Browser communication boost back on track

After a security problem derailed it last year, a technology to open a high-speed browser communications link is getting back on track again.
The technology, called WebSocket, is good for Web sites that involve time-sensitive communications--multiplayer games or real-time trading, for example. A security issue raised concerns about WebSocket led to reworking of the technology, but now supporters think they've fixed WebSocket.
"It seems like it will happen very soon," said Brian Albers, vice president of development at Kaazing, which commercializes Web Sockets. "There's a meeting of the IETF at the end of the month in Prague. There's a lot of movement to get this wrapped up by then."
WebSocket abilities
What's the hurry? Simply put, a desire to use the WebSocket interface to dramatically overhaul what advanced Web programmers can do. It makes it easy to open a direct link for things like stock quotes, instant messages, or text typed into a Google Instant search box, for example.
As Web applications get more and more like applications that run natively on a computer, that becomes important. For example, in an online multiplayer game, the central game program running on a server needs to send and receive updated information from the players frequently and rapidly.
Today, communications between a browser and a Web server use the serviceable but sluggish HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to communicate. It comes with a lot of overhead, meaning that a lot of extra data must accompany the actual information that's being exchanged. A browser must repeatedly poll a server to check for any changes.
That suits it poorly to Web pages that send or receive short, frequent updates. The amount of data for the communications overhead is dwarfs the data of the message itself by a factor of 100, and a lot of complicated programming and processing is required.
"It's like sending to business card to somebody in a cargo ship container," said Yuan Weigel, Kaazing's vice president of marketing. WebSocket, in contrast, opens a low-overhead communication channel and leaves it open for software to use.
If you want to get a flavor for its possibilities, check Kaazing's WebSocket demo page. Or try your hand the Scrabble-like WordSquared game, powered by Pusher's online WebSocket service, or Rob Hawkes' space-shooter called Rawkets. Admire the eight-computer Web-based aquarium demo, which uses WebSocket to keep the different machines in sync. Or compare (during trading hours), the performance financial quotes appearing at Cantor Index and WorldSpreads.
"You'll notice that Cantor's [prices] change on a 'polling' basis rather than live, and their pricing on this page lags Worldspreads by 2 to 3 seconds at the moment," Weigel said. "In a market where companies win or lose customers based on available real-time information, this is extremely compelling."
Of course, Kaazing has a vested interest in touting the technology. It sells proprietary server software to handle the business end of WebSocket, including higher-level technology built on the WebSocket foundation, and it also offers extras that let customers use WebSocket even if their browser doesn't have the technology built in. The company is aiming in particular for the financial services market to start.
But Kaazing isn't alone. In addition to browser makers, there's also an open-source project called Jetty that offers WebSocket support. And plenty of other companies are involved in WebSocket, including Sony, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, and Qualcomm.