The inclusive production of hadrons through electroweak currents can be rigorously analysed with short-distance theoretical tools. The associated observables are insensitive to the involved infrared behaviour of the strong interaction, allowing for very precise tests of Quantum Chromodynamics. The theoretical predictions for $sigma(e^+e^-tomathrm{hadrons})$ and the hadronic decay widths of the $tau$ lepton and the $Z$, $W$ and Higgs bosons have reached an impressive accuracy of $mathcal{O}(alpha_s^4)$. Precise experimental measurements of the $Z$ and $tau$ hadronic widths have made possible the accurate determination of the strong coupling at two very different energy scales, providing a highly significant experimental verification of asymptotic freedom. A detailed discussion of the theoretical description of these processes and their current phenomenological status is presented. The most precise determinations of $alpha_s$ from other sources are also briefly reviewed and compared with the fully-inclusive results.
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