Zoom users who would like to learn more about webhooks and websockets and how they can be used to improve realtime communication. It might be interesting to know that a new tutorial has been posted on the official Zoom blog explaining what Zoom webhooks and web sockets are and their availability in beta.
The services were incorporated by Zoom to provide its customers with even more tools to create innovative and compelling experiences for users around the world. Simply put, websockets and webhooks are important tools that can be used to create interactive web applications that provide seamless and efficient updates, low latency, costeffectiveness, and scalability.
WebSockets in general can be a good option for those developing applications in industries such as banking, finance, and healthcare, with an added layer of security since the connection is established directly between the client and server. When implementing webhooks, the developer needs to make extra efforts to secure their endpoint, such as validating the request and whitelisting IP addresses.
What are webhooks and websockets?
“Webhooks and websockets are key components of modern applications because they provide notification services for important events. Both webhooks and websockets allow you to receive realtime notifications of events in your Zoom account. They also support applications that need to respond to changes or updates as soon as they happen. However, there are some key differences between webhooks and websockets that you should consider when deciding which one is right for your use case, such as ease of implementation, speed of delivery, reliability, architecture, and other factors.”
Protocols and Ease of Implementation
Webhooks use the HTTP protocol and WebSockets use the WebSocket (ws or wss) protocol. Because of this, webhooks tend to be easier to implement as they only need an endpoint URL to receive HTTP POST requests. Web sockets require more advanced configuration, including obtaining an access token and opening a connection to the server.
Delivery speed
Web sockets are generally faster in terms of delivery than webhooks because they offer a duplex communication channel. WebSockets allow a single connection between a client and a server, enabling realtime communication without the need for additional HTTP requests. Compared to webhooks, a persistent connection can result in faster delivery of event notifications and more efficient use of resources.
Reliability
When evaluating eventbased communication options, reliability is critical. Webhooks send a notification to a specific URL when an event occurs. However, if the endpoint experiences problems, the event notification may not be handled correctly. Web sockets, on the other hand, maintain a persistent connection to the server, providing a more consistent and reliable connection.
Architecture
Webhooks are based on a “push” model where Zoom sends event notifications to endpoints as they occur. xWebSockets are based on a “pull” model where the client establishes a connection to the server and then receives event notifications as they occur.
Stateless vs state
Webhooks are stateless, which means that each event notification is independent and contains all the necessary information about the event. WebSockets are stateful, which means that the client and server maintain a persistent connection and can exchange state information for the lifetime of the connection.
Use cases
Webhooks can be the best solution when an application only needs to receive a small number of event notifications. Let’s say you have a Marketplace app that needs to be notified when a user creates, updates, or deletes a meeting. In this case, webhooks work well because the application only needs to receive a small number of event notifications (such as meeting event notifications). Setting up a simple endpoint to receive these notifications via webhooks is more efficient than implementing websockets.
To learn more about the Zoom WebHooks and WebSockets Beta, please visit the official Zoom Blog using the link below.
Source: ZB
Headings: Technology news, Main news
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