The Definitive Guide to HTML5 WebSocket

Build Real-Time Applications with HTML5

Vanessa Wang, Frank Salim, Peter Moskovits

The book provides an introduction to WebSocket, then describes the WebSocket API and Protocol and provides hands-on examples. We deep dive into three use cases for WebSocket, all using higher-level standard protocols (text and binary) over WebSocket. We walk through building a grown-up version of a chat application using XMPP/WS, a rock-paper-scissors game using pub-sub and STOMP/WS, and desktop sharing using RFB/WS (VNC). Finally, we examine security and deployment considerations.

Watch me with one of my co-authors, Vanessa, give a 90 second overview of the book:

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to HTML5 WebSocket
2. The WebSocket API
3. The WebSocket Protocol
4. Building Instant Messaging and Chat over WebSocket with XMPP
5. Using Messaging Over WebSocket with STOMP
6. VNC with the Remote Framebuffer Protocol
7. WebSocket Security
8. Deployment Considerations
   Appendix A: Inspecting WebSocket Traffic
   Appendix B: WebSocket Resources

Source Code and Preconfigured VM

The book comes with the source code you need to get the demos up and running, as well as an easy-to-use VM with screencasts that show you what you’ll build. Check out the following screencasts for a quick view into the VM environment and what the hands-on that the chapters cover. You can also dive right into the code yourself:

1. View the Source Code on Github
2. Download the VM

Chapter 2 — The WebSocket API

Chapter 3 — The WebSocket Protocol

Chapter 4 — Building Instant Messaging and Chat over WebSocket with XMPP

Chapter 5 — Using Messaging Over WebSocket with STOMP

Chapter 6 — VNC with the Remote Framebuffer Protocol