Currently, I am incorporating messaging into my angular application that interfaces with a rails backend. To create a sense of real-time communication, I have opted to utilize the $interval directive, which triggers calls to the server every 5 seconds to retrieve conversations between two users. Additionally, I have employed $watch to monitor changes in the message object and display any updated conversations.
Here is the code snippet:
$scope.messages = messages.messages
getNewMessage = ->
conversation.getConverationBetweenTwoUsers($stateParams.userId).then ((messages) ->
$scope.messages = messages.messages
), (error) ->
$state.reload()
checkForNewMessages = ->
$interval(getNewMessage, 5000)
$scope.$watch('messages.messages', checkForNewMessages, true)
I would appreciate it if someone could clarify why utilizing websockets is preferable over this method. Furthermore, if my current approach is flawed, could you kindly elaborate on why that is the case and suggest a more effective alternative solution.
It is important to note that I already have existing user conversations, so any proposed solution must accommodate these pre-existing discussions.