​

Stream Comparison

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Feature Comparison Matrix

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Use Case Recommendations

​

WebSocket - Best For:

• Interactive Applications: Chat applications, real-time collaboration
• High-Frequency Trading: Market data, price updates
• Gaming: Multiplayer games, live events
• Control Systems: IoT device control, monitoring dashboards
• Bidirectional Communication: Applications needing to send commands back

​

Public SSE - Best For:

• Public Displays: Digital signage, public dashboards
• Demo Applications: Product demos, proof of concepts
• Development & Testing: Local development, integration testing
• Educational Purposes: Learning real-time concepts
• Low-Risk Monitoring: Public sentiment tracking

​

Private SSE - Best For:

• Analytics Platforms: Social media analytics, trend analysis
• Enterprise Applications: Internal monitoring, business intelligence
• Research Applications: Academic research, data science projects
• Content Monitoring: Brand monitoring, compliance tracking
• Data Processing: ETL pipelines, data warehousing

​

Performance Considerations

​

Latency

• WebSocket: ~50ms average latency
• Public SSE: ~100ms average latency
• Private SSE: ~75ms average latency

​

Throughput

• WebSocket: Up to 100 messages per second
• Public SSE: Limited to 1 message per second
• Private SSE: Up to 5 messages per second

​

Resource Usage

• WebSocket: Higher CPU and memory usage due to bidirectional handling
• Public SSE: Lowest resource usage
• Private SSE: Moderate resource usage with token management

​

Implementation Complexity

​

WebSocket Implementation

// Medium complexity
const ws = new WebSocket("wss://api.scrape.st/ws", [], {
  headers: { Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" },
});

ws.onopen = () => {
  ws.send(
    JSON.stringify({
      action: "subscribe",
      filters: { keywords: ["javascript"] },
    }),
  );
};

ws.onmessage = (event) => {
  const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
  // Handle data
};

// Manual reconnection required

​

Public SSE Implementation

// Low complexity
const eventSource = new EventSource("https://api.scrape.st/sse/public");

eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
  const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
  // Handle truncated data
};

// Automatic reconnection built-in

​

Private SSE Implementation

// High complexity
async function connectPrivateSSE() {
  const token = await generateToken();
  const eventSource = new EventSource(`https://api.scrape.st/sse/private?token=${token}`);

  eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
    const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
    // Handle full data
  };

  // Token refresh and reconnection logic required
}

​

Cost Analysis

​

Development Cost

• WebSocket: Medium development time, complex reconnection logic
• Public SSE: Low development time, simple implementation
• Private SSE: High development time, token management complexity

​

Operational Cost

• WebSocket: Higher server resource usage
• Public SSE: Lowest operational cost
• Private SSE: Moderate operational cost with token overhead

​

Data Cost

• WebSocket: Full data payload, higher bandwidth usage
• Public SSE: Truncated data, lowest bandwidth usage
• Private SSE: Full data, moderate bandwidth usage

​

Security Considerations

​

WebSocket Security

• API key authentication required
• Secure WebSocket (WSS) mandatory
• Bidirectional communication increases attack surface

​

Public SSE Security

• No authentication required
• Data truncation provides privacy protection
• Read-only communication reduces risk

​

Private SSE Security

• Token-based authentication
• Token expiration limits exposure
• HTTPS required for all communications

​

Migration Paths

​

From Public SSE to Private SSE

1. Implement token generation logic
2. Update connection URLs with tokens
3. Handle full data payloads
4. Add token refresh mechanisms

​

From WebSocket to Private SSE

1. Remove bidirectional communication logic
2. Implement token management
3. Adapt to unidirectional data flow
4. Update error handling for SSE patterns

​

From Private SSE to WebSocket

1. Add bidirectional communication capabilities
2. Switch from token to API key authentication
3. Implement manual reconnection logic
4. Update message handling for WebSocket format

​

Decision Framework

​

Choose WebSocket if:

• ✅ You need bidirectional communication
• ✅ High message frequency is required
• ✅ Lowest latency is critical
• ✅ Interactive features are needed
• ❌ Simple implementation is preferred

​

Choose Public SSE if:

• ✅ Quick implementation is needed
• ✅ Public data is sufficient
• ✅ Development resources are limited
• ✅ Testing or demo purposes
• ❌ Complete data is required

​

Choose Private SSE if:

• ✅ Complete data access is needed
• ✅ Enhanced filtering is required
• ✅ Enterprise-grade security is needed
• ✅ Analytics use case
• ❌ Bidirectional communication is needed

​

Final Recommendation