link: API Architectures

Real-Time Notification Architectures

Diagrams

Polling vs Webhook

Short/long polling, SSE, WebSocket

Overview

Real-time notification architectures are crucial in software development for applications that require immediate data exchange. These systems ensure that data is transmitted without delay, supporting features like live updates and interactive functionalities.

Key Principles

Important

• Webhooks
• WebSockets
• gRPC
• Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Message Queuing Telemetry Transport
• AMQP
• HTTP Polling

Comparison

Comparison

Parameter	Webhooks API	WebSockets	HTTP Polling	Server-Sent Events (SSE)	MQTT
Type	Event-driven	Full-duplex	Request-response	Half-duplex	Publish-Subscribe
Description	Real-time updates triggered by events	Continuous, bi-directional communication	Client periodically requests updates from the server	Server pushes updates to clients for one-way data flow	Lightweight messaging for low-bandwidth, high-latency environments
Latency	Moderate	Very Low	Moderate	Low	Moderate
Bandwidth Use	Depends on payload	Moderate	High	Low	Very Low
Data Format	JSON/XML	Binary/Text	JSON/XML	Text	Binary
Auth Level	Depends on implementation	High	Moderate	Moderate	High
Unique Features	Service integration with flexible payload formats	Supports text and binary data for interactive services	Simple to implement	Simple, uses standard HTTP for unidirectional updates	Ideal for IoT with intermittent connectivity
Scalability	Moderate	High	Low	Moderate	High
Development Complexity	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	High

Conclusion

Real-time notification architectures are a cornerstone of modern applications that rely on instant data exchange. Choosing the right protocol or technology can dramatically impact the responsiveness and functionality of your application, making it vital to understand the characteristics and best uses of each option.

Reference:

WebSockets, gRPC, MQTT, and SSE — Which Real-Time Notification Method Is For You?