[smart (OP)]

Hi,

Since the HTTP 1.1 protocol is synchronous, and HTTP 2.0 is still in development, what is the purpose of asynchronous web programming in Python3 ? Are newer platforms like Android developed for asynchronous frameworks in mind ?

What do you think?
 

[evan_au]

what is the purpose of asynchronous web programming in Python3 ?

Asynchronous programming means that your program can do multiple things at once, without the different "threads" interfering with each other too much.

So you can have one "thread" of execution prompting a user for input, while another thread downloads some data, and another thread listens for requests coming in from other users.

If done well, it can produce applications that handle far more users, and are more responsive.
If done poorly, it can result in obscure bugs that appear and disappear randomly, and are almost impossible to find.

the HTTP 1.1 protocol is synchronous, and HTTP 2.0 is still in development

The structure of your program is somewhat independent from the protocol you are using.

You can handle an asynchronous protocol with a single-threaded program, and vice-versa.
But it is simpler to write the software if you have a multi-threaded environment to handle multiple concurrent users and tasks.

HTTP 2.0 is still in development

HTTP 2.0 was finalized in 2015, and many sites now support it.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP/2

[smart (OP)]

Don't forget that the HTTP protocol is synchronous. So, I wander if the hype on asynchronous programming is to develop new frameworks for parallel computing (like machine learning) while moving away from the HTTP protocol designed for humans in mind.