A WebSocket connection between a client and a server can stay open as long as the parties wish it to maintain the connection, allowing for continuous communication. PubNub takes a protocol-agnostic stance, but in our current operations we have what is websocket used for found that long polling is actually the best bet for most use cases. This is partly because of the maintenance and upkeep required to scale WebSockets, and potential issues that can arise when you can not easily identify a disconnection.
WebSocket uses a unified TCP connection and needs one party to terminate the connection. Once the request is completed, the connection breaks automatically. As per the conventional definition, WebSocket is a duplex protocol used mainly in the client-server communication channel. It’s bidirectional in nature which means communication happens to and fro between client-server.
How do WebSockets work (and their connections)
Despite the existence of WebSocket, HTTP remains an important internet standard. Because it is very reliable and efficient, it is used by almost all clients. TCP establishes communication between two endpoints, which are referred to as sockets. Low latency means that there is very little delay between the time you request something and the time you get a response. Any valid URL can be used with the specification of a port, which was not used earlier. It is very useful to keep a record of the connected clients, as it provides details with different data or send different messages to each one.
All frames sent from the client to the server are masked by a 32-bit value that is contained within the frame. This field will be present if the mask bit is set to 1 and is absent if the mask bit is set to 0. A websocket connection does happen to be functionally similar to standard Unix-style sockets, they are not related.
Connection errors
On the Internet, web pages are usually transferred via a HTTP connection. Data is communicated via the protocol so that the website can be displayed in your browser. For this to happen, for every action you make (e.g. a click), the client sends a request to the server. To conclude, WebSockets are a very useful protocol for building real-time functionality across web, mobile, and desktop variants, but they are not a one-size-fits-all approach.
