RxSwift vs Async/Await

Developers should learn RxSwift when building iOS/macOS apps that involve complex asynchronous workflows, such as real-time data updates, event-driven UI interactions, or managing multiple concurrent tasks meets developers should learn async/await when working with i/o-bound operations, such as network requests, file system access, or database queries, to avoid blocking the main thread and improve application responsiveness. Here's our take.

RxSwift

Nice Pick

Developers should learn RxSwift when building iOS/macOS apps that involve complex asynchronous workflows, such as real-time data updates, event-driven UI interactions, or managing multiple concurrent tasks

Pros

• It is particularly useful in MVVM architectures for binding view models to UI components, handling API calls with retry logic, and implementing debounced search inputs
• Related to: swift, reactive-programming

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Async/Await

Developers should learn async/await when working with I/O-bound operations, such as network requests, file system access, or database queries, to avoid blocking the main thread and improve application responsiveness

Pros

• It is particularly useful in web development for handling API calls, in server-side applications for managing concurrent tasks, and in any scenario where performance and scalability are critical, as it helps manage complex asynchronous workflows more cleanly than traditional callback or promise-based approaches
• Related to: javascript, promises

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. RxSwift is a library while Async/Await is a concept. We picked RxSwift based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

RxSwift wins

Based on overall popularity. RxSwift is more widely used, but Async/Await excels in its own space.