CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascripthtml
Bogomip
Bogomip

Reputation: 437

Cross-Browser Communication

I am designing a website that requires a host and client websites. The host will set something up (a session), and the clients will connect to that host using an ID specific to that session.

I have considered how I will facilitate that communication, and initially I was going to have both the clients and the host periodically query and update a database which holds the current states of all clients and the host to communicate new options and changes - but then I wondered if it is possible, using javascript [or something], for them to connect and communicate directly?

The communication would be very simple messages - single strings to communicate current state and stuff like that.

Im pretty proficient in javascript/html/css, but am happy to learn if there is something that would do a better job of setting this up.

Thanks! Alex

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1810

Answers (2)

Jonas
Jonas

Reputation: 5149

You could try httprelay.io, requires no additional libraries and can be used for simple http client to client communication.

Upvotes: 3

Akshat Mahajan
Akshat Mahajan

Reputation: 9846

You're looking for WebRTC, which is the de facto and recommended way of doing peer-to-peer connections through the web with pure Javascript:

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is an API definition drafted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that supports browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing without the need of either internal or external plugins.

And yes, before you ask, simple messages can be exchanged as well.

Here is the Mozilla reference explaining WebRTC.

Here is a nice simple tutorial to get you started with the code.

Here is a peer-to-peer chat room with video capabilities built using pure WebRTC as a demo.

Prior to WebRTC, there was no satisfactory decentralised way of doing this.

As the comments indicate, Websockets would have been the right idea if you were going with a centralised system - they facilitate real-time communication between clients and a central host.

Decentralised systems, however, must be implemented using WebRTC - this is the only option on the cards.

Upvotes: 2

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