CommandLineApplication.ExecuteAsync is inherently synchronous

[rlvandaveer]

Describe the bug
ExecuteAsync is not asynchronous. This seems related to bugs #153 and #196.

All of the ExecuteAsync methods eventually call the method below in CommandLineApplication.Execute.cs.

        public static Task<int> ExecuteAsync<TApp>(CommandLineContext context)
            where TApp : class
            => Task.FromResult(Execute<TApp>(context));

As you may well know, this method uses Task.FromResult to wrap a slew of synchronous calls in a task. This is inherently synchronous and effectively just deceives the consumer into thinking that their commands will execute asynchronously.

Expected behavior
Instead of wrapping synchronous code, the asynchronous execution should have its own separate async path.

I've logged this as a bug because the methods exist, but I realize that with the amount of work necessary to remediate, this is likely a feature request.

[natemcmaster]

The library was originally written before async main was a thing C# supported. Async methods were retrofitted to the original API. I've tried hard to avoid breaking changes, but this one comes up enough that I think it's time to address it.Fixing this requires a breaking change. Now that I'm done with 2.3, I would consider taking a PR to fix this. If your willing to do the work, let me know (see #206).

cc @TheConstructor

[rlvandaveer]

I totally understand. I started to go down the async route for my current project which is making hundreds to thousands of asynchronous HTTP requests and then noticed the code was sync. I will look at the src more in depth and see if it's something I'm comfortable taking on and will let you know. It may be a few days to a week as I'm currently on a deadline.

[TheConstructor]

I a currently a bit busy, but may have a look at adjusting #196. In a way I would like to have a choice between sync and async and surely the library should behave appropriately.

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Please comment if you believe this should remain open, otherwise it will be closed in 7 days.

[natemcmaster]

Stale-bot closed this, but I'm reopening because I think this is worth fixing.