Re: Websockets on the IBMi

[Kevin Schroeder <kevin@xxxxxxxx>]

There is actually quite a large difference.  Persistent HTTP connections do not allow bi-directional information.  Even if you were to use the Comet approach, it is still request/response.  Web sockets allow you to have long lived connections where you can pass information whenever it is needed.  

In terms of performance there can actually be significant benefits as well.  Often there is more than just a few millisecond difference of performance.  This is particularly true on a loaded server or on servers that are far away.  It is also much more efficient when the protocol has been negotiated, which is a big deal for mobile clients.  iOS devices support WS, though Android does not at the moment (wha!!!).

Kevin

On Jul 11, 2012, at 11:33 AM, "Nathan Andelin" <nandelin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Why would you need a separate server for Web Sockets? Why can't a Web Socket client connect to the IBM i HTTP Server? The Apache Server communicates via sockets. It supports persistent connections. Has anyone tried it?
>
> I don't see much difference between Web Socket and XMLHTTPRequest objects, except the latter carries some overhead in the form of request and response headers. But the overhead is not noticeable to humans; maybe a millisecond or two.
>
> -Nathan.
>
> From: Kevin Turner <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: 'Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries' <web400@xxxxxxxxxxxx> 
> Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 6:13 AM
> Subject: [WEB400] Websockets on the IBMi
>
> Has anyone else got anything working on the IBMi with regard to websockets?
>
> I have just completed the first phase of integrating Renaissance with a jWebsocket server on the i and so far so good. It seems to work pretty well - apart from the fact that I cannot get any life out of Safari.  Also, IE doesn't support websockets until IE10, so that uses a flash-bridge instead at the moment - but that works pretty well too.
>
> I picked jWebsocket (www.jwebsocket.org<http://www.jwebsocket.org>)  because it is written in java and therefore runs almost straight out of the box on the i - and the client-side stuff provided links nicely with jQuery.  All I had to do was create my own plug-in for the server that makes use of jt400native.jar to enable data queues and direct calls.
>
> My only concern with the jWebsocket server is that it appears to have gone quiet.  No new beta versions since May this year.  I am wondering if I have backed the wrong horse for my first delve into this. This is the main reason for me canvassing feedback on what other people are up to with websockets.
>
> For anyone interested, there is a noddy demo function available at http://rns.coraltree.co.uk on the Developers Examples and Demos menu (user id and password both "demo") that I have been using to test things.  The demo is not very exciting (until you appreciate the avenues that websockets opens up for you).  Most of the time the jWebsocket server is active but I occasionally shut it down while testing.
>
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