At a Glance

Connection.js is a new way of socket communication. It automatically converts sockets into user profiles and helps developer to associate personal data with each connected user. Also, Connection.js simplifies socket networking by asynchronous callbacks. The library is built on top of socket.io.

Important note. This is a client-side of Connection library. For server-side solution, take a look at Node.js version.

How to Get Started

Copy connection.js file to your project. Then add scripts to your HTML document:

<script src="/socket.io/socket.io.js"></script>
<script src="connection.js"></script>

Usage

Initial setup

Create Connection instance:

const connection = new Connection({
	/*
		For now we can leave configuration empty.
	*/
});

That's all that you need to get started. Additionally, you can handle connection events:

const connection = new Connection({
	onConnected: () => {
		console.log("Connected");
	},
	onDisconnected: () => {
		console.log("Disconnected");
	}
});

Request and Response

In socket.io, every message sent between client and server includes event name and (optionally) some data. In Connection library, we use a different way of communication: request and response. It's similar to regular APIs where we send data by HTTP channel and (sometimes) receive response.

To receive requests from server, set up your configuration:

const connection = new Connection({
	// ...
	onRequest: (request) => {
		/*
			Handle data sent by server.
		*/
		let event = request.event;
		let data = request.data;
	},
	// ...
});

Also, it's possible to send response immediately:

const connection = new Connection({
	// ...
	onRequest: (request, respond) => {
		respond({
			text: "Hello server!"
		});
	},
	// ...
});

Sending request from client to server is super simple:

connection.send({
	event: "greeting",
	data: {
		text: "Hello server!"
	},
	callback: (data) => {
		/*
			Handle response.
		*/
	}
});

Conclusion

Here's an example of extended configuration for Connection instance:

const connection = new Connection({
	onConnected: () => {
		console.log("Connected");
	},
	onRequest: (data, respond) => {
		respond({
			text: "Hello server!"
		});
	},
	onDisconnected: () => {
		console.log("Disconnected");
	}
});

Most of things presented in configuration are optional. You can combine necessary settings to get the server functioning right.

License

Connection.js is available under the Apache 2.0 license. See the LICENSE file for more info.