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How Do I Access Previous Promise Results In A Then Chain

When working with asynchronous JavaScript code, handling promises efficiently is key to building robust applications. One common scenario that developers often encounter is the need to access the result of a promise at an earlier stage in a promise chain. For instance, you may have a sequence of promises in a `then` chain and need to access the result of a previous promise in a later step. This can be a bit tricky if you're not familiar with the mechanics of promises in JavaScript, but fear not - we've got you covered!

To access the result of a previous promise in a `then` chain, you can simply return the value from the `then` callback. When you return a value from a `then` callback, it becomes the resolved value of the promise returned by that `then` block. This means that you can access this value in the subsequent `then` blocks in the chain.

Here's a simple example to illustrate this concept:

Javascript

function asyncTask1() {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      resolve('First result');
    }, 1000);
  });
}

function asyncTask2(previousResult) {
  console.log('Previous result:', previousResult);
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      resolve('Second result');
    }, 1000);
  });
}

asyncTask1()
  .then(result => asyncTask2(result))
  .then(finalResult => {
    console.log('Final result:', finalResult);
  });

In this example, `asyncTask1` returns a promise that resolves with the string `'First result'` after a delay of 1 second. The result of this promise is then passed to the `asyncTask2` function as an argument. Inside `asyncTask2`, we log the previous result and return a new promise that resolves with `'Second result'` after another 1-second delay. Finally, in the last `then` block, we log the final result.

By returning the result of `asyncTask1` from the first `then` block and passing it as an argument to `asyncTask2`, we can access the value of the first promise in the subsequent steps of the promise chain.

Remember, the key here is to return values from `then` callbacks to pass data along the promise chain. This approach allows you to access and work with previous promise results effectively, making your asynchronous code more readable and maintainable.

So the next time you find yourself needing to access previous promise results in a `then` chain, just remember to return values from your `then` callbacks, and you'll be well on your way to writing cleaner and more efficient asynchronous JavaScript code. Happy coding!

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