data driven (real-time) Web frontend

Question

We are looking into a better way to deliver data update notifications to a web front end.

These notifications trigger events that execute business logic and up-date elements via JavaScript (JS) to dynamically update the page without reloading.

Currently this is done with a server side thread, which timely fires an A-synch JS event to notify the web front-end(s) to check if the data has been changed or not.

This mechanism works, but the feeling within the team is that it could be a lot more efficient.

The tool is written in C# / ASP.NET combined with JS and we use the PokeIn library for the aSynch JS/C# Calls.

Any suggestions for improved functionality are welcome! Including radically different approaches still maintaining the JS/C#/ASP.NET usage.

Answer 1

Sounds like SignalR would help you? This blog post gives a good introduction.

Answer 2

I was trying to solve something similar (reporting real-time updates triggered from an external services communicating with the server) recently and it turned out SignalR is a perfect fit for this situation.

Basically it is a library wrapping long-polling, Web Sockets and few other techniques, using (transparently) whatever is available on server and client.

I only have good experience with it so far.

Answer 3

Is this a real question? I would like to add this as a comment but I don't have the enough score.. Anyway, if you need what pokein does for you (object translation among the parties) that is the only option you have. Although there are solutions like websync, signalr.. They don't handle the object translation and has no different approach etc... Better, you benefit from pokein's websocket feature. Both of others needs Windows Server 8 for websocket. Pokein lets you use websocket on any server version or platform..