What is the most effective method for the server to communicate with a web client through message delivery?

If you have any links to articles related to this topic, please share them as I may not know the exact terminology to search for.

I am interested in understanding how a web application can facilitate server-to-client communications. The internet was not originally designed with this functionality in mind, so I am curious about the current state of this capability and what the recommended best practices are.

One potential method is constant or periodic polling using ajax, but I am wondering if it is feasible for web servers to maintain ongoing connections with web clients while preserving statefulness?

Edit: Another way to frame this query would be: How does a platform like StackOverflow notify a page that new content is available, triggering the appearance of that notification bar at the top of the screen?

asp.netjavascriptasp.net-mvcajaxweb-applications

Answer №1

The server is queried by StackOverflow to determine if additional data is available.

To achieve this, you should consider exploring the concept of Comet.

Answer №2

In order to achieve bidirectional communication from a web browser, one must utilize a plugin technology such as Silverlight, Flash, or similar options. These plugins have the capability to establish TCP connections which can maintain a persistent two-way connection with a server socket. It is important to note that establishing a TCP connection directly with an HTTP server is not possible, so an additional server agent would be required to facilitate communication back to the browser.

This deployment model contrasts with the method employed by AJAX-based sites like Stackoverflow and Gmail, where the browser continuously polls the server at predefined intervals for updates.

Answer №3

Traditional web browsers are not designed for handling bidirectional communication effectively. This type of communication is typically one-sided, with the server listening on ports such as 80 or 443 for incoming data.

After reading about comet, it's clear that while it offers an interesting approach to real-time communication, ultimately the client initiates the connection. The server sends code to be executed by the browser, but the browser still holds the power in deciding when communication occurs.

In today's browsers, a server cannot execute a message without assistance from the browser itself. There may be workarounds involving Active X controls, but these have not been thoroughly tested.

Answer №4

It is impossible to do so, as HTTP is a stateless protocol. In the past, Netscape tried implementing HTTP Push with little success.

My suggestion would be to use polling with a web service or some other method. Trying to implement it using plugins like Flash, Java, or Silverlight will be ineffective since they do not have the necessary permissions in their sandbox to use raw sockets.

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