frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Made with ♥ by @iamnishanth

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

How async/await works in Python (2021)

https://tenthousandmeters.com/blog/python-behind-the-scenes-12-how-asyncawait-works-in-python/
61•sebg•9mo ago

Comments

quentinp•9mo ago
While it stays at the Python level, https://github.com/AndreLouisCaron/a-tale-of-event-loops really helped me to understand how asyncio and Trio are implemented. I had no idea how sleeps worked before reading that post.
incomingpain•9mo ago
Page didnt load for me.

https://realpython.com/async-io-python/

Multiprocessing all the way!

emmelaich•9mo ago
(2021)

Good article!

punnerud•9mo ago
A more simplified version:

Synchronous code is like a single-lane road where cars (tasks) must travel one after another in perfect sequence. If one car stops for gas (waiting for I/O), every car behind it must stop too. While orderly and predictable, this creates massive traffic jams as tasks wait unnecessarily for others to complete before they can proceed.

Pure asynchronous code (with callbacks) is like dispatching multiple cars onto independent routes with no coordination. Cars move freely without waiting for each other, but they arrive at unpredictable times and following their progress becomes chaotic. It's efficient but creates a complex tangle of paths that becomes hard to maintain.

Async/await combines the best of both approaches with a multi-lane highway system. Cars follow clear, synchronous-looking routes (making code readable), but only wait at strategic "await" exit ramps when truly necessary. When a car needs data, it signals with "await", pulls off the highway temporarily, and other cars continue flowing past. Once its operation completes, it merges back into traffic and continues. This gives you the logical simplicity of synchronous code with the performance benefits of asynchronous execution - cars only wait at crossroads when they must, maximizing throughput while maintaining order.

The genius of async/await is that it lets developers write code that looks sequential while the runtime handles all the complex traffic management under the hood.

explodes•9mo ago
Excellent write up. I appreciate the level of details here showing the history from the days of old, before async/await were even keywords.
bilsbie•9mo ago
How does the GIL come into play here?
punnerud•9mo ago
GIL is like a "red-cap" on the head for the CPU-core running the task, so you would not be able to run true Async without GIL. Have to hand the "red-cap" back, for the next task.

Instead of using a global lock ("red-cap"), Python objects have introduced a specialized reference counting system that distinguishes between "local" references (owned by a single thread) and "shared" references (accessed by multiple threads).

In that way enabling to remove GIL in the long run, now starting with making it optional.

Show HN: Algorithmically Finding the Longest Line of Sight on Earth

https://alltheviews.world
99•tombh•3h ago•40 comments

Show HN: Browse Internet Infrastructure

https://www.wirewiki.com
24•pul•41m ago•1 comments

Art of Roads in Games

https://sandboxspirit.com/blog/art-of-roads-in-games/
420•linolevan•16h ago•134 comments

Vouch

https://github.com/mitchellh/vouch
918•chwtutha•1d ago•406 comments

Matrix messaging gaining ground in government IT

https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/matrix_element_secure_chat/
44•rbanffy•1h ago•27 comments

Thought-Terminating Cliché

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9
27•walterbell•4d ago•3 comments

Offpunk 3.0

https://ploum.net/2026-02-09-offpunk3.html
58•todsacerdoti•2h ago•14 comments

Show HN: Minimal NIST/OWASP-compliant auth implementation for Cloudflare Workers

https://github.com/vhscom/private-landing
9•vhsdev•1h ago•4 comments

Roman industrial hub discovered on banks of River Wear

https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/2026/01/roman-industrial-hub-discovered-on-banks...
19•andsoitis•3d ago•0 comments

LispE: Lisp Interpreter with Pattern Programming and Lazy Evaluation

https://github.com/naver/lispe
66•PaulHoule•4d ago•13 comments

Tessellation Kit (2016)

https://sciencevsmagic.net/tes/#0.5.0.1.aaaaaaaaa
19•surprisetalk•4d ago•1 comments

Show HN: A custom font that displays Cistercian numerals using ligatures

https://bobbiec.github.io/cistercian-font.html
121•bobbiechen•14h ago•24 comments

Show HN: I created a Mars colony RPG based on Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars books

https://underhillgame.com/
245•ariaalam•20h ago•79 comments

More Mac malware from Google search

https://eclecticlight.co/2026/01/30/more-malware-from-google-search/
219•kristianp•16h ago•154 comments

Ask HN: What are you working on? (February 2026)

172•david927•17h ago•603 comments

Apple XNU: Clutch Scheduler

https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/xnu/blob/main/doc/scheduler/sched_clutch_edge.md
152•tosh•16h ago•28 comments

Quartz crystals

https://www.pa3fwm.nl/technotes/tn13a.html
91•gtsnexp•1d ago•29 comments

Custom Firmware for the MZ-RH1 – Ready for Testing

https://sir68k.re/posts/rh1-firmware-available/
62•jimbauwens•4d ago•18 comments

Every book recommended on the Odd Lots Discord

https://odd-lots-books.netlify.app/
118•muggermuch•13h ago•54 comments

Experts Have World Models. LLMs Have Word Models

https://www.latent.space/p/adversarial-reasoning
124•aaronng91•19h ago•136 comments

Reverse Engineering the Prom for the SGI O2

https://mattst88.com/blog/2026/02/08/Reverse_Engineering_the_PROM_for_the_SGI_O2/
100•mattst88•14h ago•21 comments

The Little Bool of Doom (2025)

https://blog.svgames.pl/article/the-little-bool-of-doom
121•pocksuppet•19h ago•42 comments

Roundcube Webmail: SVG feImage bypasses image blocking to track email opens

https://nullcathedral.com/posts/2026-02-08-roundcube-svg-feimage-remote-image-bypass/
153•nullcathedral•18h ago•59 comments

GitHub Agentic Workflows

https://github.github.io/gh-aw/
272•mooreds•23h ago•127 comments

AI makes the easy part easier and the hard part harder

https://www.blundergoat.com/articles/ai-makes-the-easy-part-easier-and-the-hard-part-harder
401•weaksauce•14h ago•286 comments

Running Your Own As: BGP on FreeBSD with FRR, GRE Tunnels, and Policy Routing

https://blog.hofstede.it/running-your-own-as-bgp-on-freebsd-with-frr-gre-tunnels-and-policy-routing/
190•todsacerdoti•23h ago•73 comments

Toma (YC W24) Is Hiring Founding Engineers

https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/toma/jobs/oONUnCf-founding-engineer-ai-products
1•anthonykrivonos•14h ago

Dave Farber has died

https://lists.nanog.org/archives/list/nanog@lists.nanog.org/thread/TSNPJVFH4DKLINIKSMRIIVNHDG5XKJCM/
266•vitplister•1d ago•42 comments

Exploiting signed bootloaders to circumvent UEFI Secure Boot (2019)

https://habr.com/en/articles/446238/
130•todsacerdoti•22h ago•72 comments

A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working on modern PCs and Steam Deck

https://gtaforums.com/topic/986492-grand-theft-auto-ready2play-full-game-windows-version/
203•HelloUsername•16h ago•105 comments