Long Polling vs Polling

Developers should learn long polling when building applications that need real-time features but cannot use WebSockets due to browser compatibility or infrastructure constraints meets developers should use polling when building applications that need to monitor state changes, fetch updates from apis without websocket support, or in embedded systems where hardware constraints limit push-based methods. Here's our take.

Long Polling

Nice Pick

Developers should learn long polling when building applications that need real-time features but cannot use WebSockets due to browser compatibility or infrastructure constraints

Pros

• It is particularly useful for scenarios like live chat, stock tickers, or collaborative editing tools where immediate data updates are critical
• Related to: websockets, server-sent-events

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Polling

Developers should use polling when building applications that need to monitor state changes, fetch updates from APIs without WebSocket support, or in embedded systems where hardware constraints limit push-based methods

Pros

• It is particularly useful for simple monitoring tasks, such as checking for new messages in a chat app, tracking file upload progress, or querying sensor data in IoT devices, where low-frequency updates are acceptable and implementation simplicity is prioritized over efficiency
• Related to: long-polling, webhooks

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Long Polling if: You want it is particularly useful for scenarios like live chat, stock tickers, or collaborative editing tools where immediate data updates are critical and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Polling if: You prioritize it is particularly useful for simple monitoring tasks, such as checking for new messages in a chat app, tracking file upload progress, or querying sensor data in iot devices, where low-frequency updates are acceptable and implementation simplicity is prioritized over efficiency over what Long Polling offers.

The Bottom Line

Long Polling wins

Developers should learn long polling when building applications that need real-time features but cannot use WebSockets due to browser compatibility or infrastructure constraints