
                                                        let dataResource= loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt")
                                                        let imageResource= loadWebResource("imagedata.dat")
                                                     Run in parallel and therefore
                                are potentially faster
                                                     assuming that resources, like
                                cores and IO, are available.

                                                     Therefore you would be better
                                using a Future than an
                                                     async, so why provide an async
                                unless you can make a
                                                     convincing argument that it
                                allows you to write a better
                                                     future?

                                                       -- Howard.

                                                     On 28 August 2017 at 09:59, Adam > Kemp <adam.kemp@apple.com <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com> > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com > <mailto:adam.kemp@apple.com>>> wrote:

                                                         This example still has
                                nested closures (to create a
                                                         Future), and still relies on
                                a synchronous get method
                                                         that will block a thread.
                                Async/await does not require
                                                         blocking any threads.

                                                         I’m definitely a fan of
                                futures, but this example
                                                         isn’t even a good example of
                                using futures. If you’re
                                                         using a synchronous get
                                method then you’re not using
                                                         futures properly. They’re
                                supposed to make it easy to
                                                         avoid writing blocking code.
                                This example just does
                                                         the blocking call on some
                                other thread.

                                                         Doing it properly would show
                                the benefits of
                                                         async/await because it would
                                require more nesting and
                                                         more complex error handling.
                                By simplifying the code
                                                         you’ve made a comparison
                                between proper asynchronous
                                                         code (with async/await) and
                                improper asynchronous code
                                                         (your example).

                                                         That tendency to want to
                                just block a thread to make
                                                         it easier is exactly why
                                async/await is so valuable.
                                                         You get simple code while
                                still doing it correctly.

                                                         -- Adam Kemp

                                                         On Aug 27, 2017, at 4:00 PM,
                                Howard Lovatt via
                                                         swift-evolution
                                <swift-evolution@swift.org
                                <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
                                                                                        <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org
                                <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> wrote:

                                                             The running example used
                                    in the white paper coded
                                                             using a Future is:

                                                             func processImageData1()
                                    -> Future<Image> {
                                                                 return
                                    AsynchronousFuture { _ -> Image in
                                                                     let dataResource =
                                                                                                loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt") // dataResource
                                                             and imageResource run in
                                    parallel.
                                                                     let imageResource =
                                                                                                loadWebResource("imagedata.dat")
                                                                     let imageTmp =
                                                                                                decodeImage(dataResource.get ?? Resource(path:
                                                             "Default data resource
                                    or prompt user"),
                                                             imageResource.get ??
                                    Resource(path: "Default image
                                                             resource or prompt user"))
                                                                     let imageResult =
                                                                                                  dewarpAndCleanupImage(imageTmp.get ??
                                                             Image(dataPath: "Default
                                    image or prompt user",
                                                             imagePath: "Default
                                    image or prompt user"))
                                                                     return
                                    imageResult.get ?? Image(dataPath:
                                                             "Default image or prompt
                                    user", imagePath: "Default
                                                             image or prompt user")
                                                                 }
                                                             }

                                                             This also avoids the
                                    pyramid of doom; the pyramid is
                                                             avoided by converting
                                    continuation-handlers into
                                                             either a sync or future,
                                    i.e. it is the importer that
                                                             eliminates the nesting
                                    by translating the code
                                                             automatically.

                                                             This example using
                                    Future also demonstrates three
                                                             advantages of Future:
                                    they are naturally parallel
                                                             (dataResource and
                                    imageResource lines run in
                                                             parallel), they timeout
                                    automatically (get returns
                                                             nil if the Future has
                                    taken too long), and if there
                                                             is a failure (for any
                                    reason including timeout) it
                                                             provides a method of
                                    either detecting the failure or
                                                             providing a default (get
                                    returns nil on failure).

                                                             There are a three of
                                    other advantages a Future has
                                                             that this example
                                    doesn’t show: control over which
                                                             thread the Future runs
                                    on, Futures can be cancelled,
                                                             and debugging
                                    information is available.

                                                             You could imagine
                                    `async` as a syntax sugar for
                                                             Future, e.g. the above
                                    Future example could be:

                                                             func processImageData1()
                                    async -> Image {
                                                                 let dataResource =
                                                                                                loadWebResource("dataprofile.txt") // dataResource
                                                             and imageResource run in
                                    parallel.
                                                                 let imageResource =
                                    loadWebResource("imagedata.dat")
                                                                 let imageTmp =
                                    decodeImage(dataResource.get
                                                             ?? Resource(path:
                                    "Default data resource or prompt
                                                             user"),
                                    imageResource.get ?? Resource(path: "Default
                                                             image resource or prompt
                                    user"))
                                                                 let imageResult =
                                                                                                  dewarpAndCleanupImage(imageTmp.get ??
                                                             Image(dataPath: "Default
                                    image or prompt user",
                                                             imagePath: "Default
                                    image or prompt user"))
                                                                 return
                                    imageResult.get ?? Image(dataPath:
                                                             "Default image or prompt
                                    user", imagePath: "Default
                                                             image or prompt user")
                                                             }

                                                             Since an async is sugar
                                    for Future the async runs as
                                                             soon as it is created
                                    (as soon as the underlying
                                                             Future is created) and
                                    get returns an optional (also
                                                             cancel and status would
                                    be still be present). Then if
                                                             you want control over
                                    threads and timeout they could
                                                             be arguments to async:

                                                             func processImageData1()
                                    async(queue:
                                                             DispatchQueue.main,
                                    timeout: .seconds(5)) -> Image {
                                                             ... }

                                                             On Sat, 26 Aug 2017 at
                                    11:00 pm, Florent Vilmart
                                                             <florent@flovilmart.com
                                    <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com>
                                                                                                <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com
                                    <mailto:florent@flovilmart.com>>> wrote:

                                                                 Howard, with async /
                                    await, the code is flat and
                                                                 you don’t have to
                                    unowned/weak self to prevent
                                                                 hideous cycles in
                                    the callbacks.
                                                                 Futures can’t do that

                                                                 On Aug 26, 2017,
                                    04:37 -0400, Goffredo Marocchi
                                                                 via swift-evolution
                                    <swift-evolution@swift.org
                                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
                                                                                                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org
                                    <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>>, wrote:

                                                                     With both he now
                                        built in promises in Node8 as
                                                                     well as
                                        libraries like Bluebird there was ample
                                                                     time to evaluate
                                        them and convert/auto convert
                                                                     at times
                                        libraries that loved callback pyramids
                                                                     of doom when the
                                        flow grows complex into promise
                                                                     based chains.
                                        Converting to Promises seems
                                                                     magical for the
                                        simple case, but can quickly
                                                                     descend in hard
                                        to follow flows and hard to
                                                                     debug errors
                                        when you move to non trivial multi
                                                                     path scenarios.
                                        JS is now solving it with their
                                                                     implementation
                                        of async/await, but the point is
                                                                     that without the
                                        full picture any single
                                                                     solution would
                                        break horribly in real life
                                                                     scenarios.

                                                                     Sent from my iPhone

                                                                     On 26 Aug 2017,
                                        at 06:27, Howard Lovatt via
                                                                     swift-evolution
                                        <swift-evolution@swift.org
                                        <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
                                                                                                            <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org
                                        <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>>> wrote:

                                                                         My argument
                                            goes like this:

                                                                           1. You
                                            don't need async/await to write a
                                                                         powerful
                                            future type; you can use the
                                                                         underlying
                                            threads just as well, i.e. future
                                                                         with
                                            async/await is no better than future without.

                                                                           2. Since
                                            future is more powerful, thread
                                                                         control,
                                            cancel, and timeout, people should be
                                                                         encouraged
                                            to use this; instead because
                                                                         async/await
                                            are language features they will be
                                                                         presumed,
                                            incorrectly, to be the best way,
                                                                         consequently
                                            people will get into trouble with
                                                                         deadlocks
                                            because they don't have control.

                                                                           3.
                                            async/await will require some engineering
                                                                         work and
                                            will at best make a mild syntax
                                                                         improvement
                                            and at worst lead to deadlocks,
                                                                         therefore
                                            they just don't carry their weight in
                                                                         terms of
                                            useful additions to Swift.

                                                                         Therefore,
                                            save some engineering effort and
                                                                         just provide
                                            a future library.

                                                                         To turn the
                                            question round another way, in two
                                                                         forms:

                                                                           1. What
                                            can async/wait do that a future can't?

                                                                           2. How
                                            will future be improved if async/await
                                                                         is added?

                                                                           -- Howard.

                                                                         On 26 August
                                            2017 at 02:23, Joe Groff
                                                                                                                    <jgroff@apple.com
                                            <mailto:jgroff@apple.com>
                                            <mailto:jgroff@apple.com
                                            <mailto:jgroff@apple.com>>> wrote:

                                                                                 On
                                                Aug 25, 2017, at 12:34 AM, Howard
                                                                                                                                Lovatt <howard.lovatt@gmail.com
                                                <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com>
                                                                                                                                <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com
                                                <mailto:howard.lovatt@gmail.com>>> wrote:

                                                                                 In
                                                particular a future that is cancellable
                                                                                 is
                                                more powerful that the proposed
                                                                                                                                async/await.

                                                                             It's not
                                            more powerful; the features are to
                                                                             some
                                            degree disjoint. You can build a
                                                                             Future
                                            abstraction and then use async/await
                                                                             to sugar
                                            code that threads computation
                                                                             through
                                            futures. Getting back to Jakob's
                                                                             example,
                                            someone (maybe the Clang importer,
                                                                             maybe
                                            Apple's framework developers in an
                                                                             overlay)
                                            will still need to build
                                                                                                                        infrastructure on top of IBActions and
                                                                             other
                                            currently ad-hoc signalling
                                                                                                                        mechanisms to integrate them into a more
                                                                                                                        expressive coordination framework.

                                                                             -Joe

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                                                             --
                                                             -- Howard.
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