Polling
Polling is a programming technique where a client or system repeatedly checks (or 'polls') a server, device, or resource at regular intervals to determine if new data, events, or status changes are available. It involves making periodic requests to query for updates, rather than waiting for the server to push notifications. This approach is commonly used in scenarios where real-time communication or event-driven architectures are not feasible or necessary.
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. 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.