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Archives / 2014
  • SignalR is Magic

    Recently, I attended a Twin Cities .NET User Group presentation on SignalR.  I had heard about SignalR several times and was curious.   Plus there was free pizza…<burp>.

    SignalR has revamped the way I think about web sites.   Normally, a browser requests some data and the server sends it.  Ajax allows discreet calls to avoid full post-backs and full page rendering…but it is still a “request and wait” protocol.  A web client can also poll a web server which allows the server to choose when and what to send to the clients.  But that is a kind of ‘duct-tape’ programming.   It is interesting to note that internally SignalR will fall back to polling protocols if a more modern transport isn’t supported by the browser.

    In a nutshell:  SignalR allows the server to actively push data to clients.  

    I decide to try writing my own SignalR Application:  A Live Golf Scoring system.    Here is a link to a live demo of the final application:  http://www.stevewellens.com/LiveGolfScores/

    Here is what the final product looks like, note there are three browsers, IE, Chrome and FF all showing the exact same data: