Websockets are a TCP-based protocol that are initiated by HTTP (Upgrade) request. It allows us to establish a bidirectional communication channel between server and client and is used commonly in livestreams, web multiplayer gaming, and chat applications.
The demo we have below is a basic web socket server running a basic NodeJS webserver which can accept client requests, send messages, and receive messages. There is no other functionality but feel free to make a PR if you get any ideas!
Install the backend dependencies by running
npm install
Run the backend by typing
npm run dev
There is no frontend in this demo but you can build one yourself :)
If you want to interact with the backend, you can open up a browser, go to console, and type the following
let ws = new WebSocket("ws://localhost:5000") : to create a new websocket connection
ws.onmessage = message => console.log(message) : to retrieve and log messages from the server
ws.send(JSON.stringify({"message": "<YOUR MESSAGE>"})): to send a message to the server via websocket
Most code and ideas taken from this awesome Youtube video https://youtu.be/2Nt-ZrNP22A