WebSockets vs SSE vs Long Polling: Choosing the Right Real-Time Web Tech
A developer's exploration of real-time communication methods traces the journey from basic HTTP requests to understanding two-way communication via WebSockets. Standard HTTP and asynchronous fetch calls fall short for live messaging because the receiving client must reload the page to get new data. WebSockets solve this by keeping a persistent, always-open connection between client and server, enabling true two-way real-time communication. However, for one-way server-to-client updates — such as a live game leaderboard — WebSockets waste resources, making alternatives like Server-Sent Events more appropriate. Short Polling and Long Polling are also examined, with Long Polling shown to risk server crashes under high concurrency due to unclosed connections consuming RAM.
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