What is the difference between async map and regular map?

Question

Accepted Answer

**async map** processes items concurrently in an async context. **regular map** processes sequentially.

```python
import asyncio

async def process(item):
    await asyncio.sleep(1)  # Simulate async work
    return item * 2

async def main():
    items = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Regular map — sequential (5 seconds)
    results = []
    for item in items:
        result = await process(item)  # Waits each time
        results.append(result)

# Async map — concurrent (1 second)
    tasks = [process(item) for item in items]
    results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)

# Using map function
    async def async_map(func, iterable):
        return await asyncio.gather(*[func(item) for item in iterable])

results = await async_map(process, items)
    print(results)  # [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]

asyncio.run(main())
```

**Performance:**
- Sequential: O(n × time_per_item).
- Concurrent: O(time_per_item) with gather.

Python: What is the difference between async map and regular map?