Glossary
WebSocket
A protocol that provides full-duplex, persistent, low-latency communication over a single TCP connection, letting a server push data to a client the instant something changes.
General definition
WebSocket is a communication protocol, standardized as RFC 6455, that keeps a single long-lived connection open between a client and a server. Once an ordinary HTTP request is “upgraded” to a WebSocket, both sides can send messages at any time over the same connection, in both directions.
That full-duplex, always-on model is what makes WebSocket a natural fit for real-time features:
- Chat and messaging
- Live notifications and presence (online and offline)
- Live dashboards, prices and scores
- Collaborative editing and multiplayer state
Connections use the ws:// or, when encrypted, wss:// scheme.
WebSocket vs HTTP polling and SSE
Traditional HTTP is request and response: the client asks, the server answers, the connection closes. To fake real time on top of that, apps poll repeatedly, which wastes bandwidth and adds delay. Server-Sent Events (SSE) allow one-way server-to-client streaming. WebSocket goes further with two-way streaming, which is why it underpins most interactive real-time apps.
WebSocket is not always the right tool. For a deeper look at when polling, SSE, webhooks or a managed protocol fit better, see our guide on when not to use WebSocket.
WebSocket in the Ethora ecosystem
Real-time delivery in Ethora rides on persistent connections so messages, presence and typing indicators arrive instantly. Ethora layers the XMPP-powered Ethora Chat Protocol on top, which adds structured messaging, rooms and presence semantics that raw WebSocket does not provide on its own. Developers get that reliability through the Chat SDK without managing socket infrastructure themselves.
