frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Made with ♥ by @iamnishanth

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

Understanding Java's Asynchronous Journey

https://amritpandey.io/understanding-javas-asynchronous-journey/
17•hardasspunk•11mo ago

Comments

Neywiny•11mo ago
I don't get it. The first example in JS vs Java looks very similar. Now all those other code blocks, they certainly have more going on but idk how that compares to JS. And to answer the questions:

A completable future is something that in the future may complete. I think that's self explanatory. A promise seems equally vague.

Boilerplate looks the same. JS is just a function, Java they put a class around it. Java requires exception handling which is annoying but having fought errors in async JS, I'll take all I can get.

API is eh. Sure. But that's not even shown in this example so I have no idea.

So JS saves like 3 lines? Is that really so much better?

cogman10•11mo ago
> A completable future is something that in the future may complete. I think that's self explanatory.

But not the reason for the name :).

It's called "completable" because these futures have a method on them `future.complete("value")`. Before their introduction, there was a `Future` API that java had.

nogridbag•11mo ago
Yeah that first example is rather poor. And it uses the word boilerpate to seemingly refer to the stuff unrelated to the async code (class declaration, exception handling, main method).

I don't use Java async much, but I guess if you have a utility method named "setTimeout" than the example can simply be:

    public CompletableFuture<String> fetchData() {
        return setTimeout(() -> "Data Fetched", 10000);
    }

    public void loadData() {
        fetchData().thenAccept(System.out::println);
    }
Which is simpler or equivalent to the JS example.
stevoski•11mo ago
The Java 1 example uses lambdas, which were introduced in Java 8.

It’s probably intentional, because it allows showing the Java 1 Thread approach succinctly.

But as long-term Java person, I find it jarring.

philipwhiuk•11mo ago
Java's had `var` since Java 10 but apparently the author deliberately ignored that to make the example as wordy as possible.

It's a little tiring to read a Java example with an entry-point (the public-static-void bit) and then a JavaScript example without one.

If you strip that out the original Java is:

  var future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> {
        try {
                Thread.sleep(10000);
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
            return "Data Fetched";
        });
  future.thenAccept(result -> System.out.println(result));
  System.out.println("Prints first"); // prints before the async result
which is only obtuse due to checked exceptions.

Arguably it's still a different thing you're doing, because it's not scheduling a task on a pool, it's creating a thread which sleeps for 10 seconds.

elric•11mo ago
`var` is very unhelpful in situations where the reader might not be entirely familiar with the context, especially when using factory methods.

I don't think the author was trying to make the example "wordy" so much as "clear".

cogman10•11mo ago
Also, arguably, the wrong way to do something like this.

The author uses `setTimeout` for javascript. The equivalent for Java is either the `Timer` class or a `ScheduledExecutorService`. Doing a `Thread.sleep` simply isn't how you should approach this.

With that in mind, if you want to use both these things and keep the completable future interface you'd have to do soemthing like this.

    ScheduledExecutorService scheduler = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
    var future = new CompletableFuture<String>();
    scheduler.schedule(()->future.complete("Data Fetched"), 10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
    future.thenAccept(result -> System.out.println(result));
    System.out.println("Prints first"); // prints before the async result
    scheduler.shutdown();
wpollock•11mo ago
In Java 24, new features support educational and demonstration use. You don't need a class to wrap your main method, which also has a simpler signature. To compare JavaScript with Java examples, one should make use of these features.

While the examples may need some work, I enjoyed this post, it nicely shows the evolution of Java concurrency.

AtlasBarfed•11mo ago
Does no.js still limit you to a single core/CPU use?

Or as a node successfully been able to start utilizing more cores underneath its JavaScript single thread model. It presents the programmer?

I just remember early node.js from like 15 years ago and the single background task limitation of JavaScript running in a web page.

Cuz you got async code is nice, but what you really wanted to be able to harness in modern CPUs is multi-core

That said, I've been looking for an article like this for a while, although I think there are other associated libraries that also had steps in here. I do think the jvm adopted a lot of those, but I'm not sure if they actually are better than the original extension libraries.

msgilligan•11mo ago
I simplified the first example to:

  void main() {
      CompletableFuture<String> future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(this::asyncMethod);
      future.thenAccept(result -> IO.println(result));
      IO.println("Prints first");             // prints before the async result
      future.join();                          // Wait for future to complete
  }

  String asyncMethod() {
      try {
          Thread.sleep(10000);
      } catch (InterruptedException e) {
          return "Interrupted";
      }
      return "Data Fetched";
  }
I made the following changes:

1. Move the asynchronous function called in the CompletableFuture to its own method

2. Use Java 25 "instance main method" (see JEP 25: https://openjdk.org/jeps/512)

3. Use Java 25 IO.println() to simplify console output

4. Instead of throwing a fatal exception on interruption, return "Interrupted" immediately.

5. Use future.join() so the main method waits for the future to complete and the "Data fetched" output is printed.

This program can be run directly from source with `java Example.java`. (If you're using Java 24 or a version of Java 25 prior to EA 22, you need to use `java --enable-preview Example.java`)

Here is a modified version of the example that interrupts the thread:

  void main() {
      ExecutorService executor = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
      CompletableFuture<String> future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(this::asyncMethod, executor);
      future.thenAccept(result -> IO.println(result));
      IO.println("Prints first");             // prints before the async result
      executor.shutdownNow();
      future.join();                          // Wait for future to complete
  }

  String asyncMethod() {
      try {
          Thread.sleep(10000);
      } catch (InterruptedException e) {
          return "Interrrupted";
      }
      return "Data Fetched";
  }

Darkbloom – Private inference on idle Macs

https://darkbloom.dev
46•twapi•1h ago•29 comments

The paper computer

https://jsomers.net/blog/the-paper-computer
81•jsomers•3d ago•13 comments

A Look into NaviDial, Japan's Legacy Phone Service

https://www.tokyodev.com/articles/a-look-into-navidial-japan-s-legacy-phone-service
12•pwim•46m ago•1 comments

Cybersecurity looks like proof of work now

https://www.dbreunig.com/2026/04/14/cybersecurity-is-proof-of-work-now.html
327•dbreunig•1d ago•114 comments

FSF trying to contact Google about spammer sending 10k+ mails from Gmail account

https://daedal.io/@thomzane/116410863009847575
11•pabs3•1h ago•1 comments

ChatGPT for Excel

https://chatgpt.com/apps/spreadsheets/
150•armcat•7h ago•108 comments

I made a terminal pager

https://theleo.zone/posts/pager/
97•speckx•6h ago•20 comments

RedSun: System user access on Win 11/10 and Server with the April 2026 Update

https://github.com/Nightmare-Eclipse/RedSun
15•airhangerf15•1h ago•0 comments

Introduction to spherical harmonics for graphics programmers

https://gpfault.net/posts/sph.html
55•luu•2d ago•6 comments

Cal.com is going closed source

https://cal.com/blog/cal-com-goes-closed-source-why
257•Benjamin_Dobell•13h ago•186 comments

God sleeps in the minerals

https://wchambliss.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/god-sleeps-in-the-minerals/
498•speckx•16h ago•99 comments

Google broke its promise to me – now ICE has my data

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-broke-its-promise-me-now-ice-has-my-data
1281•Brajeshwar•11h ago•551 comments

Stealth signals are bypassing Iran’s internet blackout

https://spectrum.ieee.org/iran-internet-blackout-satellite-tv
67•WaitWaitWha•2h ago•12 comments

Show HN: Hiraeth – AWS Emulator

https://github.com/SethPyle376/hiraeth
14•ozarkerD•2h ago•4 comments

The buns in McDonald's Japan's burger photos are all slightly askew

https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/en/menu/burger/
317•bckygldstn•7h ago•165 comments

Retrofitting JIT Compilers into C Interpreters

https://tratt.net/laurie/blog/2026/retrofitting_jit_compilers_into_c_interpreters.html
63•ltratt•17h ago•14 comments

PiCore - Raspberry Pi Port of Tiny Core Linux

http://tinycorelinux.net/5.x/armv6/releases/README
94•gregsadetsky•9h ago•12 comments

Live Nation illegally monopolized ticketing market, jury finds

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-15/live-nation-illegally-monopolized-ticketing-ma...
477•Alex_Bond•10h ago•140 comments

AWS/GCP too expensive? Cloudexit.pro will help you move to bare-metal

https://cloudexit.pro/
9•avallark•17m ago•4 comments

US v. Heppner (S.D.N.Y. 2026) no attorney-client privilege for AI chats [pdf]

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/xmvjyjekkpr/Rakoff%20-%20order%20-%20AI.pdf
110•1vuio0pswjnm7•15h ago•85 comments

Anna's Archive loses $322M Spotify piracy case without a fight

https://torrentfreak.com/annas-archive-loses-322-million-spotify-piracy-case-without-a-fight/
377•askl•21h ago•393 comments

The Gemini app is now on Mac

https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/gemini-app-now-on-mac-os/
117•thm•11h ago•56 comments

Fast and Easy Levenshtein distance using a Trie

https://stevehanov.ca/blog/fast-and-easy-levenshtein-distance-using-a-trie
9•sebg•3d ago•0 comments

YouTube users get option to set their Shorts time limit to zero minutes

https://www.theverge.com/streaming/912898/youtube-shorts-feed-limit-zero-minutes
256•pentagrama•5h ago•112 comments

Intel Xpress Resurrection: Reviving a Forgotten EISA Beast

https://x86.fr/intel-xpress-resurrection-reviving-a-forgotten-eisa-beast/
37•ankitg12•3d ago•3 comments

Agent - Native Mac OS X coding ide/harness

https://github.com/macOS26/Agent
21•jv22222•4h ago•4 comments

CRISPR takes important step toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-crispr-bold-silencing-syndrome-extra.html
105•amichail•12h ago•64 comments

Do you even need a database?

https://www.dbpro.app/blog/do-you-even-need-a-database
229•upmostly•16h ago•259 comments

Hacker News CLI (2014)

https://pythonhosted.org/hackernews-cli/commands.html
44•rolph•7h ago•20 comments

Adaptional (YC S25) is hiring AI engineers

https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/adaptional/jobs/k7W6ge9-founding-engineer
1•acesohc•12h ago