Best Alternatives For Building Real Time Web Applications

Real time web apps is one of the techno industries favorite trendy products because the real time technologies are making web application faster and in some cases equivalent from desktop application. Real time web technologies have various regular use cases and also newer, innovative uses that are always being explored. It’s simple use cases are like displaying data, statistics, notification, news when it becomes accessible but technologies shows real value when interactive interfaces are created when multiple users and systems communicate with each other. 

Industries such as sports, finance, e-commerce, education, healthcare are using real time web technologies. There are many technologies like angular.js development that supports real time movements such as push based interactivity, chat apps, large scale gaming etc.Real time constraints are relying upon the application and your choice on language, operating system and tools. In any case, one should prefer a couple of functionality, popularity and usability relying upon your applications necessities and requirements.

Why Real time web apps are important progress from traditional web applications?

1. Discussion boards becoming chat rooms.

2. Reports becoming interactive dashboards

3. Document libraries becoming co-authoring

4. Activity/news wall becoming real time activity/news feeds.

5. Faster notification becoming real time alerts

6. Pictures becoming real time animations

Various Real Time alternatives may be better for your app. Let us see one by one.

Various Real Time alternatives may be better for your app-

1. MongoDB + Mongoose:

It has flexible document storage capabilities and also supports a variety of language. Hence it can serve a capable polyglot message-queue. It supports push feature. Here marshalling and also unmarshalling of arbitrarily complex JSON messages are handled automatically. In this framework, safe writes are enabled to improve message durability and also reliability. Also tailor cursors are used to “Push” data from MongoDB listener. Mongoose is npm modules that permits the application to network with MongoDB database.

2. Django + Ajax + Python:

You can use Django for real time application development because it is good for client server communication. Also you can use ajax to communicate with Django server. Python is an alternative for Django that include “flask” and “web.py”. Here you can use Pythonic library to process the request.

3. Node.JS + Socket.io + Now.Js:

In real time web application development, you require a faster and more responsive web server to build a block. Node.JS is an amazingly helpful technology that gives a great power and euphoria, particularly when we write JavaScript just with a couple of lines you can figure out how to write a fully functional code for a real time web app. Socket.io is a Node.JS package that provides websocket functionality. It allows servers to push information to connected clients without the need for polling. Socket.io gives various fullback transport choice to accomplish the largest range of browser and also a platform support. Now.JS provides a shares namespace between the web server and client browser. It allows server to directly call function and also access variables on the client. Server function turn call a function ON to display the message to client.

4. Ruby + PubNub:

You can develop Real time web apps with Rails but can’t host the server that handles the socket. Hence you need PubNub. It is fastest cloud-Hosted Real Time messaging system for web and mobile app also. This is a web push engine which is able to push any text data in real time. It also pushes any type of clients across internet. PubNub solves all the complexity of pushing data in a scalable, secure, productive, reliable and portable way. API’s are provided on the client side so that it is easy to build bidirectional data push apps. An incredible HTML5 library makes it conceivable to push data updates to mobile phones, web pages in real-time data push through a zero install client.

5. WebSocket on Rails-

It is a most effective way to handle chat function. Rails is not a better way for handling asynchronous events and and hence establish socket connection to Rails app is not possible. To handle this problem, there are many solutions, but Websocket is the best one.

6. Faye for Rails:

You can develop Real time app with rails to publish and subscribe message through Faye. It enables you to effectively give real time updates through open socket without tying up a Rains procedure. Here all channels are private hence users can only listen to events you subscribe them to.

7. Sails.js for Node.Js:

This is a great framework to ease up the custom development, enterprise-grade and modern Node.js app. It is beneficial to use for building dashboards and games etc.

8. Express.io :

This is a real time web app framework for Node.js. It supports MVC architecture to develop web app. It is able to manage the server and  give response to the user. 

9. SocketStream:

SocketStream is useful to build real time single page app with its fast and modular nature.

10. RetChet for PHP:

Real time application development is hard with PHP. The most ideal method for utilizing a real time situation is your PHP stack is to utilize it nearby your conventional web stack and communicate between the two components using their message queues or webservices. Retchet is for asyncs serving websocket. Run the application you built utilizing Retchet as a daemon and communicate between your web stack on Retchet based application is recommended to take place over a message queue. It gives a Pub/Sub abstraction through a websocket application messaging protocol implementation app messaging protocol implementation which should make it simpler to begin.

11. Wrench for PHP:

It gives the barebones required to make a websocket server and gives a pleasant method for enrolling various applications with a similar server. You cannot update and maintain without RetChet and Wrench.

12. Fanout:

It has Push and ON functions that eases the building of real time API’s. You can add live updates to your web application utilizing REST, HTTP streaming, websocket and XMPP.

13. Golnstant:

It is useful to build scalable web apps with less code. Also it doesn’t require backend or server. It stores and synchronizes data in real time and gives a full stack of resources you can use to convey marvelous client experience.

14. Pusher:

Pusher is a hosted API. It is used for adding scalable real time functionality easily to web and mobile application.

15. RealTime.co :

The real time messaging framework is a cloud-facilitated messaging system for website and portable applications that require steady content updates in only a couple of milliseconds, empowering any application to interact with a huge number of associated clients in a quick and secure manner.

16. Firebase + Angular.js:

Firebase + Angular.js

These are scalable real time backend for your web apps. With the use of these, you can build apps within less time and also without any difficulty of managing server. Firebase can also be used in AngularJS for real time app. This can help you to build real-time API with an authentication system. By the use of firebase you can build a whole app in a fraction of the time with no server side code included.

17. Firehose.io:

Firehose is a negligibly invasive method for building real time web applications without complex conventions or reworking your application without any preparation. It is a simple pub/sub server that keeps synchronization of client-side JavaScript with server code via WebSockets.

18. XMPP:

It is a quick and adaptable library for the extensible messaging and presence protocol written in Erlang. This library supports both formatting of client and server packets. It can be used to write a highly scalable XMPP proxy or XMPP server. It supports SSL. You can use some different XML papers.

These are the alternatives that you can use for real time web apps. Are you looking to develop a real time web app for your business? Then you must consider these alternatives. Solace experts are well trained to use such alternatives. Get a free quote for web development that will help your business to grow.

WCF vs Web API: What to Choose for Your Project?

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Comparing WCF vs Web API for developing your project is not an easy task. These frameworks are competing with each other in terms of functionality and approach. Final result of selecting the one for development will greatly affect the project. Here we will see the important features and use cases of WCF and Web API that will help you to choose the right technology for your project development.

What is WCF?

WCF stands for Windows Communication Foundation. It is an effective platform for developing service-oriented applications. It allows developers to create secure, reliable, and also high profile development solutions which can be integrated across platforms and interoperate with existing investments.

• HTTP services are easily built with this new framework.
• Web API is open source. It is a perfect platform to create REST-ful services over the .NET Framework.
• As opposed to WCF Rest service, it uses the complete features of HTTP (such as response/request headers, caching, versioning, and numerous content formats)
• MVC features support controllers, routing, filter, action results, IOC container, model binders, or dependency injection, and unit testing that simplifies it and makes it more robust.
• It can be hosted on IIS or within the application.
• Its lightweight design makes it ideal for devices with minimal bandwidth.
• Replies are formatted by Web API’s MediaTypeFormatter into XML, JSON, or any other format you wish to add as a MediaTypeFormatter.

What is Web API?

Web API is a framework which allows you to build HTTP services for browsers and mobile devices. It is an ideal platform for developing RESTful applications on the ASP .NET Framework. The ASP.NET Web API is an extensible framework for building HTTP based services that can be accessed in different applications on different platforms such a web, windows, mobile devices, etc.

It’s similar to ASP.NET MVC because it consists of MVC features such as routing, controllers, filter, action results, IOC container, model binders, and dependency injection. It isn’t a part of the MVC Framework, though. It’s an aspect of the core ASP.NET platform which can be used with MVC and similar Web applications such as Asp.Net WebForms. It can also act as an individual Web services application.

• Only HTTP protocol is supported.
• Any client who understands XML can use it, but it is not open-source.
• It is based on return data and SOAP in XML format.
• Only IIS can host it.
• It supports HTTP POST and GET verbs by [WebInvoke] and [WebGet] attributes.
• webHttpBindings must be enabled if WCF as WCF Rest service use is required.
• Sending data via parameters using a WebGet warrants configuration. The UriTemplate must be specific.
• JSON, XML, and ATOM data formats are supported.

WCF vs Web API-

WCF vs Web API

1. Security-

When looking at WCF vs Web API, both frameworks have accepted security standards. Concerning WCF, skilled security helpers and also frameworks can offer protection on an enterprise-level, which includes security that holds the WS-I (Web Services Interoperability Organization) guidelines. in Web API general web standards are used for security, like Token and Basic authentication . If correctly enforced, security in both frameworks will be as effective as the other, keeping in mind that several organizations sometimes need exact execution of protection. However, RESTful services offer more flexibility than SOAP. This can be helpful when authenticating an outside service like Google, Windows Live IDs, Twitter, or Facebook.

2. Purpose/ Functionality-

As mentioned above, SOAP services must be action-oriented. Also OData/REST must be very resource-oriented. While all action-oriented service can be changed to a resource-oriented service, there are several instances where a single SOAP may result in numerous REST calls. This generates extra overhead in calling the service, so that it makes the client’s code more complicated, and may result in data problems in badly developed systems. Properly developed REST services have the ability to mitigate this with indirect steps.  For example, a SOAP call that purchases an item for a shopper may do this:

 1. Produce order 

 2. Minimize the item’s stock quantity

 3. Produce a new shipping job

 3. Update customer’s order history.

That SOAP call may lead to a quartet of individual REST calls updating all of those resources, or, in a correctly developed system, one produce (POST) PurchaseOrder call that stimulates actions to update the remaining resources as needed. In short, RESTful services must be basic and atomic, yet SOAP services have the adaptability to be complicated and bulky.

Because they can be accessed freely in URLs, REST services are easier to find than SOAP services. Additionally, proper REST services are keen enough to set up the extent that idempotency and endpoints are concerned.

3. Overhead coding-

On the client’s side, it is easy to use HTTP to call a RESTful service, but deserializing and serializing items, hardcoding resource endpoints, and reproducing personalized returnable classes can be problematic. Minimal-level engagement with the web service is abstracted in SOAP services automatically. WCF has many configurations and warrants meticulous XML work to configure it properly. Apart from this, Web API has a regular ready-to-use setup that is effective for many services and offers personalized services.

4. Client Interoperability-

Not only RESTful services but also Web API, focusses on ease of use and being lightweight. Using the same HTTP calls, all applications that can access a website can also access RESTful service. If you’re directly comparing WCF vs Web API, this is different from SOAP, as the client needs to know the web service inside out when using the WSDL file. The WSDL configuration supplements some complexities and warrants extra details that may not be accessible on some devices (smart TVs, phones, and the like) as well as frameworks and programming languages.

5. Bandwidth/speed-

Because RESTful services use only basic HTTP, the response and request packets are usually smaller than SOP response and request packets, which package objects, parameters, metadata, etc. in an XML payload. This is necessary to consider when handling low bandwidth or mobile devices. The easy HTTP response and request also usually easy for people to read than SOAP response/requests. While that is more important because these services tend to be programmatically consumed.

Selection of WCF vs Web API-

1. If you Require a support for Message queues, end to end message security, duplex communication, distributed transactions, etc., you should choose WCF.
2. When you already have existing working WCF services and Wants to add HTTP support additionally, choose WCF.
3. A case where you want to create a resource-oriented service over HTTP you should choose, Web API.
4. If your project is an MVC application and wants some functionality over HTTP, choose Web API.
5. If you want to build an HTTP / RESTful services, select Web API.

It’s not possible to select a best in WCF vs Web API competition and state that which choice is superior to the next. There is a simple method of selecting best framework most suitable when developing a new web service. If it’s an internet/external web service, use Web API. While, if it’s an intranet/internal web service, use WCF.

Are you looking to develop a web application for your business? Then you are at the ideal platform. Solace is a software development company which specializes in custom applications development using WCF and Web API as our core strength and foundation. Contact us and we’ll be glad to help you through our experts to develop your next web app.