Can I use HTML5 WebSockets for tasks usually accomplished with AJAX?

Question

I just started researching HTML5 WebSockets. I was wondering whether I can update all of a web page's content with websockets instead of using ASP.NET UpdatePanels, or would this be overkill?

Can WebSockets be used as a replacement for AJAX? And is this what WebSockets should be used for?

Most of the examples are for bi-directional chat-like demos. But if I wanted to click a button and not postback to update a grid, could I do this with WebSockets and would that be a good idea?

Answer 1

I think XHR and WebSocket are for 2 different scenarios and you should use the one better fits your scenario.

XHR has the request-response pair. Each request is paired with a response. This is good for remote procedure call, but creates unnecessary overhead if you want response without request (i.e. server push).

WebSocket solves the problem above. You can send a request without expecting any response. The server can also send you anything via response without you initiating a request first.

In a button clicking and content updating scenario (e.g. editing table cells), XHR (and UpdatePanel) works better. That's because the content updating has to be paired with a button clicking. This is a request-response pair. But in a pure content updating scenario (e.g. displaying real-time stock price), WebSocket works better. In a scenario in which content updating isn't related to button clicking (e.g. chatting), WebSocket also works better.