Why should you use try/catch instead of a .then/.catch chain?

Using try/catch with async/await makes asynchronous code more readable and similar to synchronous code, which simplifies understanding and debugging. Unlike chains of .then/.catch, where error handling can be scattered across different parts of the code, try/catch allows for centralized exception handling.

Example with try/catch:

async function fetchData() {
  try {
    const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
    const data = await response.json();
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error loading data:', error);
  }
}

Additionally, try/catch allows the use of familiar flow control structures, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving code maintainability.