Beginner8 min readNetworking & Communication
Polling Patterns
Evaluating held HTTP connections, short polling, and active socket streams.
What you'll learn
- Long Polling
- WebSockets
TL;DR
Evaluating held HTTP connections, short polling, and active socket streams.
Concept Overview
Long Polling vs. WebSockets represents the architectural choice for real-time, server-to-client data delivery. Long polling simulates bidirectional streams via held HTTP requests, while WebSockets establish a true, full-duplex persistent connection over a single TCP socket.
Key Architectural Pillars
1
Long Polling
Client repeatedly makes HTTP requests; the server holds the request open until new data is available.
2
WebSockets
A persistent, bidirectional, full-duplex TCP socket established via an initial HTTP handshake upgrade.
More in this module
OSI Model
The seven-layer design abstraction standardizing physical packet transport up to user interfaces.
IP Address
Demystifying IPv4, IPv6, routing blocks, subnets, and packet header structures.
TCP vs UDP
Comparing strict, handshake-established byte streams against fast, lightweight fire-and-forget datagram delivery.