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

Socket.IO vs WCF

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Socket.IO
Socket.IO
Stacks13.6K
Followers11.0K
Votes776
WCF
WCF
Stacks125
Followers107
Votes5

Socket.IO vs WCF: What are the differences?

## Key Differences between Socket.IO and WCF

<Write Introduction here>

1. **Protocol Support**: Socket.IO uses WebSockets, polling, and other techniques to enable real-time, bi-directional communication, while WCF primarily uses HTTP or TCP protocols for communication.
2. **Language Independence**: WCF is primarily designed for communication between applications developed in .NET languages, whereas Socket.IO allows communication between diverse platforms with support for multiple languages.
3. **Flexibility and Scalability**: Socket.IO is known for its flexibility and scalability due to its support for multiple transport mechanisms and the ability to handle a large number of concurrent connections, whereas WCF may require additional configurations for scalability.
4. **Performance**: Socket.IO is generally considered more lightweight and faster in terms of real-time data transfer compared to WCF, which may have additional overhead due to SOAP message formatting and processing.
5. **Client-Side Library**: Socket.IO provides a client-side library that simplifies the implementation of real-time communication on web browsers, whereas WCF does not have a dedicated client-side library for real-time communication.
6. **Community and Support**: Socket.IO has a larger and more active open-source community, providing frequent updates, bug fixes, and additional features, while WCF is supported by Microsoft with a focus on enterprise-level applications.

In Summary, Socket.IO and WCF differ in protocol support, language independence, flexibility, scalability, performance, and community support, making them suitable for different types of real-time communication needs.

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Advice on Socket.IO, WCF

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
WCF
WCF

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 framework for building service-oriented applications. Using this, you can send data as asynchronous messages from one service endpoint to another. A service endpoint can be part of a continuously available service hosted by IIS, or it can be a service hosted in an application.

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
125
Followers
11.0K
Followers
107
Votes
776
Votes
5
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 219
    Real-time
  • 143
    Node.js
  • 141
    Event-based communication
  • 102
    Open source
  • 102
    WebSockets
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
Pros
  • 5
    Classes
Integrations
Auth0
Auth0
Gatsby
Gatsby
Flutter
Flutter
React
React
Backbone.js
Backbone.js
Cloud Firestore
Cloud Firestore
Outbrain
Outbrain
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Socket.IO, WCF?

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.

Kafka

Kafka

Kafka is a distributed, partitioned, replicated commit log service. It provides the functionality of a messaging system, but with a unique design.

RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ gives your applications a common platform to send and receive messages, and your messages a safe place to live until received.

Celery

Celery

Celery is an asynchronous task queue/job queue based on distributed message passing. It is focused on real-time operation, but supports scheduling as well.

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.

Amazon SQS

Amazon SQS

Transmit any volume of data, at any level of throughput, without losing messages or requiring other services to be always available. With SQS, you can offload the administrative burden of operating and scaling a highly available messaging cluster, while paying a low price for only what you use.

NSQ

NSQ

NSQ is a realtime distributed messaging platform designed to operate at scale, handling billions of messages per day. It promotes distributed and decentralized topologies without single points of failure, enabling fault tolerance and high availability coupled with a reliable message delivery guarantee. See features & guarantees.

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.

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