@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ These concepts are not hard, but something many people are not used to. This bas
Futures are a concept that abstracts over how code is run. By themselves, they do nothing. This is a weird concept in an imperative language, where usually one thing happens after the other - right now.
Futures are a concept that abstracts over how code is run. By themselves, they do nothing. This is a weird concept in an imperative language, where usually one thing happens after the other - right now.
So how do Futures run? You decide! Futures do nothing without the piece of code _executing_ them. This part is called an _executor_. An _executor_ decides _when_ and _how_ to execute your futures. `async-task` is such an _executor_, `async-std` is a library providing the building blocks.
So how do Futures run? You decide! Futures do nothing without the piece of code _executing_ them. This part is called an _executor_. An _executor_ decides _when_ and _how_ to execute your futures. The `async-std::task` module provides you with and interface to such an executor.
Let's start with a little bit of motivation, though.
Let's start with a little bit of motivation, though.
`async-std` and `async-task` along with their [supporting libraries][organization] are a two libraries making your life in async programming easier. They provide fundamental implementations for downstream libraries and applications alike.
`async-std` along with its [supporting libraries][organization] is a library making your life in async programming easier. It provides provide fundamental implementations for downstream libraries and applications alike. The name reflects the approach of this library: it is a closely modeled to the Rust main standard library as possible, replacing all components by async counterparts.
`async-std` provides an interface to all important primitives: filesystem operations, network operations and concurrency basics like timers. It also exposes `async-task` in a model similar to the `thread` module found in the Rust standard lib. The name reflects the approach of this library: it is a closely modeled to the Rust main standard library as possible, replacing all components by async counterparts. This not only includes io primitives, but also `async/await` compatible versions of primitives like `Mutex`. You can read more about `async-std` in [the overview chapter][overview-std].
`async-std` provides an interface to all important primitives: filesystem operations, network operations and concurrency basics like timers. It also exposes an `task` in a model similar to the `thread` module found in the Rust standard lib. But it does not only include io primitives, but also `async/await` compatible versions of primitives like `Mutex`. You can read more about `async-std` in [the overview chapter][overview-std].
`async-task` is a library for implementing asynchronous tasks quickly. For the purpose of this documentation, you will mainly interact with it through the `async_std::task` module. Still, it has some nice properties to be aware of, which you can read up on in the [`async-task` crate docs][task-docs].
Florian Gilcher
5 years ago