ws: a node.js websocket library
ws
is a simple to use WebSocket implementation, up-to-date against RFC-6455,
and probably the fastest WebSocket library for node.js.
Passes the quite extensive Autobahn test suite. See http://einaros.github.com/ws
for the full reports.
Protocol support
- Hixie draft 76 (Old and deprecated, but still in use by Safari and Opera.
Added to ws version 0.4.2, but server only. Can be disabled by setting the
disableHixie
option to true.) - HyBi drafts 07-12 (Use the option
protocolVersion: 8
) - HyBi drafts 13-17 (Current default, alternatively option
protocolVersion: 13
)
Installing
npm install --save ws
Sending and receiving text data
var WebSocket = require('ws');
var ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
ws.on('open', function open() {
ws.send('something');
});
ws.on('message', function(data, flags) {
});
Sending binary data
var WebSocket = require('ws');
var ws = new WebSocket('ws://www.host.com/path');
ws.on('open', function open() {
var array = new Float32Array(5);
for (var i = 0; i < array.length; ++i) {
array[i] = i / 2;
}
ws.send(array, { binary: true, mask: true });
});
Setting mask
, as done for the send options above, will cause the data to be
masked according to the WebSocket protocol. The same option applies for text
data.
Server example
var WebSocketServer = require('ws').Server
, wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 });
wss.on('connection', function connection(ws) {
ws.on('message', function incoming(message) {
console.log('received: %s', message);
});
ws.send('something');
});
Server sending broadcast data
var WebSocketServer = require('ws').Server
, wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 });
wss.broadcast = function broadcast(data) {
for(var i in this.clients) {
this.clients[i].send(data);
}
};
Error handling best practices
ws.send('something');
ws.send('something', function ack(error) {
});
try { ws.send('something'); }
catch (e) { }
echo.websocket.org demo
var WebSocket = require('ws');
var ws = new WebSocket('ws://echo.websocket.org/', {
protocolVersion: 8,
origin: 'http://websocket.org'
});
ws.on('open', function open() {
console.log('connected');
ws.send(Date.now().toString(), {mask: true});
});
ws.on('close', function close() {
console.log('disconnected');
});
ws.on('message', function message(data, flags) {
console.log('Roundtrip time: ' + (Date.now() - parseInt(data)) + 'ms', flags);
setTimeout(function timeout() {
ws.send(Date.now().toString(), {mask: true});
}, 500);
});
Other examples
For a full example with a browser client communicating with a ws server, see the
examples folder.
Note that the usage together with Express 3.0 is quite different from Express
2.x. The difference is expressed in the two different serverstats-examples.
Otherwise, see the test cases.
Running the tests
make test
API Docs
See the doc/ directory for Node.js-like docs for the ws classes.
License
(The MIT License)
Copyright (c) 2011 Einar Otto Stangvik <einaros@gmail.com>
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.