HTTP and Websockets: Understanding the capabilities of today’s web communication technologies

Here is the article. I like to spend 10 minutes to read first.

Here are my notes.

Two API types:
Web service APIs (e.g. SOAP, JSON-RPC, XML-RPC, REST
Websocket APIs

HTTP

Http functions as a request-response protocol in the client-server computing model.

HTTP polling
Http short polling
Http long polling
Http periodic polling

HTTP Streaming

Alternative to websockets

SSE (Server sent events/ EventSource)

Sample applications: Twitter updates, stock quotes, cricket scores, notification to browser

Websockets

WebSocket solves a few issues with HTTP:

• Bi-directional protocol
• Full-duplex communication
• Single TCP connection

Sample applications: IM/ Chat apps, Games, Admin frontends

Websockets problems to go through proxies/firewalls -> Secured WebSockets