#5: Thinking Asynchronously :: NodeCasts: Free Node.js Screencasts

Episode 5: Thinking Asynchronously

Published Aug 26, 2026 · 12:31 · 11 comments

If you have only ever written synchronous programs, asynchronous code can feel strange at first. This episode looks at the patterns that keep showing up and the traps that catch people out once your code runs asynchronously, and it introduces a flow control library for managing several nested asynchronous operations at once.

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Show Notes

This episode was recorded against Node.js v0.8.8. You can look over the downloads and the documentation for that release.

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Comments

Avatar of Jonathan Tushman
Jonathan Tushman, 14 years ago

Brandon, these are really great -- please keep these up. I love RailsCasts -- and I really think this is filling a void in Node-land. I am sure that these take a lot of work, I appreciate the time you are dedicating to this. I am sure you have a long list of things you want to cover: but to add to the list: - express - socket.io - hosting / deployment (best way to provision a ec2 server, or should we use heroku or the like) - templating (mustache, jade, etc ...) Thanks!

Avatar of DeannRie
DeannRie, 14 years ago

when will the new video?

Avatar of Mark Eliasen
Mark Eliasen, 14 years ago

Thank you soo much for the vids so far. I always found it hard to learn Node as most resources talked about node as if you already had a fundamental knowledge of how it worked. At some later date I would also love to see some videos on express and Socket.io, but please do keep the fundamental videos coming, they are brilliant! (Ps. put up a donate button so I can give you a beer!)

Avatar of Prem Pillai
Prem Pillai, 14 years ago

Please tell me this is not dead. This is clearly the best node tutorial series I've seen out there.

Avatar of Robert Dober
Robert Dober, 13 years ago

Agree with Prem all casts are very concise, very informative, just very excellent :)

Avatar of Denis Leukhin
Denis Leukhin, 13 years ago

I hope you have not abandoned the project.

Avatar of Bharadwaj Parthasarathy
Bharadwaj Parthasarathy, 13 years ago

Thanks a lot for posting these videos. The videos helped me understand node and npm. Please continue posting more videos. Requests: Express more on async underscore - I saw you used underscore as an example for npm. What is underscore?

Avatar of unknown
unknown, 13 years ago

Hi, Nice screencast! This NodeCast will be a good project! I'm from brazil and I am a Node.js enthusiastic. This is my blog and there are a lot of posts about Node.js http://www.udgwebdev.com

Avatar of unknown
unknown, 13 years ago

I agree with the other folks these video cast are outstanding. The most concise node.js content I have seen to date.

Avatar of Thomas
Thomas, 13 years ago

These are super helpful. The content is great and the pacing just right. Thank you.

mikepc, 12 years ago: I want to agree with everyone and say that you are filling in a lot of blanks for me. I really appreciate all your hard work, and would love to see more! Rock on!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to "think asynchronously" in Node.js?
Asynchronous programming can be difficult if you're not used to it. This episode walks through common patterns and pitfalls for working in an asynchronous environment, so you can reason about code that doesn't run top-to-bottom the way synchronous code does.
What is a flow control library, and why would I use one?
This episode introduces a flow control library to handle multiple nested asynchronous operations. Instead of deeply nesting callbacks, a flow control library gives you a structured way to coordinate several asynchronous operations.
Which flow control library is covered in this episode?
The show notes link to async, with references to its GitHub repository and its npm package.
Where can I find the source code for the examples?
The show notes link to the source code for the examples used in this episode on GitHub.
Which version of Node.js was used in this episode?
The episode was recorded with Node.js v0.8.8. The show notes include links to the downloads and documentation for that version.

Copyright © 2012 Brandon Tilley

Node.js is an official trademark of Joyent. This site is not formally related to or endorsed by the official Joyent Node.js open source or commercial project.

Asynchronous thinking is a core skill for Node.js developers, and this episode is a starting point for building it. Pair the screencast with the linked source code and the async library references in the show notes to see how nested callbacks can be organized into clearer, more maintainable flows.