I'm transitioning to backend development and currently working on an API using Python with Flask. My project involves handling a lot of traffic, and we're looking at implementing different kinds of notifications within the app. WebSockets came to mind as a solution, but I'm not sure how to set it up since I lack experience with them. I'm considering using the Flask-SocketIO library to create individual channels for each user to receive notifications, but I'm worried about performance and whether this is the right approach.
Additionally, I'm unclear if I can run both REST and WebSocket connections on the same service without causing performance issues. Would implementing both in my application affect API calls, or is it typical to separate them into distinct services?
2 Answers
WebSockets are great for sending real-time notifications from the server to the client, especially when you need unsolicited messages. However, they do introduce some complexity since they maintain state, unlike traditional stateless web apps. If your application doesn’t need immediate message delivery, you might want to consider polling as a simpler alternative.
If you go with WebSockets, I recommend using them solely for your notification system. Just make sure to implement some form of identity verification so the server knows which client is connected. Keep your general API calls using standard HTTP methods—it's a more straightforward approach overall.
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