Final answer:
An asynchronous call returns immediately, without waiting for the I/O to complete.
Step-by-step explanation:
An asynchronous call refers to a type of programming mechanism where the function does not wait for the I/O (Input/Output) operation to complete before moving on to the next line of code.
Option a) is correct. An asynchronous call returns immediately, without waiting for the I/O to complete. This allows the program to continue executing other tasks while waiting for the I/O operation to finish.
For example, when making an API request to retrieve data from a server, an asynchronous call allows the program to perform other operations while the request is being processed. This can improve the overall performance and responsiveness of the program.