December 2011
WebSocket protocol standardized
RFC 6455 defined the WebSocket Protocol in December 2011 — full-duplex communication over a single TCPTransmission Control Protocol — a reliable, connection-oriented protocol used on the internet. connection after an HTTPHyperText Transfer Protocol — the protocol browsers use to request and receive web pages. upgrade handshake.
What it was for
WebSockets let browsers and servers push messages both ways without polling — chat apps, live dashboards, collaborative editors, and game servers. A client sends `Upgrade: websocket`; after the handshake, framed messages flow in both directions. Libraries like Socket.IO and native `WebSocket` in browsers build on this.
Companies
- IETF
Why it's here
WebSocket ended the long-polling era for real-time web applications.
Why it mattered
It became the standard transport for live UIs and event-driven backends in the browser.
What it solved
HTTPHyperText Transfer Protocol — the protocol browsers use to request and receive web pages. request/response was too heavy for low-latency, server-pushed updates at scale.
Media
- ImageWebSocket
Unknown authorUnknown author, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- HTTP/1.1 standardizedJanuary 1997
- Node.js first releasedMay 27, 2009
- Jabber (XMPP) first releasedJanuary 4, 1999
- MQTT inventedMarch 26, 1999