Editing Coroutine (section)

{{Short description|Computer software component}}
{{external links|date=April 2024}}
'''Coroutines''' are [[computer program]] components that allow execution to be suspended and resumed, generalizing [[subroutine]]s for [[non-preemptive multitasking|cooperative multitasking]]. Coroutines are well-suited for implementing familiar program components such as [[cooperative multitasking|cooperative task]]s, [[exception handling|exception]]s, [[event loop]]s, [[iterator]]s, [[lazy evaluation|infinite list]]s and [[pipeline (software)|pipe]]s.

They have been described as "functions whose execution you can pause".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-11 |title=How the heck does async/await work in Python 3.5? |url=https://snarky.ca/how-the-heck-does-async-await-work-in-python-3-5/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Tall, Snarky Canadian |language=en-ca |archive-date=2023-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110140918/https://snarky.ca/how-the-heck-does-async-await-work-in-python-3-5/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Melvin Conway]] coined the term ''coroutine'' in 1958 when he applied it to the construction of an [[assembly language|assembly program]].<ref name="KnuthVol1_1_4_5" /> The first published explanation of the coroutine appeared later, in 1963.<ref name="Conway1963"/>