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EXAMINING USE CASES FOR ASYNCHRONOUS APIS: WEBHOOKS AND WEBSOCKETS

Ian Douglas
October 25, 2023· 5 mins

In an age where digital immediacy and real-time feedback dominate user
expectations, asynchronous APIs stand out as a beacon for enhanced interactivity
and efficiency. These APIs embrace the webhooks and WebSockets model, enabling
event-driven architectures that power many of today’s leading tech platforms.
Let’s explore the top five technical merits of asynchronous APIs with examples
of companies that have effectively integrated them.


WHAT ARE WEBHOOKS AND WEBSOCKETS?

Let’s start by examining the difference between webhooks and WebSockets.

Webhooks are stateless, meaning that each event notification is independent and
carries all the necessary information about the event. Webhooks act a lot like
RESTful API calls because HTTP is a stateless protocol and each connection needs
to provide its own context for the action needed on a given resource. Webhooks
are generally called on an as-needed basis when an event occurs, as opposed to a
long-lasting connection like WebSockets.

WebSockets, on the other hand, are stateful, meaning that the client and server
maintain a persistent connection and can share state information throughout the
lifetime of the connection. This long-lasting connection allows the client and
server to remember the “state” of the conversation. However, if a WebSocket
connection is interrupted and reestablished, the client and server need enough
context in that connection to resume their conversation.


REAL-TIME INTERACTIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT

One of the foremost advantages of asynchronous APIs, especially WebSockets, is
the ability to offer real-time interactivity. Unlike traditional
request-response models, WebSockets establish a two-way communication channel,
enabling servers to push data to the client instantaneously. Slack, the
collaboration platform, utilizes WebSockets to instantly deliver messages and
notifications, ensuring a seamless conversational experience. The end result is
a highly engaged user base, with data being exchanged in real time.

Slack also allows users to use third-party webhooks to carry their event-driven
architecture to another level. Users can generate content within Slack based on
external events, or vice versa, to trigger external webhooks when a message is
created within Slack.


EFFICIENT USE OF RESOURCES

Webhooks, an integral component of asynchronous APIs, play a pivotal role in
optimizing resource usage. Instead of periodically (and constantly) polling
servers for data or checking if a task is complete, systems can rely on webhooks
to notify them when specific events occur. GitHub, the popular software
development platform, leverages webhooks for various operations, such as
alerting Continuous Integration (CI) tools when a new commit is made. This
eliminates unnecessary network requests, reducing server load and ensuring
optimal performance.

That said, WebSockets still send a “keep alive” packet about every 30 seconds to
maintain the connection between the client and server, but this approach is
still far more efficient than the polling methods of typical RESTful APIs.


ENHANCED SCALABILITY

An inherent benefit of event-driven architectures powered by asynchronous APIs
is their ability to scale effortlessly. Stripe, the payments infrastructure
giant, employs webhooks to notify users about different events, like charge
completions or invoice updates. By decoupling the event generation from its
consumption, Stripe ensures its systems remain resilient and able to scale based
on demand without degrading performance.

Scalability is an interesting aspect of API performance. An early limitation of
WebSockets was the number of simultaneous clients that a server could handle,
but some clever networking tricks with load balancers and virtual networks now
allow for millions of connections.


IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE

With the rise of web applications that demand instantaneous feedback,
asynchronous APIs deliver an unmatched user experience. Trello, the visual
collaboration tool, uses WebSockets to update boards and cards in real time.
When a team member makes a change, every other member views the update
instantly, which supports collaboration and helps keep everyone on the same
page.

Many organizations can keep clients up to date in this fashion using a
“publish/subscribe pattern,” also commonly referred to as “pubsub”. When an
event happens, like a team member updating a card in Trello, that event is
“published” to a channel that other teammates subscribe to when loading the UI.
The WebSocket connection “subscribes” to these event channels and the teammate’s
client can act on that new event.


FLEXIBILITY IN INTEGRATIONS

An often-underestimated merit of asynchronous APIs is the flexibility they offer
in third-party integrations. Platforms like Zapier, an automation tool, thrive
on webhooks to connect disparate systems. Users can set triggers in one
application to initiate actions in another, weaving a web of interconnected
tools that work synchronously. This flexibility expedites workflows and
automates manual tasks, driving efficiency.

Similar to the “pubsub” model described above, tools like Zapier can also
publish these events to a similar channel, allowing for multiple parallel events
to be triggered simultaneously.


CAVEATS: WHEN ASYNCHRONOUS MAY NOT BE IDEAL

Asynchronous APIs have a lot of advantages over RESTful APIs, although the
RESTful architecture can mimic many of the features mentioned above. However,
despite these new features, it’s important to recognize where asynchronous
architectures might not be the best fit.

 * Data consistency: Data consistency is paramount in many
   applications—especially financial systems like banking platforms.
   Asynchronous systems can sometimes lead to temporary data inconsistencies,
   which can be detrimental in such contexts. It’s therefore important to use
   highly-detailed timestamping in order to know which information is to be
   processed in the correct order.
 * Complex error handling: Handling errors in asynchronous setups can be more
   complex than synchronous counterparts. The “unknown” nature of when events
   are generated and when they are handled means that errors might need
   sophisticated recovery mechanisms to replay what happened. Reproducing bugs
   becomes more complicated as a result.
 * Overhead of infrastructure: Asynchronous architectures, especially when
   driven by webhooks, may require a robust infrastructure to manage event
   subscriptions and deliveries. For small applications or startups, this
   overhead might be overkill and unnecessary.


WRAPPING UP

The choice to implement asynchronous APIs, be it through webhooks or WebSockets,
stems from the desire to craft scalable, efficient, and interactive
applications. Platforms like Slack, PayPal, and Stripe exemplify the strength of
this architecture. However, the suitability of this approach hinges on the
specific requirements and constraints of the application. Like all architectural
decisions, a careful analysis of the needs and trade-offs is essential. But when
aligned with the right use case, asynchronous APIs emerge as a modern marvel of
digital engineering.

We have some great documentation to help you get started with WebSockets. If
you’re looking to build a callback architecture for your event-driven work, we
have you covered with webhooks, as well.

Technical review by Pooja Mistry and Melinda Gutermuth.

+6
Tags: Integrations Tutorials Webhooks WebSockets

Ian Douglas

 * 
 * 
 * 

Ian Douglas is a senior developer advocate at Postman. View all posts by Ian
Douglas.

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