CometD vs Socket.IO

Overview

Socket.IO

Stacks13.6K

Followers11.0K

Votes776

CometD

Stacks22

Followers34

Votes0

CometD vs Socket.IO: What are the differences?

Introduction: In the realm of real-time web communication, CometD and Socket.IO are two popular choices. Understanding their key differences can help in selecting the right tool for your project.

Protocol Support: CometD is an implementation of the Bayeux Protocol, which is an extension of HTTP for real-time communication. On the other hand, Socket.IO utilizes WebSockets as its main transport mechanism but can also fall back to other transport protocols like polling and long-polling if WebSockets are not supported.
Language Compatibility: CometD is primarily built for Java programming language, providing Java clients and server implementations. In contrast, Socket.IO supports a wide range of programming languages like JavaScript, Java, and C++, making it more versatile in cross-platform development.
Scalability: CometD is known for its ability to scale horizontally by adding more servers to handle increased traffic. Socket.IO, on the other hand, has a more centralized approach, making it easier to manage but potentially limiting scalability in large-scale applications.
Error Handling: CometD offers detailed error handling mechanisms, allowing developers to have more control and visibility over error scenarios during real-time communication. Socket.IO, while providing basic error handling features, may not offer the same level of granularity in error reporting.
API Flexibility: CometD has a more structured API that follows the publish-subscribe messaging pattern, making it suitable for complex event-driven applications. Socket.IO, on the other hand, has a simpler API that offers more flexibility in terms of message broadcasting and data exchange.
Community and Ecosystem: Socket.IO has a larger and more active community compared to CometD, resulting in better support, documentation, and a wider range of plugins and integrations available for developers.

In Summary, understanding the key differences between CometD and Socket.IO in terms of protocol support, language compatibility, scalability, error handling, API flexibility, and community support can help in making an informed decision when choosing a real-time web communication tool.

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CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Advice on Socket.IO, CometD

Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceon

Node.js

ExpressJS

React

We are starting to work on a web-based platform aiming to connect artists (clients) and professional freelancers (service providers). In-app, timeline-based, real-time communication between users (& storing it), file transfers, and push notifications are essential core features. We are considering using Node.js, ExpressJS, React, MongoDB stack with Socket.IO & Apollo, or maybe using Real-Time Database and functionalities of Firebase.

1.15M views1.15M

Comments

Anil

Mar 7, 2020

Needs advice

I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this? I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this?I want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real-time chatting, for that, I have to draw a UML and ufd diagram flow then I have to implement it in my code, my stack is node js, android, express, MongoDB, Redis. how can I do this?i want to add uWebSockets.js in my application for real time chatting, for that i have to draw a uml and ufd diagram flow then i have to implement it in my code , my stack is node js , android , express , mongoDb, redis . how can i do a this?

46.7k views46.7k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Socket.IO	CometD
It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.	It is a web server to push data to a browser, without the browser explicitly requesting it. It is an umbrella term, encompassing multiple techniques for achieving this interaction.
Real-time analytics - Push data to clients that gets represented as real-time counters, charts or logs.;Binary streaming - Starting in 1.0, it's possible to send any blob back and forth: image, audio, video.;Instant messaging and chat - Socket.IO's "Hello world" is a chat app in just a few lines of code.;Document collaboration - Allow users to concurrently edit a document and see each other's changes.	Javascript Client; Publish/Subscribe Messaging; Service Channels; Private Message Delivery; Lazy Messages; Message Batching; Listeners, Data Filters and Extensions; Security Policy
Statistics
Stacks 13.6K	Stacks 22
Followers 11.0K	Followers 34
Votes 776	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 219 Real-time 143 Node.js 141 Event-based communication 102 WebSockets 102 Open source Cons 12 Bad documentation 4 Githubs that complement it are mostly deprecated 3 Doesn't work on React Native 2 Websocket Errors 2 Small community	No community feedback yet
Integrations
Auth0 Gatsby Flutter React Backbone.js Cloud Firestore Outbrain	JavaScript Node.js AngularJS Dojo jQuery

What are some alternatives to Socket.IO, CometD?

NGINX

nginx [engine x] is an HTTP and reverse proxy server, as well as a mail proxy server, written by Igor Sysoev. According to Netcraft nginx served or proxied 30.46% of the top million busiest sites in Jan 2018.

Firebase

Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.

Apache HTTP Server

The Apache HTTP Server is a powerful and flexible HTTP/1.1 compliant web server. Originally designed as a replacement for the NCSA HTTP Server, it has grown to be the most popular web server on the Internet.

Unicorn

Unicorn is an HTTP server for Rack applications designed to only serve fast clients on low-latency, high-bandwidth connections and take advantage of features in Unix/Unix-like kernels. Slow clients should only be served by placing a reverse proxy capable of fully buffering both the the request and response in between Unicorn and slow clients.

PubNub

PubNub makes it easy for you to add real-time capabilities to your apps, without worrying about the infrastructure. Build apps that allow your users to engage in real-time across mobile, browser, desktop and server.

Microsoft IIS

Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows Server is a flexible, secure and manageable Web server for hosting anything on the Web. From media streaming to web applications, IIS's scalable and open architecture is ready to handle the most demanding tasks.

Pusher

Pusher is the category leader in delightful APIs for app developers building communication and collaboration features.

Apache Tomcat

Apache Tomcat powers numerous large-scale, mission-critical web applications across a diverse range of industries and organizations.

Passenger

Phusion Passenger is a web server and application server, designed to be fast, robust and lightweight. It takes a lot of complexity out of deploying web apps, adds powerful enterprise-grade features that are useful in production, and makes administration much easier and less complex.

SignalR

SignalR allows bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can now push content to connected clients instantly as it becomes available. SignalR supports Web Sockets, and falls back to other compatible techniques for older browsers. SignalR includes APIs for connection management (for instance, connect and disconnect events), grouping connections, and authorization.

Related Comparisons

CometD vs Socket.IO: What are the differences?

Introduction: In the realm of real-time web communication, CometD and Socket.IO are two popular choices. Understanding their key differences can help in selecting the right tool for your project.

Protocol Support: CometD is an implementation of the Bayeux Protocol, which is an extension of HTTP for real-time communication. On the other hand, Socket.IO utilizes WebSockets as its main transport mechanism but can also fall back to other transport protocols like polling and long-polling if WebSockets are not supported.
Language Compatibility: CometD is primarily built for Java programming language, providing Java clients and server implementations. In contrast, Socket.IO supports a wide range of programming languages like JavaScript, Java, and C++, making it more versatile in cross-platform development.
Scalability: CometD is known for its ability to scale horizontally by adding more servers to handle increased traffic. Socket.IO, on the other hand, has a more centralized approach, making it easier to manage but potentially limiting scalability in large-scale applications.
Error Handling: CometD offers detailed error handling mechanisms, allowing developers to have more control and visibility over error scenarios during real-time communication. Socket.IO, while providing basic error handling features, may not offer the same level of granularity in error reporting.
API Flexibility: CometD has a more structured API that follows the publish-subscribe messaging pattern, making it suitable for complex event-driven applications. Socket.IO, on the other hand, has a simpler API that offers more flexibility in terms of message broadcasting and data exchange.
Community and Ecosystem: Socket.IO has a larger and more active community compared to CometD, resulting in better support, documentation, and a wider range of plugins and integrations available for developers.

CometD vs Socket.IO

Overview