ActionCable vs. Socket.io at ConFoo

How do you achieve real time, bi-directional, event-based communications in your apps? The Socket.io library is tested and true. ActionCable, new with Ruby on Rails version 5, is a challenger. Which solution is better, and why?

This presentation compares Socket.io and ActionCable (included w/Ruby on Rails version 5).

Transcript

1. ActionCable vs. Socket.io @RayHightower ConFoo - Dec 5-7, 2016 Vancouver, BC Canada
2. What? Why? Examples. Comparison.
3. ActionCable is… •Real time. •Full duplex. •Event based.
4. Half Duplex Walkie-Talkie Full Duplex Phone
5. HTTP is stateless.
7. https://xkcd.com/869/
8. WebSocket Protocol
9. REmote DIctionary Server
10. In-memory Key-value store Dictionary Hash {
11. pub/sub
13. Channels: Clients Rooms: Server
14. Create the app.
16. Generate the rooms controller.
18. Generate the channel.
20. Create a home for the messages in the database.
22. Remember the migration!
24. 1 Rails.application.routes.draw do 2 get 'rooms/show' 3 4 end 1 Rails.application.routes.draw do 2 root to: ‘rooms#show' 3 4 end config/routes.rb (before & after)
25. 1 class RoomsController < ApplicationController 2 def show 3 @messages = Message.all 4 end 5 end app/controllers/rooms_controller.rb (before & after) 1 class RoomsController < ApplicationController 2 def show 3 end 4 end
26. app/channels/rooms_channel.rb 1 # Be sure to restart your server when you modify… 2 class RoomChannel < ApplicationCable::Channel 3 def subscribed 4 # stream_from "some_channel" 5 end 6 7 def unsubscribed 8 # Any cleanup needed when channel is unsubscribed 9 end 10 11 def speak 12 end 13 end
28. The Remarkable Journey of a Single Web Request by Aaron Kalin https://windycityrails.com/videos/2015/#9
30. Another chat app?
31. Gartner Hype Cycle Image by Jeremy Kemp https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gartner_Hype_Cycle.svg
32. Gartner Hype Cycle ActionCable Slope of Enlightenment?
35. +
36. WebSockets and Robotics
37. Remotely Operated Vehicle
49. Browser BeagleBone Black Arduino Socket.io Serial Node.js Chrome C++
50. Browser BeagleBone Black Arduino ActionCable Serial Ruby Chrome C++
51. Comparison
52. •ActionCable is… •Socket.io is…
53. YACA OpenROV vs.
54. Fitness for a particular purpose.
55. Thanks! RayHightower.com