Long Polling vs WebSockets vs Server-Sent Events: Choosing a Real-Time Update Strategy
Overview Long polling, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events are three techniques for pushing live updates from a server to a browser without the client repeatedly refreshing the page. WebSockets open a single full-duplex socket for two-way messaging, while Server-Sent Events keep one HTTP connection open for one-way server-to-client streaming; long polling predates both and fakes real-time updates by re-issuing HTTP requests. Picking the right one depends on whether you need bidirectional traffic, binary data, or just simple broadcast updates. ...