Polling Based Synchronization
Polling based synchronization is a technique where a client or process repeatedly checks (polls) a server or resource at regular intervals to detect changes or updates, rather than relying on event-driven notifications. It involves periodic requests to query the state of a system, such as checking for new data, status changes, or resource availability. This approach is commonly used in distributed systems, real-time applications, and APIs where immediate updates are not feasible through push mechanisms.
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.g., WebSockets) are not supported. It is suitable for scenarios with infrequent updates, low-latency tolerance, or when implementing simple status checks, like monitoring job progress, fetching periodic data feeds, or syncing data in batch processes.