5 Reasons to Use Promise.try()

First of all, Promise.try is still in experimental mode. You can check its compatibility on caniuse.com. This method can be helpful in various cases. Let’s look at the most useful ones:

1. Handle Both Synchronous and Asynchronous Operations

Promise.try allows you to write mostly the same code for both synchronous and asynchronous operations.

const result = Promise.try(() => {
  if (someCondition) {
    return syncFunction();
  } else {
    return asyncFunction();
  }
}).then(result => {
  console.log('Result:', result);
}).catch(err => {
  console.error('Error:', err);
});

2. Handle Errors in Synchronous Code

Wrapping synchronous code in Promise.try gives you the option to handle errors in your synchronous code as if it were asynchronous.

const result = Promise.try(() => {
  // synchronous code that might throw an error
  return someFunction();
}).catch(err => {
  console.error('Error:', err);
});

3. Reduce Nested try-catch Blocks

Promise.try can make your code more readable and understandable by other developers by eliminating the need for nested try-catch blocks.

Promise.try(() => {
  // some code
  return someOtherFunction();
}).then(result => {
  // handle result
}).catch(err => {
  // handle error
});

4. Avoid Unnecessary Promises

Using Promise.try instead of always creating a promise with Promise.resolve can improve readability and slightly improve performance.

// Instead of wrapping everything in Promise.resolve, which always creates a promise:
const promise = Promise.resolve().then(() => syncFunction());

// Use Promise.try to only create a promise if necessary:
const promise = Promise.try(syncFunction);

5. Simplify Complex Flows

By using Promise.try, you can improve the understanding of both synchronous and asynchronous logic by creating a simpler structure.

function processInput(input) {
  return Promise.try(() => {
    if (typeof input === 'string') {
      return syncFunction(input);
    } else if (typeof input === 'number') {
      return asyncFunction(input);
    } else {
      throw new Error('Invalid input type');
    }
  });
}

Bonus: Functional Programming Paradigm

Promise.try aligns well with the functional programming paradigm since it receives an argument as a function.

const performTask = (task) => {
  return Promise.try(task).then(result => {
    console.log('Task result:', result);
  }).catch(err => {
    console.error('Task error:', err);
  });
};

performTask(syncTask);
performTask(asyncTask);

Conclusion

Promise.try() offers a unique approach to handling both synchronous and asynchronous code seamlessly. It's worth trying on your pet projects to see how it can enhance your programming practices, but remember that it's still in the experimental stage.

Thanks for hanging out! Hit subscribe for more! 👋