wait for async javascript function to return

Question

I am using a function supplied by a third party library. This function takes a callback function as a parameter, but I would like to wait for this callback to be called before continuing. Is there a standard / accepted way to do this?

Answer 1

I am not sure if this is a possible solution for you but you can achieve the desired result by breaking your code into 2 functions. Suppose this is what you intend to do:

Basically this is your original function:

function origFunc() {

    codeBeforeThirdPartyFunc();
    ThirdPartyFunc(oldCallBackFunc);
    Wait();
    codeAfterCallBackFunc();
}

You can modify the code flow with something like:

function newFunc() {
    codeBeforeThirdPartyFunc();
    ThirdPartyFunc(newCallBackFunc);
}
function newCallBackFunc() {
  oldCallBackFunc();
  codeAfterCallBackFunc();
}

This will eliminate the wait loop. And as far as I know, busy waiting doesn't work in IE (because ? God only knows)..

Answer 2

Here's another method of loading jQuery asynchronously, which doesn't depend on another script.