In the world of computing, "synchronous" is the default. One line of code runs, the computer waits for it to finish, and then it moves to the next.
This paper presents the design and implementation of the Google File System (GFS), a large-scale distributed file system that uses asynchronous replication to achieve high availability and fault tolerance. asynchronically
Synchronous work is reactive. The phone rings; you answer. The notification dings; you look. Asynchronous work is proactive. In the world of computing, "synchronous" is the default
If you are writing code, you can produce data or "pieces" of information without blocking your main program: Synchronous work is reactive
To work is to decouple action from immediate reaction. It is the art of moving forward without requiring everyone else to move at the exact same second. While the business world spent the last century obsessed with sync—meetings, calls, huddles, and "just quick chats"—a quiet revolution is arguing that the future belongs to the async.