Think Like an Architect -3 🏗

️Polling vs. Webhooks

Polling vs Webhooks

As an architect, deciding between polling and webhooks for real-time data delivery requires careful consideration of various factors. Let’s explore the key aspects to think about when making this decision and examine a few examples.

Key Aspects to Consider:

1. Resource Utilization: Polling involves constant requests to check for updates, which can be resource-intensive and inefficient, especially in high-traffic environments. On the other hand, webhooks provide a more efficient way of receiving updates as data is pushed to your application when available, reducing resource consumption.
2. Real-Time/Frequency Updates: If your application requires instant data delivery and real-time updates, webhooks are the preferred choice. With webhooks, you receive notifications as soon as events occur, ensuring timely processing of information. Polling, on the other hand, may result in delays as updates are only retrieved when requested.
3. Control and Flexibility: Polling offers developers more control over when and how data is fetched from external services. This can be advantageous in certain scenarios where specific data retrieval strategies are required. Conversely, webhooks provide a more automated approach, as data is pushed to your application without the need for constant polling.

Polling

Polling involves repeatedly checking the external service or endpoint at fixed intervals to retrieve updated information. It’s similar to continuously asking, “Do you have something new for me?” even when there might not be any updates available. While this approach gives developers more control over data retrieval, it can be resource-intensive and inefficient, especially in high-traffic environments. Additionally, polling may result in missed real-time information, as updates are only received when requested.

Imagine you run an e-commerce platform and need to update the status of orders based on information from a shipping provider. You don’t need real-time updates instead, update the status in time intervals. Your system is configured to check the shipping provider’s API every 30 minutes to see if there are updates on the shipment status of orders.

Webhooks

Webhooks function as a built-in notification system, where external services push data to your application as soon as events occur. Instead of constantly polling for updates, you create an endpoint in your application server and provide it as a callback to the external service. Whenever something interesting happens, the external service calls the endpoint and provides the relevant information. This approach is ideal for applications that require instant data delivery and real-time updates, as data is pushed to your application as soon as it becomes available. Additionally, webhooks are more efficient in terms of resource utilization, especially in high-throughput environments, as they eliminate the need for constant polling.

Imaging you implement a payment processing application, real-time updates on transaction status are important. Here, webhooks would be the preferred choice to receive immediate notifications of payment events, ensuring timely processing and response to payment transactions.

However, the choice between polling and webhooks depends on the specific requirements of your application. While polling offers more control over data retrieval, webhooks are providing real-time updates and efficient resource utilization. By carefully evaluating your application’s needs and considering factors such as resource utilization and real-time requirements, you can determine the most suitable method for real-time data delivery.

In this article, I focused on comparing polling and webhooks, two popular methods for handling real-time data updates. While push notifications and event-driven architecture also play important roles in real-time data handling, they involve different mechanisms and use cases such as;

1. Reactive vs Proactive
2. Decoupling
3. Scalability and efficiency
4. Broader reach and engagement

Therefore, I will cover push notifications and event-driven architectures in upcoming articles, where we can discuss deep into their unique features and advantages. Stay tuned to explore more about these exciting technologies and how they can enhance your applications.

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