Polling Based Synchronization vs WebSockets

Developers should use polling based synchronization when building applications that need to monitor remote resources without the overhead of maintaining persistent connections, such as in lightweight clients, legacy systems, or environments where server-side push notifications (e 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.

Polling Based Synchronization

Nice Pick

Developers should use polling based synchronization when building applications that need to monitor remote resources without the overhead of maintaining persistent connections, such as in lightweight clients, legacy systems, or environments where server-side push notifications (e

Pros

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• Related to: event-driven-architecture, webhooks

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. Polling Based Synchronization is a concept while WebSockets is a protocol. We picked Polling Based Synchronization based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Polling Based Synchronization wins

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