Laravel 9 Websocket: Everything You Need to Know

Websockets have become increasingly popular in recent years. They are a powerful tool that enables real-time communication between the client and the server, allowing for more efficient and responsive applications. Laravel is a popular PHP framework that has been widely adopted by developers across the globe. With the release of Laravel 9, the framework has introduced built-in support for websockets. In this article, we will explore everything you need to know about Laravel 9 websockets.

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What are websockets?

Websockets are a protocol that enables real-time communication between the client and the server. Unlike HTTP requests, which are unidirectional, websockets allow for bidirectional communication. This means that the server can push data to the client as soon as it becomes available, without the need for the client to make a request. Websockets are particularly useful in situations where real-time updates are required, such as chat applications, multiplayer games, or stock market applications.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is a PHP framework that was first released in 2011. Since then, it has become one of the most popular PHP frameworks, with a large and active community of developers. Laravel offers a range of features that make it easy to develop web applications, including a powerful ORM, routing system, and blade templating engine.

What’s new in Laravel 9?

Laravel 9 was released on September 7, 2021, and introduced a range of new features and improvements. One of the most significant changes in Laravel 9 is the introduction of built-in support for websockets.

How to install Laravel 9?

Before we start using Laravel 9 websockets, we need to install Laravel 9 first. To install Laravel 9, you need to have PHP version 7.4 or higher installed on your system. You can install Laravel 9 using Composer, a dependency manager for PHP.

Open a command prompt or terminal.
Navigate to the directory where you want to install Laravel.
Run the following command to install Laravel 9:

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-project –prefer-dist “9.*”

This command will create a new Laravel 9 project in the directory ‘my-project’.

How to use websockets in Laravel 9?

Laravel 9 provides built-in support for websockets through the ‘Beyondcode/laravel-websockets’ package. This package provides a simple and easy-to-use interface for working with websockets in Laravel 9.

Step 1: Install the package

To install the ‘Beyondcode/laravel-websockets’ package, run the following command:

composer require beyondcode/laravel-websockets

Step 2: Publish the configuration file

Once the package is installed, you need to publish the configuration file. This can be done by running the following command:

php artisan vendor:publish –provider=”BeyondCode\\LaravelWebSockets\\WebSocketsServiceProvider” –tag=”config”

This will create a new configuration file ‘config/websockets.php’ in your Laravel project.

Step 3: Start the websocket server

To start the websocket server, run the following command:

php artisan websockets:serve

This will start the websocket server on port 6001.

Step 4: Configure your application

Once the websocket server is running, you need to configure your application to use websockets. This can be done by adding the following code to your ‘config/app.php’ file:

‘providers’ => […BeyondCode\LaravelWebSockets\WebSocketsServiceProvider::class,],

‘aliases’ => […’WebSocket’ => BeyondCode\LaravelWebSockets\Facades\WebSocket::class,],

This will make the ‘WebSocket’ facade available in your application.

Step 5: Use websockets in your application

Now that your application is configured to use websockets, you can start using them in your code. The ‘WebSocket’ facade provides a range of methods for working with websockets, including broadcasting events, subscribing to channels, and sending messages.

Conclusion

Laravel 9 websockets provide a powerful tool for building real-time applications. With built-in support for websockets, Laravel 9 makes it easy to get started with websockets and integrate them into your application. Whether you are building a chat application, a multiplayer game, or a stock market application, Laravel 9 websockets can help you build a more efficient and responsive application.

FAQs

What are the advantages of using websockets in Laravel 9?

Websockets provide real-time communication between the client and the server, allowing for more efficient and responsive applications. This can be particularly useful in situations where real-time updates are required, such as chat applications, multiplayer games, or stock market applications.

Is it difficult to use websockets in Laravel 9?

No, Laravel 9 provides built-in support for websockets through the ‘Beyondcode/laravel-websockets’ package. This package provides a simple and easy-to-use interface for working with websockets in Laravel 9.