Definition
Asynchronous Calls in Salesforce refer to API calls or code executions that do not block the calling process and return results at a later time. In the context of the AJAX Toolkit, asynchronous calls allow JavaScript to make SOAP API requests without freezing the browser. In Apex, asynchronous processing includes future methods, queueable Apex, batch Apex, and scheduled Apex, which execute outside the main transaction.
Real-World Example
a Salesforce developer at CodeBridge uses Asynchronous Calls to create a robust integration between Salesforce and an external system. Using Asynchronous Calls, the developer builds an efficient solution that syncs data in near real-time, handles error scenarios gracefully, and includes detailed logging for troubleshooting.
Why Asynchronous Calls Matters
Asynchronous processing in Salesforce is the family of mechanisms for running code outside the normal synchronous transaction. Apex offers several flavors: future methods (fire-and-forget single operations), Queueable Apex (more flexible than futures with chaining and parameter support), Batch Apex (for processing large record volumes in chunks), and Scheduled Apex (for time-based execution). Each has different governor limits, different use cases, and different ways of reporting progress or errors back to the system.
The point of asynchronous execution is two things. First, it gets around governor limits that would be violated in a synchronous transaction, which is why moving heavy work to Batch Apex is a standard scaling pattern. Second, it improves user experience by letting the user's click return immediately while heavy work happens in the background. The tradeoff is that error handling and observability are harder: a future method that fails doesn't show up in the user's UI, so you need explicit logging and retry logic to catch failures.
How Organizations Use Asynchronous Calls
- •CodeBridge — Moves callouts to external systems into Queueable Apex so the user's save action isn't blocked by a slow external API. The Queueable processes the callout in the background and logs any failures to a custom error object for later review.
- •TerraForm Tech — Uses Batch Apex to nightly recalculate a custom risk score across millions of records. A synchronous implementation would instantly hit governor limits; Batch Apex processes 2,000 records per batch and runs until the whole dataset is updated.
- •Quantum Labs — Schedules nightly cleanup jobs with Scheduled Apex. The job runs at 2am, identifies stale records, and archives them without any human involvement, which keeps the org tidy without interrupting daytime users.