Risking sounding like a broken record, but indeed, the internet plays a vital role in our daily lives. We rely on it more than ever. It's how we communicate with friends, learn new things, and work together. Real-time communication apps are a big part of this.

From things like financial trading to online games to remote collaboration tools that help us work together and stay in touch, real-time communication applications are at the center of it all. They help us bridge the gaps between people and places, making it easy to share, learn, and act right away.

Let's explore real-time development and three common real-time communication techniques, weighing their pros and cons.

What Is Real-time Web Development

Real-time applications are software programs that instantly process and deliver data or content without any noticeable delay. This happens thanks to technologies like WebSockets, Server-Sent Events (SSE), and long polling, which let the app and the server talk to each other both ways. It means the server and the app can exchange updates immediately.

One great thing about real-time web development is that it allows you to make highly interactive and responsive web apps. For example, you can use it to create a chatbot app where users can see new messages instantly without having to refresh. You can also make collaborative document editors where many people can edit a document at the same time and see each other's changes in real time. These applications provide users with immediate access to information and enable seamless and interactive experiences.

Another good thing about real-time web development is that it's useful for apps that need to deal with lots of data in real time. For instance, you can use it to build a stock trading platform where users can see real-time stock prices and make trades right away. Similarly, it's handy for creating social media platforms where users can instantly see new posts and updates.

Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Zoom, online gaming platforms, live streaming services like Twitch and YouTube, and even financial trading systems have top-notch real-time communication capabilities.

However, there are challenges, too. One of the big issues is that you need a constant connection between the app and the server. This can be a problem if your app needs to work offline or in places with slow internet. Plus, real-time web development requires a lot of data, which can be expensive to store and manage.

Different Technologies to Achieve Real-Time Communication

In this section, you'll see the most popular techniques used in modern software development to develop apps with powerful real-time communication features

HTTP Long Polling

Long polling is a common technique used by the majority of Ajax applications. The basic concept involves the client making repeated requests to the server for data. The client initiates a request and awaits a response from the server. In cases where no data is available, an empty response is returned.

A variation of traditional polling is known as HTTP long polling. This method allows the server to push information to the client whenever new data is available. In long polling, the client initially requests information from the server in the same way as regular polling. However, there's an expectation that the server may not respond immediately, hence the term "hanging." If the server lacks data for the client, instead of sending an empty response, it keeps the request open until new data becomes available, at which point a complete response is sent. The process for HTTP long polling looks like this:

1. The client sends an initial HTTP request and waits for a response.
2. The server delays its response until an update or a timeout occurs.
3. When an update becomes available, the server sends a complete response to the client.
4. The client typically sends a new long polling request, either immediately after receiving a response or after a brief pause to ensure an acceptable latency period. Each long polling request has a timeout, and the client must reconnect periodically after the connection is closed due to timeouts.
   
   
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Server-Sent Events

SSE, or Server-Sent Events, might not be the latest technology, but it's pretty common when you want data to flow in just one direction. Imagine a scenario where the client simply asks the server for something, like fetching messages. In response, the server sends various messages back, all within a dedicated channel. It's like a one-way street where the server keeps sending data to the client. No need to open and close connections like in long polling. With SSE, you have a constant connection that stays open.

In SSE, the data flow goes in just one direction. The client asks for data, and the server keeps sending it to the client. It's a handy method when you only need to get data from a server without the client having to send anything back. SSE is commonly used for live-streaming applications. With it, you can keep the video streaming non-stop to all your devices.


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WebSockets

WebSockets serve as a communication protocol that facilitates two-way interaction between a client and a server using a single TCP connection. This enables real-time, event-driven communication. In most cases, when users access a website, they employ HTTP, a request-response protocol, to ask the server for data. While HTTP works well for standard use, it's not ideal for real-time applications like chats, streaming, location tracking, or multiplayer games.

To establish a WebSocket connection, the process begins with the client sending an HTTP request to the server, requesting connection establishment. If the server agrees, it responds to the client, effectively shaking hands and solidifying the connection. Once this handshake is completed, the connection is upgraded to a full-duplex communication channel. This means data can travel in both directions simultaneously over the same channel, allowing real-time communication between the client and the server.

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Weighing the Pros and Cons of Real-Time Communication Techniques

HTTP Long Polling

Pros:

• Familiarity and Ubiquity: HTTP, the foundation of the internet, is widely supported across frameworks and browsers, making HTTP long polling an accessible choice.
• Simplicity in Implementation: It's a breeze to set up. The technique revolves around straightforward HTTP calls, making it easy for developers to get started.
• Connection Persistence: By using HTTP keep-alive, connections can remain open for extended periods (typically 100 to 300 seconds), reducing the overhead of repeated connection establishment.

Cons:

• Latency: The primary downside is increased latency. Long polling involves waiting for a response without a predefined time frame, resulting in potential delays.
• Connection Overhead: With every request, a new connection is created and subsequently terminated, resulting in connection-related costs.
• Message Order and Reliability: Long polling offers no assurance regarding the order of received messages or their reliability due to the asynchronous nature of client-initiated connections.

Server-Sent Events (SSE)

Pros:

• Ease of Integration: SSE builds upon HTTP, a well-understood and supported protocol, simplifying the implementation process.
• Efficiency and Lightness: In contrast to HTTP polling, SSE maintains a single, persistent connection and listens for incoming events, significantly reducing the overhead of connection creation and destruction.

Cons:

• Unidirectional: SSE is primarily unidirectional, limited to client-initiated requests and server-provided event updates. Interaction beyond this scope is not supported.
• Text-Only Data: SSE is geared toward streaming textual data and does not support the transmission of binary data.
• Connection Limitations: There are constraints on the number of simultaneous open connections due to its reliance on the HTTP protocol.

WebSockets

Pros:

• Bidirectional Communication: WebSockets offer two-way, asynchronous communication, allowing for swift request and response interactions, making them highly efficient.
• Binary Data Support: Unlike SSE, WebSockets handle binary data transmission, broadening the range of data types that can be exchanged.
• Lightweight Architecture: WebSockets maintain a single, continuous connection, reducing the overhead associated with connection management.

Cons:

• No Automatic Data Recovery: In cases of connection termination, WebSockets lack an automatic recovery mechanism, requiring additional handling to manage data continuity.
• Browser Compatibility: While widely supported, older browser versions may not provide full WebSockets support, necessitating fallback strategies for broader compatibility.

Wrapping Things Up

Each of the technologies presented in this article brings its unique characteristics to the table, catering to a diverse range of use cases.

HTTP long polling involves making requests and waiting for a response within a defined timeframe. It's a straightforward and widely supported approach but introduces latency and incurs additional connection overhead.

Server-Sent Events, on the other hand, stream text-based data unidirectionally, making it a lightweight and efficient choice for certain applications, yet it's limited in terms of interaction and data types.

Finally, WebSockets enable bidirectional and asynchronous communication. They handle binary data and maintain a lightweight, continuous connection. However, they may lack automatic data recovery and could face compatibility issues with older browsers.

The key takeaway here is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. The choice of technique should align with your specific use case and architectural requirements, taking into consideration the pros and cons of each method. As you embark on your real-time communication journey, remember that informed decision-making, along with thoughtful consideration of trade-offs, will pave the way for a successful system design.

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