Datagram Networking vs WebSockets

Developers should learn datagram networking for scenarios requiring real-time performance, such as online gaming, video streaming, VoIP, and IoT sensor data transmission, where occasional packet loss is acceptable meets developers should learn and use websockets when building applications that require real-time features, such as live chat, online gaming, financial trading platforms, collaborative editing tools, or live sports updates, as it reduces latency and server load compared to polling techniques like http long-polling. Here's our take.

Datagram Networking

Nice Pick

Developers should learn datagram networking for scenarios requiring real-time performance, such as online gaming, video streaming, VoIP, and IoT sensor data transmission, where occasional packet loss is acceptable

Pros

• It is also essential for implementing broadcast or multicast communications, such as in service discovery protocols like mDNS, and for building lightweight network applications where the overhead of connection-oriented protocols like TCP is prohibitive
• Related to: udp, network-protocols

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

WebSockets

Developers should learn and use WebSockets when building applications that require real-time features, such as live chat, online gaming, financial trading platforms, collaborative editing tools, or live sports updates, as it reduces latency and server load compared to polling techniques like HTTP long-polling

Pros

• It is particularly valuable in scenarios where instant data synchronization between clients and servers is critical, such as in IoT device monitoring or interactive dashboards, because it maintains an open connection for continuous data flow
• Related to: http, real-time-communication

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Datagram Networking is a concept while WebSockets is a protocol. We picked Datagram Networking based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Datagram Networking wins

Based on overall popularity. Datagram Networking is more widely used, but WebSockets excels in its own space.