Created by Aman Yadav

Roadmap

1. The Fundamentals

• What are WebSockets? A simple definition and why they are important for modern web applications.
• The Problem with HTTP: Understanding the limitations of the traditional request-response model for real-time features.
• WebSockets vs. Alternatives: A clear comparison between WebSockets, HTTP Polling, Long-Polling, and Server-Sent Events (SSE).

2. The Connection Process

• The WebSocket Handshake: How a standard HTTP connection gets "upgraded" to a persistent, two-way WebSocket connection.
• The ws and wss Protocols: What these URL schemes mean and when to use them.

3. Client-Side Implementation (JavaScript)

• Creating a Connection: How to initiate a WebSocket connection from a web browser using the WebSocket API.
• Handling Events: Learning to manage the four essential connection events:
  • open: When the connection is successfully established.
  • message: When a message is received from the server.
  • error: When something goes wrong.
  • close: When the connection is terminated.
• Sending & Receiving Data: Using the .send() method to transmit data and processing incoming messages.

4. Server-Side Implementation

• Setting Up a Server: Creating a simple WebSocket server. We'll use Node.js and the popular ws library as a practical example.
• Managing Clients: How the server handles new connections, listens for messages, and keeps track of all connected clients.
• Broadcasting: A very common use case where the server sends a single message to every connected client at once (like in a chatroom).

5. Advanced Concepts

• Ping/Pong: How WebSockets stay alive and detect broken connections.
• Subprotocols: Defining a specific application protocol to run over WebSockets.