Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Socket.IO

Overview

Socket.IO

Stacks13.6K

Followers11.0K

Votes776

Google Cloud Pub/Sub

Stacks550

Followers428

Votes13

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Socket.IO: What are the differences?

Introduction In this article, we will explore the key differences between Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Socket.IO. Both Google Cloud Pub/Sub and Socket.IO are messaging platforms, but they have distinct features and functionalities.

Scalability and Distribution: Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a highly scalable messaging service provided by Google Cloud Platform. It is designed to handle high message throughput and can distribute data across multiple subscribers efficiently. On the other hand, Socket.IO is a real-time communication library that uses WebSockets for bi-directional communication between clients and servers. While it can also handle a large number of connections, it may not scale as seamlessly as Google Cloud Pub/Sub in distributed environments.
Message Durability and Persistence: Google Cloud Pub/Sub provides durable message storage and persistence. Messages published to a Pub/Sub topic are retained even if there are no active subscribers at that moment. This ensures that messages are not lost and can be delivered to subscribers when they become available. In contrast, Socket.IO does not offer built-in message durability and persistence. It relies on the underlying transport mechanism, such as WebSockets or long-polling, which may not have built-in persistence. As a result, messages may be lost if the connection is interrupted.
Global Availability and Redundancy: Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a globally available service that operates across multiple regions and availability zones. It provides built-in redundancy and fault tolerance, ensuring high availability and data reliability. Socket.IO, on the other hand, does not provide built-in global availability and redundancy. It relies on the infrastructure and setup of the underlying server or cloud platform for availability and redundancy.
Service Management and Monitoring: Google Cloud Pub/Sub offers robust service management and monitoring capabilities. It provides detailed metrics, logs, and alerts for monitoring the performance and health of Pub/Sub topics and subscriptions. It also integrates with other Google Cloud Platform services for managing and analyzing data. Socket.IO, being a library rather than a managed service, does not provide the same level of built-in service management and monitoring. Monitoring and management of Socket.IO applications are usually handled separately using other tools and frameworks.
Protocol Support: Google Cloud Pub/Sub supports multiple protocols for publishing and subscribing to messages, including REST, gRPC, and client libraries for various programming languages. This allows developers to choose the most suitable protocol for their applications. Socket.IO primarily uses the WebSocket protocol for real-time communication, although it can also fall back to other protocols like long-polling if WebSockets are not available. The choice of protocol in Socket.IO is more limited compared to Google Cloud Pub/Sub.
Integration with other Services: Google Cloud Pub/Sub integrates well with other Google Cloud Platform services, such as Cloud Functions, App Engine, and Dataflow. This allows developers to build complex applications and workflows by connecting different services together. Socket.IO, being a library mostly used in web applications, may not have the same level of direct integration with external services.

In summary, Google Cloud Pub/Sub offers better scalability, durability, global availability, service management, and protocol support compared to Socket.IO, which is more suitable for real-time communication between clients and servers in web applications.

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Advice on Socket.IO, Google Cloud Pub/Sub

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	Google Cloud Pub/Sub
It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.	Cloud Pub/Sub is a fully-managed real-time messaging service that allows you to send and receive messages between independent applications. You can leverage Cloud Pub/Sub’s flexibility to decouple systems and components hosted on Google Cloud Platform or elsewhere on the Internet.
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.	-
Statistics
Stacks 13.6K	Stacks 550
Followers 11.0K	Followers 428
Votes 776	Votes 13
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 Small community 2 Websocket Errors	Pros 9 Easy to set-up and start with 2 Efficient and practical for complex systems 2 A great choice for microservice architecture Cons 2 Need integration with stackdriver for monitoring
Integrations
Auth0 Gatsby Flutter React Backbone.js Cloud Firestore Outbrain	Google Cloud Functions Cloud Functions for Firebase

What are some alternatives to Socket.IO, Google Cloud Pub/Sub?

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

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 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 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

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 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

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

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.

Related Comparisons

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Socket.IO: What are the differences?

Scalability and Distribution: Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a highly scalable messaging service provided by Google Cloud Platform. It is designed to handle high message throughput and can distribute data across multiple subscribers efficiently. On the other hand, Socket.IO is a real-time communication library that uses WebSockets for bi-directional communication between clients and servers. While it can also handle a large number of connections, it may not scale as seamlessly as Google Cloud Pub/Sub in distributed environments.
Message Durability and Persistence: Google Cloud Pub/Sub provides durable message storage and persistence. Messages published to a Pub/Sub topic are retained even if there are no active subscribers at that moment. This ensures that messages are not lost and can be delivered to subscribers when they become available. In contrast, Socket.IO does not offer built-in message durability and persistence. It relies on the underlying transport mechanism, such as WebSockets or long-polling, which may not have built-in persistence. As a result, messages may be lost if the connection is interrupted.
Global Availability and Redundancy: Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a globally available service that operates across multiple regions and availability zones. It provides built-in redundancy and fault tolerance, ensuring high availability and data reliability. Socket.IO, on the other hand, does not provide built-in global availability and redundancy. It relies on the infrastructure and setup of the underlying server or cloud platform for availability and redundancy.
Service Management and Monitoring: Google Cloud Pub/Sub offers robust service management and monitoring capabilities. It provides detailed metrics, logs, and alerts for monitoring the performance and health of Pub/Sub topics and subscriptions. It also integrates with other Google Cloud Platform services for managing and analyzing data. Socket.IO, being a library rather than a managed service, does not provide the same level of built-in service management and monitoring. Monitoring and management of Socket.IO applications are usually handled separately using other tools and frameworks.
Protocol Support: Google Cloud Pub/Sub supports multiple protocols for publishing and subscribing to messages, including REST, gRPC, and client libraries for various programming languages. This allows developers to choose the most suitable protocol for their applications. Socket.IO primarily uses the WebSocket protocol for real-time communication, although it can also fall back to other protocols like long-polling if WebSockets are not available. The choice of protocol in Socket.IO is more limited compared to Google Cloud Pub/Sub.
Integration with other Services: Google Cloud Pub/Sub integrates well with other Google Cloud Platform services, such as Cloud Functions, App Engine, and Dataflow. This allows developers to build complex applications and workflows by connecting different services together. Socket.IO, being a library mostly used in web applications, may not have the same level of direct integration with external services.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub vs Socket.IO

Overview