---
id: javascript-async-callbacks
title: "JavaScript Async Callbacks"
category: "Frontend"
status: "draft"
verification_status: "conceptual"
canonical_id: ""
aliases: ["Callbacks", "Callback functions", "Error-first callbacks", "Callback hell", "JS callbacks"]
duplicate_of: ""
source_trust_level: "B"
confidence_score: 0.88
created_at: 2026-06-23
updated_at: 2026-06-23
review_reason: ""
merge_history: []
tags: ["javascript", "js", "web", "frontend", "w3schools", "callbacks", "asynchronous"]
raw_sources: ["https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_async_callbacks.asp"]
applied_in: []
github_commit: ""
---

# [[JavaScript Async Callbacks]]

## 🎯 한 줄 통찰 (One-line insight)
A callback is a function passed as an argument into another function, intended to run later — the first solution for sequencing asynchronous JavaScript. [S1]

## 🧠 핵심 개념 (Core concepts)
- **What a callback is** — a function passed as an argument into another function, intended for later execution, typically when an event occurs or an async operation completes. [S1]
- **Why callbacks exist** — async code finishes later, so you cannot return its result immediately; instead you pass a callback to run once the result is ready, enabling sequential control. [S1]
- **Error-first pattern** — pass two parameters, error first then data, so the function can handle failures gracefully. [S1]
- **Callback hell** — deeply nested callbacks create complex, hard-to-read structures that complicate debugging. [S1]
- **Modern alternatives** — Promises and async/await provide cleaner flow and better error handling, and modern asynchronous JavaScript does not use callbacks. [S1]

## 🧩 추출된 패턴 (Extracted patterns)
- **Pass-a-function-to-run-later** — give a function a callback parameter and invoke it once work is done (e.g. `myCalculator(5, 5, myDisplayer)`). [S1]
- **Error-first signature** — `callback(error, data)`; check `error` first and `return` early on failure. [S1]
- **Event-listener callback** — `addEventListener("click", displayDate)` runs the callback on the event. [S1]

## 📖 세부 내용 (Details)
**Event handling**
Callbacks handle user interactions through event listeners; the listener runs the callback when the user clicks: [S1]
```javascript
document.getElementById("myButton").addEventListener("click", displayDate);
```

**Asynchronous operations with setTimeout**
`setTimeout()` uses a callback that executes after the delay without freezing the page: [S1]
```javascript
setTimeout(myFunction, 3000);

function myFunction() {
  document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = "I love You !!";
}
```

**The timing problem**
Async code finishes later, so the result is not available immediately: [S1]
```javascript
let result;

setTimeout(function() {
  result = 5;
}, 1000);

// What is result here?
```

**The callback idea**
Instead of reading the result directly, pass it into a function that runs when ready: [S1]
```javascript
function done(value) {
  myDisplayer(value);
}

setTimeout(function() {
  done(5);
}, 1000);

// What is result here?
```

**Sequence control — first approach (return then display)**
[S1]
```javascript
function myDisplayer(some) {
  document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = some;
}

function myCalculator(num1, num2) {
  let sum = num1 + num2;
  return sum;
}

let result = myCalculator(5, 5);
myDisplayer(result);
```

**Sequence control — second approach (display inside)**
[S1]
```javascript
function myDisplayer(some) {
  document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = some;
}

function myCalculator(num1, num2) {
  let sum = num1 + num2;
  myDisplayer(sum);
}

myCalculator(5, 5);
```

**Using callbacks**
Pass the displayer in as a callback so the caller controls what happens with the result: [S1]
```javascript
function myDisplayer(some) {
  document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = some;
}

function myCalculator(num1, num2, myCallback) {
  let sum = num1 + num2;
  myCallback(sum);
}

myCalculator(5, 5, myDisplayer);
```

**Error-first callbacks — success case**
[S1]
```javascript
function getData(callback) {
  let ok = true;

  if (ok) {
    callback(null, "Data");
  } else {
    callback("Something failed", null);
  }
}

getData(function(error, data) {
  if (error) {
    myDisplayer(error);
    return;
  }
  myDisplayer(data);
});
```

**Error-first callbacks — failure case**
[S1]
```javascript
function getData(callback) {
  let ok = false;

  if (ok) {
    callback(null, "Data");
  } else {
    callback("Something failed", null);
  }
}

getData(function(error, data) {
  if (error) {
    myDisplayer(error);
    return;
  }
  myDisplayer(data);
});
```

**Callback drawbacks (callback hell)**
Deeply nested callbacks become hard to read and debug: [S1]
```javascript
step1(function(r1) {
  step2(r1, function(r2) {
    step3(r2, function(r3) {
      console.log(r3);
    });
  });
});
```
Modern asynchronous JavaScript does not use callbacks; Promises and async/await are recommended instead. [S1]

## 🛠️ 적용 사례 (Applied in summary)
The page's snippets — the `myCalculator(5, 5, myDisplayer)` callback handoff, the error-first `getData` pattern, and the nested `step1/step2/step3` "callback hell" — are the canonical applied examples. No external project/commit applications found in the source.

## 💻 코드 패턴 (Code patterns)
Pass a callback to run later (language: JavaScript):
```javascript
function myCalculator(num1, num2, myCallback) {
  let sum = num1 + num2;
  myCallback(sum);
}

myCalculator(5, 5, myDisplayer);
```
Error-first callback:
```javascript
getData(function(error, data) {
  if (error) {
    myDisplayer(error);
    return;
  }
  myDisplayer(data);
});
```

## ⚖️ 비교 및 선택 기준 (Comparison & decision criteria)
- **Callbacks** — the original async solution; pass a function to run later. Drawback: nesting becomes "callback hell," hard to read and chain. [S1]
- **Promises / async-await** — recommended modern alternatives providing cleaner flow and better error handling; modern asynchronous JavaScript does not use callbacks. [S1]

## ⚖️ 모순 및 업데이트 (Contradictions & updates)
No contradictions found in the source.

## ✅ 검증 상태 및 신뢰도
- **상태:** draft
- **검증 단계:** conceptual (실제 적용 사례 발견 시 applied/validated로 승격 가능)
- **출처 신뢰도:** B (W3Schools — widely used educational reference, not a primary standards body)
- **신뢰 점수:** 0.88
- **중복 검사 결과:** 신규 생성 (New discovery)

## 🔗 지식 그래프 (Knowledge Graph)
- **상위/루트:** [[JavaScript Tutorial]]
- **관련 개념:** [[JavaScript Async Timeouts]], [[JavaScript Promise]], [[JavaScript Async Await]], [[JavaScript Async]]
- **참조 맥락:** The first solution to async sequencing, motivating Promises as the cleaner successor.

## 📚 출처 (Sources)
- [S1] W3Schools — JavaScript Async Callbacks — https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_async_callbacks.asp

## 📝 변경 이력 (Change history)
- 2026-06-23: Initial draft synthesized from the W3Schools "JavaScript Async Callbacks" page (Astra wiki-curation, P-Reinforce v3.1 format).
