How JavaScript's Event Loop Handles Async Tasks While Staying Single-Threaded

JavaScript is single-threaded yet manages asynchronous operations like API calls, timers, and file reads without blocking execution — a behaviour explained by the event loop. When async tasks are triggered, they are delegated to external APIs, and their callbacks are queued until the call stack is free. The event loop does not treat all queued tasks equally: it processes microtasks, such as Promise callbacks, before macrotasks like setTimeout handlers. This priority system explains why a resolved Promise executes before a setTimeout callback even when the timer appears earlier in the code. Grasping this execution order helps developers predict async behaviour and write more reliable JavaScript.
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