• Communication protocol
• Persistent, bidirectional channel over a single TCP connection
• Unlike HTTP, which requires a new request for every interaction, WebSockets allow both clients and servers to push data instantly
• Eliminates network overhead and dramatically reduces latency for real-time applications
• Handshake
  • WebSocket connection begins with an HTTP/HTTPS request
  • Client sends an Upgrade: websocket header
  • Server responds with a 101 Switching Protocols status code to confirm upgrade
• Persistent Connection
  • Once established connection remains open until either the client or server actively closes it
• Bi-directional (full-duplex)
  • Both the client and server can independently send messages or text/binary data at any time without waiting for a request or response