What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous code in JavaScript?
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Synchronous code runs in sequence. This means that each operation must wait for the previous one to complete before executing.
console.log('One'); console.log('Two'); console.log('Three'); // LOGS: 'One', 'Two', 'Three'
Asynchronous code runs in parallel. This means that an operation can occur while another one is still being processed.
console.log('One'); setTimeout(() => console.log('Two'), 100); console.log('Three'); // LOGS: 'One', 'Three', 'Two'
Asynchronous code execution is often preferable in situations where execution can be blocked indefinitely. Some examples of this are network requests, long-running calculations, file system operations etc. Using asynchronous code in the browser ensures the page remains responsive and the user experience is mostly unaffected.