Is there a generic notion of asynchronous programming in python? Could I assign a callback to a function, execute it and return to the main program flow immediately, no matt
Take a look here:
Asynchronous Programming in Python
An Introduction to Asynchronous Programming and Twisted
Worth checking out:
asyncio (previously Tulip) has been checked into the Python default branch
Today Python has asyncIO — Asynchronous I/O, event loop, coroutines and tasks built in.
Description taken from the link above:
The asyncIO module provides infrastructure for writing single-threaded concurrent code using coroutines, multiplexing I/O access over sockets and other resources, running network clients and servers, and other related primitives. Here is a more detailed list of the package contents:
- a pluggable event loop with various system-specific implementations;
- transport and protocol abstractions (similar to those in Twisted);
- concrete support for TCP, UDP, SSL, subprocess pipes, delayed calls, and others (some may be system-dependent);
- a Future class that mimics the one in the concurrent.futures module, but adapted for use with the event loop;
- coroutines and tasks based on yield from (PEP 380), to help write concurrent code in a sequential fashion;
- cancellation support for Futures and coroutines;
- synchronization primitives for use between coroutines in a single thread, mimicking those in the threading module;
- an interface for passing work off to a threadpool, for times when you absolutely, positively have to use a library that makes blocking I/O calls.
Asynchronous programming is more complex than classical “sequential” programming: see the Develop with asyncio page which lists common traps and explains how to avoid them. Enable the debug mode during development to detect common issues.
Also worth checking out:
A guide to asynchronous programming in Python with asyncIO