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What is the ws://?

I was inspecting the stackoverflow pages for curiosity and noticed that interesting url: ws://sockets-se.or.stackexchange.com/

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I would like to know more about the ws protocol but I don't even know how to start searching because searching for ws or ws protocol is not showing me the results that I was expecting...

What is this protocol? Can someone point me to a direction?

Solution

  • ws: This is the new URL schema for WebSocket connections. There is also wss: for secure WebSocket connection the same way https: is used for secure HTTP connections.

    By Definition

    The WebSocket specification defines an API establishing "socket" connections between a web browser and a server.

    In plain words

    There is an persistent connection between the client and the server and both parties can start sending data at any time. That is a full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection.

    Take a look here for API and here for web sockets basics and here for a simple live demo of it.