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  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Platform as a Service
  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. Entity Signal vs Socket.IO

Entity Signal vs Socket.IO

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Socket.IO
Socket.IO
Stacks13.6K
Followers11.0K
Votes776
Entity Signal
Entity Signal
Stacks1
Followers7
Votes0
GitHub Stars216
Forks23

Entity Signal vs Socket.IO: What are the differences?

Introduction
In the realm of real-time communication, Entity Signal and Socket.IO are widely used technologies.

  1. Transport Protocol: Entity Signal uses WebSockets as the underlying transport protocol, providing a persistent full-duplex connection between the client and server. On the other hand, Socket.IO allows for various transport mechanisms, including WebSocket, AJAX long polling, and more, ensuring compatibility across different environments.

  2. Authentication: Entity Signal does not include built-in support for authentication, requiring developers to implement their own authentication mechanisms. Conversely, Socket.IO includes authentication middleware, making it easier for developers to secure their real-time connections by integrating authentication out of the box.

  3. Scalability: Entity Signal relies on single server connections, limiting scalability options for large applications that require distributed architectures. In contrast, Socket.IO supports horizontal scaling through the use of multiple instances or servers, facilitating the handling of a high volume of concurrent connections.

  4. Error Handling: Entity Signal offers minimal error handling capabilities, often relying on custom error handling implementations by developers. Socket.IO provides built-in error events and exception handling, enabling developers to manage errors more effectively during real-time communication.

  5. Browser Support: Entity Signal primarily focuses on modern web browsers that support WebSockets, potentially limiting compatibility with legacy browsers or environments. Socket.IO is designed to work seamlessly across a wide range of browsers, ensuring broader support and accessibility for real-time applications.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: Entity Signal has a smaller community and ecosystem compared to Socket.IO, resulting in potentially fewer resources, plugins, and community support for developers using this technology. Socket.IO, being more popular and widely adopted, offers a vibrant community, extensive documentation, and a wide range of third-party modules to enhance development capabilities.

In Summary, Entity Signal and Socket.IO differ in their transport protocol, authentication support, scalability options, error handling, browser compatibility, and community resources.

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Advice on Socket.IO, Entity Signal

Noam
Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceonNode.jsNode.jsExpressJSExpressJSReactReact

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
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
Socket.IO
Entity Signal
Entity Signal

It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.

It allows you to connect to Entity Framework through SignalR and get updates on subscribed data in real time. This lowers the number of refreshes done by the user and ultimately allows you to do more with fewer servers.

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.
realtime backend, realtime frontend, realtime, websocket, realtime data
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
216
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
23
Stacks
13.6K
Stacks
1
Followers
11.0K
Followers
7
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
Auth0
Gatsby
Gatsby
Flutter
Flutter
React
React
Backbone.js
Backbone.js
Cloud Firestore
Cloud Firestore
Outbrain
Outbrain
React
React
Vue.js
Vue.js
AngularJS
AngularJS
Vanilla.JS
Vanilla.JS

What are some alternatives to Socket.IO, Entity Signal?

Firebase

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.

PubNub

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.

Pusher

Pusher

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

SignalR

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.

Ably

Ably

Ably offers WebSockets, stream resume, history, presence, and managed third-party integrations to make it simple to build, extend, and deliver digital realtime experiences at scale.

Syncano

Syncano

Syncano is a backend platform to build powerful real-time apps more efficiently. Integrate with any API, minimize boilerplate code and control your data - all from one place.

NATS

NATS

Unlike traditional enterprise messaging systems, NATS has an always-on dial tone that does whatever it takes to remain available. This forms a great base for building modern, reliable, and scalable cloud and distributed systems.

SocketCluster

SocketCluster

SocketCluster is a fast, highly scalable HTTP + realtime server engine which lets you build multi-process realtime servers that make use of all CPU cores on a machine/instance. It removes the limitations of having to run your Node.js server as a single thread and makes your backend resilient by automatically recovering from worker crashes and aggregating errors into a central log.

deepstream.io

deepstream.io

Scalable Server for Realtime Web Apps with JSON structures that can be read, manipulated and listened to, messages that can be sent to one or more subscribers, and request response workflows, between two clients or servers.

8base

8base

A cloud service designed to power enterprise-grade web and mobile applications that require support for large numbers of users, complex data and transactional requirements, comprehensive role-based security and a modern look-and-feel.

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