yo-async-effects

Yo Async and Effects

Use this skill for single-threaded async workflows and algebraic-effect-based APIs in Yo.

If a repository wraps these primitives, keep the same semantics and verify whether the wrapper changes naming only or behavior too.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• write functions that take an io : Io parameter
• return or consume Future(...) values
• run tasks with io.async, io.await, or io.spawn
• define handlers using ctl(args) -> R and install them as plain local bindings
• reason about return versus unwind in handlers

Workflow

1. Decide whether the task needs sequential async, concurrent async on one thread, or true parallelism.
2. Add the effect parameters (io : Io, raise : Raise, …) to function signatures and call sites. There is no implicit injection — pass them explicitly.
3. Use the async and effects recipes for working patterns.
4. Re-check handler semantics before finalizing:
   • return(value) resumes the continuation
   • unwind(expr) discards it (only valid inside a ctl(...) -> R body)

High-signal rules

• io.async(fn) creates a lazy future; it does not start until awaited or spawned.
• io.await(future, e) runs or waits for the future and returns its result. e is the effect bundle the future expects.
• io.spawn(future, e) starts it without waiting and returns JoinHandle(T).
• handle.await(io) returns Option(T); .None means the task aborted via unwind.
• Future types are Future(T) or Future(T, E) where E is a single effect bundle (typically a struct). Pack multiple effects into one struct rather than passing them as separate type arguments.
• Effects are passed as explicit parameters — pass them by name at call sites.
• A handler whose body may unwind must be typed ctl(args) -> R; otherwise type it fn(args) -> R. Subtyping is one-way: fn(T) -> R <: ctl(T) -> R.
• return(value) inside a handler resumes the continuation; unwind(expr) discards it and exits the install frame.
• Exception — non-resumable; handler calls unwind(...) to exit. ResumableException(T) — handler calls return(...) to resume.
• Closures cannot be ctl and cannot capture ctl values. Handlers are bare (non-capturing) anonymous functions.
• Yo async is single-threaded concurrency, not multithreaded parallelism.

Resource

• Yo async and effects recipes