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8 pages in this section.
Why plain HTTP can't push data to clients on its own, what a persistent connection actually costs a Node process, and how WebSocket, SSE, and long-polling each solve the push problem differently - the mental model behind every other page in this section.
Learn to choose between WebSocket, SSE, and long-polling with 10 Node.js examples. Understand use cases, complexity, and implementation details.
Build production WebSocket servers in Node.js with the ws library, including heartbeat, authentication, and graceful shutdown.
Learn to implement Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time server-to-client updates over HTTP, ideal for live feeds and notifications.
Discover 25 essential real-time best practices for Node.js backends, covering protocols, authentication, scaling, and message handling.
A single-page roundup of every highlight bullet from the 7 pages in the Real-Time section, grouped by source page so you can scan all 40 takeaways without opening each article individually.