Book Image

Getting Started with HTML5 WebSocket Programming

By : Vangos Pterneas
Book Image

Getting Started with HTML5 WebSocket Programming

By: Vangos Pterneas

Overview of this book

<p>WebSockets are capable of bi-directional, full-duplex communication over a persistent TCP connection They provide many benefits compared to the alternatives (for example, long-polling or Comet), such as lower overhead, persistent connections, and low latency. In short, it is the most technically challenging HTML5 feature to implement, but for truly interactive websites, it's a technology worth learning.</p> <p>Getting Started with HTML5 WebSocket Programming gives you the true power of bi-directional communication, implemented by using the brand new HTML5 WebSocket API. You’ll learn how to configure the server and clients, how to transmit different types of data and how to secure the whole system.</p> <p>This book will introduce you to the WebSocket world. We start by introducing the WebSocket API, and continue with practical, real-world examples until we can determine how to build multi-functional web apps for any type of device.</p> <p>You will learn how to configure a web client and a web server that will help you send messages to others using easy-to-use mechanisms. We will also find out how different data types, such as images and videos, can be transferred with little effort. We present additional fallback techniques and solutions for older browsers too. Finally, we will secure our clients from malicious attacks and other threats.</p>
Table of Contents (15 chapters)

Chapter 6. Error Handling and Fallbacks

By now, you must be familiar with the WebSocket capabilities and must have got an idea of the power of full-duplex communication. However, the WebSocket goodies are built on top of HTML5 and depend strongly on the browsers for full support. What happens when the features you want to implement are not supported by the means your audience is using? Would you let your customers leave? That doesn't sound like a good idea. Fortunately, with a little bit of extra effort, you can implement, mimic, and mostly emulate, the WebSocket behavior.

WebSocket is the future-friendly way to go, but you'll need some fallback techniques in order to support the widest audience possible.