Frontend <-> Backend Communication: Choose Your Weapon Wisely

Not every app needs WebSockets.
Not every update deserves polling.
And real-time means very different things depending on context.

Here is how I think about the usual suspects.

Short Polling
"Are we there yet?" every few seconds.
Simple, but wastes bandwidth and adds latency.

Long Polling
"Tell me when something changes."
Better than short polling, but still request-heavy at scale.

WebSockets
A permanent open line.
Best for true real-time: chat, trading, multiplayer.
Trade-off: infrastructure and state complexity.

Server-Sent Events (SSE)
One-way stream from server to client.
Great for live feeds, dashboards, notifications.
Trade-off: client cannot push on the same channel.

Webhooks
"Don't call us, we'll call you."
Event-driven, async, scalable.
Trade-off: retries, idempotency, and security handling.

The takeaway:
There is no single best option, only the right one for:
1. Traffic patterns
2. Latency tolerance
3. Infrastructure cost
4. UX expectations

Good systems are built with intentional trade-offs.

What is your default choice for real-time updates, and why?