JS/HTML5 WebSocket: Connect without HTTP call

Question

Alright so I just tried out the new WebSocket class in HTML 5, and was pretty excited they exist; however, I fail to see how they are much more rewarding than AJAX seeing as

Answer 1

No. Once the connection is established you have a true socket. But you're right that it requires special server support. So it won't let you connect to an unmodified POP or IMAP server.

They chose that design (the Upgrade mechanism) so you could easily have a server that listened for WebSocket connections as well as true HTTP requests.

There is still a big distinction from AJAX and COMET. You can use WebSockets to have true full-duplex communication between server and client. Previous browser APIs haven't provided that, forcing people to use various work-arounds (such as repeated AJAX requests, COMET's forever frame, and others).