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.