Being able to understand the advantages and limitations of the webhooks process will hopefully help you understand the right places to implement it. To capture the difference between these two approaches with a relatable example, polling is like going to the post office to check if you have new mail. Using webhooks is basically having mail delivered to your house every time you have new mail simply by giving the postman your house address.
WebSockets use HTTP protocol only to initiate communication channel, then every frame is sent by their own protocol via TCP connection in the transport layer of the OSI model. You can think of SSEs as a long-running HTTP request that sends data out to the client whenever the server wants. As the HTTP request-response model was not designed for these use cases, different mechanisms were invented. Since you don’t necessarily know when the server’s going to send the client something (unlike HTTP), we implement a listener function that will always be there to handle what’s coming in.
Node.js, lots of ways to block your Event-loop (and how to avoid it)
The problem is that the shortcomings can be difficult to manage if you are not already an expert in building real-time systems. Long polling provides fast communication in many environments and is widely used, often as opposed to true push-based methods like WebSocket connections or Server Side Events (SSE). Long polling can seem intensive on the server side, as it requires continuous resources to hold a connection open, but it uses much less than repeatedly sending polling requests. When long polling, the client polls the server, and that connection remains open until the server has new data. The server sends the response with the relevant information, and then the client immediately opens another request, holding again until the next update. Long polling can hold a connection open for a maximum of 280 seconds before automatically sending another request.
- Any browser that supports WS will be capable of supporting EventSource, and then some.
- Also, requests can time out, and new requests need to be issued periodically.
- During a new websocket handshake, the client and server also communicate which subprotocol will be used for their subsequent interactions.
- If you are interested in using PubNub to build and power your real-time application, please contact our team here.
As an engineer, it is very important to use the right tool for the right problem, or you could risk trivializing or overengineering the solution. Instead, WebSockets should be used for protocols where there is a need for real-time what is websocket used for communication, but the data being exchanged is not too chatty. For example, a good use case for WebSockets would be a stock ticker application where you need to get the latest stock prices as soon as they are available.
WebSockets under the hood
” HTTP request-response works just fine when you need to load a static page, but it’s insufficient when your communication is time-sensitive. Push technology is a style of internet-based communication in which the request for a given transaction is initiated by the server. For example, in timeline updates in social media apps, the server pushes data to the client without the client requesting it. HTTP can run on top of any reliable connection-oriented protocol such as TCP, SCTP. Due to its persistent and bidirectional nature, the WebSocket protocol is more flexible than HTTP when building realtime apps that require frequent data exchanges.
Therefore, it’s essential to manage the number of connections carefully. Generalizing, WebSocket is more suitable for cases where a push-based and real-time communication defines the requirement more appropriately. Additionally, WebSocket works well for scenarios where a message needs to be pushed to multiple clients simultaneously. These are the cases where client and server communication over RESTful services will find it difficult if not prohibitive. I agree with this being a good idea, but people have been so religious about not maintaining state.
PubNub’s thoughts on WebSockets vs. Long Polling
This makes it an ideal choice to make when chat, gaming, and bitcoin trading application development is the goal. GRPC is useful for microservices development, polyglot services, client library generation, and scenarios that demand real-time integration of browsers and mobiles with back-end solutions. Try it for crypto-currency applications and experience seamless functioning. APIs have reformed the world of SaaS development and empowered client-server communication at multiple levels. Before one seeks its implementation, understanding the key models is imperative.
GRPC is preferred over WebSockets if the application demands various requests processing at one time. GRPC supports multiplexing that arranges different requests seamlessly. WebSocket establishes an open and continual connection between the client and server using which they can exchange data anytime. It’s a stateful protocol that means the connection won’t break until either party decides to discontinue data exchange. It is a TCP-based computer communication protocol supporting full-duplex and bidirectional data transfer.
