Implementing Real-Time Features
1. Implementing Chat Application
Example: Chat envelope
{ "type": "chat.send", "room": "general", "text": "hello", "clientId": "c1" }
{ "type": "chat.message", "id": "m42", "room": "general", "userId": "u1", "text": "hello", "ts": 1715900000 }
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rooms | Topic per room |
| Typing indicator | Throttled events |
| Read receipts | Ack per message id |
| History | HTTP fetch + WS for new |
| Moderation | Server-side filters |
2. Implementing Live Notifications
| Channel | Use |
|---|---|
user.{id}.notif | Per-user inbox |
| Toast UI | Display on receive |
| Service Worker | Background push when tab closed |
| Persistence | Server stores unread |
3. Implementing Real-Time Dashboard
| Pattern | Detail |
|---|---|
| Initial snapshot | HTTP fetch on load |
| Delta stream | WS pushes patches |
| Throttle updates | rAF or 100ms window |
| Coalesce | Latest state per key |
4. Implementing Collaborative Editing
Example: Yjs over WebSocket
import * as Y from "yjs";
import { WebsocketProvider } from "y-websocket";
const doc = new Y.Doc();
const provider = new WebsocketProvider("wss://yjs.example.com", "room-42", doc);
const ytext = doc.getText("content");
ytext.observe(() => render(ytext.toString()));
| Approach | Detail |
|---|---|
| CRDT (Yjs/Automerge) | Conflict-free merges |
| OT (ShareDB) | Server-coordinated |
| Awareness | Cursor + presence |
| Persistence | Snapshot to DB periodically |
5. Implementing Live Location Tracking
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Throttle | 1-5s updates |
| Delta encoding | Send Δlat/Δlon |
| Geofence filter | Server filters by bbox |
| Battery | Reduce rate when stationary |
6. Implementing Live Comments
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Topic per post | post.{id}.comments |
| Live count | Aggregate event |
| Reactions | Lightweight delta msgs |
| Spam filter | Server-side |
7. Implementing Game Multiplayer
| Pattern | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tick rate | 20-60 Hz |
| Authoritative server | Anti-cheat |
| Client prediction | Mask latency |
| Server reconciliation | Replay inputs after correction |
| Snapshot interp | Smooth other players |
| Binary protocol | Minimize bytes/tick |
8. Implementing Live Audio/Video Signaling
Note: WebSocket carries SDP/ICE for WebRTC setup, not media. Media flows peer-to-peer via UDP.
| Message | Use |
|---|---|
| offer / answer | SDP exchange |
| ice-candidate | Connectivity check |
| join / leave | Room membership |
| renegotiate | Stream change |
9. Implementing Live Cursor Sharing
Example: Throttled cursor
document.addEventListener("pointermove", (e) => {
throttledSend({ "type": "cursor", "x": e.clientX, "y": e.clientY });
});
| Optim | Detail |
|---|---|
| rAF throttle | ~60 Hz cap |
| Delta coords | Smaller bytes |
| Interpolation | Smooth other cursors |
| Hide on idle | 2s no-move |
10. Implementing Real-Time Analytics
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aggregation | Server windows by 1s/5s |
| Push interval | 1-5s |
| Subset by filter | Per-dashboard filter |
| Backfill | HTTP for last N min |