WebSockets

WebSockets are a communication protocol that enables full-duplex, bidirectional communication between a client (typically a web browser) and a server over a a single TCP connection.

Traditional HTTP requests are stateless and require a new connection for each request, meaning they are unfit for real-time data exchange with low latency and frequent updates. TCP connections would cover this use case, but since web browsers do not offer direct access to TCP sockets, WebSockets are the next closest thing.