simple-websocket

simple-websocket

Simple, EventEmitter API for WebSockets

features

• super simple API for working with WebSockets in the browser
• supports text and binary data
• node.js duplex stream interface

This module works in the browser with browserify, and it's used by WebTorrent!

install

npm install simple-websocket

usage

var SimpleWebsocket = require('simple-websocket')

var socket = new SimpleWebsocket('ws://echo.websocket.org')
socket.on('connect', function () {
  // socket is connected!
  socket.send('sup!')
})

socket.on('data', function (data) {
  console.log('got message: ' + data)
})

Note: If you're NOT using browserify, then use the standalone simplewebsocket.bundle.js file included in this repo. This exports a SimpleWebsocket function on the window.

api

socket = new SimpleWebsocket([opts])

Create a new WebSocket connection.

If opts is specified, then it will be passed through to the underlying superclass, stream.Duplex.

socket.send(data)

Send text/binary data to the WebSocket server. data can be any of several types: String, Buffer (see buffer), TypedArrayView (Uint8Array, etc.), ArrayBuffer, or Blob (in browsers that support it).

Other data types will be transformed with JSON.stringify before sending. This is handy for sending object literals across like this: socket.send({ type: 'data', data: 'hi' }).

Note: If this method is called before the socket.on('connect') event has fired, then data will be buffered.

socket.destroy([onclose])

Destroy and cleanup this websocket connection.

If the optional onclose paramter is passed, then it will be registered as a listener on the 'close' event.

Socket.WEBSOCKET_SUPPORT

Detect WebSocket support in the javascript environment.

var Socket = require('simple-websocket')

if (Socket.WEBSOCKET_SUPPORT) {
  // websocket support!
} else {
  // fallback
}

events

socket.on('connect', function () {})

Fired when the websocket connection is ready to use.

socket.on('data', function (data) {})

Received a message from the websocket server.

data will be either a String or a Buffer/Uint8Array (see buffer).

socket.on('close', function () {})

Called when the websocket connection has closed.

socket.on('error', function (err) {})

err is an Error object.

Fired when a fatal error occurs. If the reconnect option is set to something truthy (defaults to 5000), then this event will never get emitted because the socket will automatically reconnect on error.

socket.on('warning', function (err) {})

err is an Error object.

Fired when an error occurs but an auto-reconnect will be attempted. Thus, it's only a warning, not a full-fledged error.

real-world applications that use simple-websocket

• StudyNotes - Helping students learn faster and better
• instant.io - Secure, anonymous, streaming file transfer
• lxjs-chat - Omegle chat clone
• [ your application here - send a PR ]

license

MIT. Copyright (c) Feross Aboukhadijeh.

Similar packages

Other packages similar to simple-websocket

ws

The ws package is a popular WebSocket implementation for Node.js. It provides a comprehensive set of features for both WebSocket clients and servers, including support for extensions and subprotocols. Compared to simple-websocket, ws offers more advanced features and greater flexibility, but it may be more complex to use for simple tasks.

socket.io

Socket.io is a library that enables real-time, bidirectional, and event-based communication between web clients and servers. It abstracts WebSocket communication and provides fallbacks for older browsers. While it offers more features and robustness compared to simple-websocket, it is also heavier and more complex.