The answer here is that the “await getSomethingLater” must be called from an async context. Literally that means changing this:
let result = await tryThis.getSomethingLater(3.141592653589793238462)
print("result: \(result)")
into this:
Task {
let result = await tryThis.getSomethingLater(3.141592653589793238462)
print("result: \(result)")
}
So the whole thing becomes:
class TryThis {
func getSomethingLater(_ number: Double) async -> String {
// test - sleep for 3 seconds, then return
Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 3)
return String(format: ">>>%8.2f<<<", number)
}
}
let tryThis = TryThis()
Task {
let result = await tryThis.getSomethingLater(3.141592653589793238462)
print("result: \(result)")
}
Here’s the output:
result: >>> 3.14<<<
There’s great info in the Meet async/await in Swift video from WWDC21.