How does Coroutines in Android work internally in Android SDK?

Coroutines in Android are a powerful feature for managing asynchronous programming. They provide a lightweight way to handle concurrency, making it easier to write and maintain code that interacts with threads and background tasks. Internally, Android's Coroutine system utilizes a combination of suspension functions, dispatchers, and builders to facilitate asynchronous operations without blocking the main thread.

When a coroutine is launched, it runs within a coroutine scope which defines its lifecycle. A dispatcher determines which thread the coroutine runs on, and suspension points allow a coroutine to pause its execution without blocking the thread it's running on. This means that you can perform long-running tasks (like network requests or database operations) without freezing the UI, providing a smooth user experience.

Here is a simple example of how to use coroutines in an Android application:

        import kotlinx.coroutines.*

        fun main() = runBlocking {
            launch {
                // Simulating a long-running task
                delay(1000L) // Non-blocking delay for 1 second
                println("Coroutine after 1 second")
            }
            println("Hello,") // Main thread continues while coroutine is delayed
        }
        

Coroutines Android Asynchronous Programming Concurrency Kotlin Dispatchers