🎯 JavaScript Promisifying: Ordering Akara with a Callback vs a Promise

🍽️ The Callback Way: Mama Akara’s Corner

Imagine you’re super hungry on a Saturday morning, and you decide to go get Akara—those delicious fried bean cakes—from Mama Akara’s roadside spot. You walk up to her and say:

“Mama, I want ₦200 Akara!”

Mama Akara smiles and replies:

“No wahala my pikin! Come back in 10 minutes—I go call you when e ready.”

So, you go sit down nearby, maybe watching the okada riders zoom by. But your ears are always alert—waiting for Mama Akara to shout:

“Akara don ready o! Come collect am!”

That shout is like a callback. You left your name with Mama Akara (a function), and when the Akara was ready, she called you back with the result.

🧃 The Promise Way: The Fancy Akara App

Now imagine there’s a new joint in town—AkaraXpress—and they do things with technology.

You place your order online using their app. Right away, you get a tracking link that says:

“Track your Akara here. You’ll be notified when it’s ready.”

That tracking link is a Promise!

While you wait, you can relax, read comics, or play video games.
When the Akara is ready, the app pings you—.then()
If something goes wrong (they run out of beans or kerosene 😬), you get an error message—.catch()

You can even await the Akara like this:

const akara = await orderAkara();
console.log("Yay! My Akara is here:", akara);

That’s comfort and code all in one!

🛠️ So… What Is Promisifying?

Let’s say Mama Akara (the callback shop) wants to upgrade and reach more customers.

She doesn’t stop frying Akara her usual way, but you build her a simple app that wraps her old process with a modern Promise-based tracking feature.

That’s promisifying.

You didn’t change how she fries the Akara—you just made it easier for people to know when it’s ready without hanging around all day.

💻 In Code: Akara Callback vs Promisified Akara

// Callback-style function
function orderAkara(amount, callback) {
  setTimeout(() => {
    if (amount)
      callback(null, `Here is your ₦${amount} Akara 🫘`);
    else
      callback("No amount specified!");
  }, 1000);
}

// Promisified version
function orderAkaraPromise(amount) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    orderAkara(amount, (err, result) => {
      if (err) reject(err);
      else resolve(result);
    });
  });
}

// Using the Promise
orderAkaraPromise(200)
  .then(akara => console.log("😋", akara))
  .catch(error => console.error("❌", error));

🧠 In a Nutshell

Callbacks = Waiting for Mama Akara to call you back
Promises = Getting a link from AkaraXpress to track your order
Promisifying = Helping Mama Akara use a tracking app without changing how she fries Akara

It’s all about making old code work with new systems, just like helping small businesses go digital!

🎮 Practice

Let’s test your knowledge with these tasty questions:

What’s the difference between Mama Akara’s callback and AkaraXpress’s promise?
Can you think of something else in real life that works like a callback?
What does it mean to “promisify” Mama Akara’s business?
If you were designing an Akara delivery app, would you use callbacks or promises? Why?

Try converting this sandwich function into a Promise:

function makeSandwich(ingredients, callback) {
  if (!ingredients.length)
    callback("No ingredients!");
  else
    callback(null, "Sandwich ready!");
}

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