Websocket in Spring Boot: A Complete Guide

Websocket is a communication protocol that enables real-time bidirectional communication between client and server. This protocol allows a server to send data to a client without the client making a request for it. Websocket is a popular technology that is widely used in modern web applications. In this article, we will discuss how to implement websocket in Spring Boot. We will cover the following topics:

What is Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is an open-source framework that is used for building standalone, production-grade Spring-based applications. Spring Boot is designed to simplify the development process and reduce the time and effort required to build and deploy applications. Spring Boot provides a number of features and tools that make it easier to build web applications.

What is Websocket?

Websocket is a communication protocol that provides bidirectional communication between client and server over a single TCP connection. Websocket allows a server to send data to a client without the client making a request for it. Websocket provides a low-latency, high-performance channel for exchanging data between client and server.

How to Implement Websocket in Spring Boot?

Spring Boot provides a number of ways to implement websocket in a web application. The two most common ways to implement websocket in Spring Boot are:

  1. Using Spring Websocket
  2. Using STOMP over Websocket

Using Spring Websocket

Spring Websocket is a subproject of the Spring Framework that provides support for websocket-based communication in a Spring-based application. Spring Websocket provides a number of classes and interfaces that make it easy to implement websocket in a web application.

Step 1: Add Spring Websocket Dependency

The first step in implementing websocket in Spring Boot is to add the Spring Websocket dependency to your project. You can add the Spring Websocket dependency to your project by adding the following code to your pom.xml file:

<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-websocket</artifactId>
</dependency>

Step 2: Create a Websocket Configuration Class

The next step in implementing websocket in Spring Boot is to create a websocket configuration class. You can create a websocket configuration class by adding the following code to your project:

@Configuration
@EnableWebSocket
public class WebSocketConfig implements WebSocketConfigurer {

    @Override
    public void registerWebSocketHandlers(WebSocketHandlerRegistry registry) {
        registry.addHandler(new MyWebSocketHandler(), “/my-websocket”).setAllowedOrigins(“*”);
    }

    class MyWebSocketHandler extends TextWebSocketHandler {

        @Override
        public void handleTextMessage(WebSocketSession session, TextMessage message) throws IOException {
            String payload = message.getPayload();
            session.sendMessage(new TextMessage(“Hello ” + payload + “!”));
        }

    }

}

Step 3: Create a Websocket Client

The final step in implementing websocket in Spring Boot is to create a websocket client that can connect to the server. You can create a websocket client by adding the following code to your project:

var socket = new WebSocket(“ws://localhost:8080/my-websocket”);

socket.onopen = function(event) {
    console.log(“Connection opened!”);
    socket.send(“World”);
};

socket.onmessage = function(event) {
    console.log(“Received message: ” + event.data);
};

Using Spring Websocket is a simple and effective way to implement websocket in a Spring Boot application. Spring Websocket provides a number of features and tools that make it easy to build real-time applications.

Using STOMP over Websocket

STOMP (Simple Text Oriented Messaging Protocol) is a messaging protocol that provides a reliable, flexible, and interoperable way to exchange messages between applications. STOMP over Websocket is a protocol that allows STOMP messages to be exchanged over a websocket connection. STOMP provides a number of features that make it easy to implement real-time messaging in a web application.

Step 1: Add STOMP over Websocket Dependency

The first step in implementing STOMP over Websocket in Spring Boot is to add the STOMP over Websocket dependency to your project. You can add the STOMP over Websocket dependency to your project by adding the following code to your pom.xml file:

<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-websocket</artifactId>
</dependency>

<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-stomp</artifactId>
</dependency>

Step 2: Create a STOMP Configuration Class

The next step in implementing STOMP over Websocket in Spring Boot is to create a STOMP configuration class. You can create a STOMP configuration class by adding the following code to your project:

@Configuration
@EnableWebSocketMessageBroker
public class WebSocketConfig implements WebSocketMessageBrokerConfigurer {

    @Override
    public void configureMessageBroker(MessageBrokerRegistry config) {
        config.enableSimpleBroker(“/topic”);
        config.setApplicationDestinationPrefixes(“/app”);
    }

    @Override
    public void registerStompEndpoints(StompEndpointRegistry registry) {
        registry.addEndpoint(“/my-websocket”).setAllowedOrigins(“*”).withSockJS();
    }

}

Step 3: Create a STOMP Controller

The next step in implementing STOMP over Websocket in Spring Boot is to create a STOMP controller. You can create a STOMP controller by adding the following code to your project:

@Controller
public class WebSocketController {

    @MessageMapping(“/hello”)
    @SendTo(“/topic/greetings”)
    public Greeting greeting(HelloMessage message) throws Exception {
        Thread.sleep(1000); // simulated delay
        return new Greeting(“Hello, ” + HtmlUtils.htmlEscape(message.getName()) + “!”);
    }

}

Step 4: Create a STOMP Client

The final step in implementing STOMP over Websocket in Spring Boot is to create a STOMP client that can connect to the server. You can create a STOMP client by adding the following code to your project:

var socket = new SockJS(‘http://localhost:8080/my-websocket’);
var stompClient = Stomp.over(socket);

stompClient.connect({}, function (frame) {
    console.log(‘Connected: ‘ + frame);
    stompClient.subscribe(‘/topic/greetings’, function (greeting) {
        console.log(JSON.parse(greeting.body).content);
    });
    stompClient.send(“/app/hello”, {}, JSON.stringify({‘name’: ‘World’}));
});

Using STOMP over Websocket is a powerful and flexible way to implement real-time messaging in a Spring Boot application. STOMP over Websocket provides a number of features and tools that make it easy to build real-time applications.

Benefits of Using Websocket in Spring Boot

Using websocket in Spring Boot provides a number of benefits, including:

  • Real-time communication
  • Low-latency, high-performance communication
  • Bidirectional communication
  • Reduced network traffic
  • Increased scalability and flexibility
  • Improved user experience

FAQ

What is Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is an open-source framework that is used for building standalone, production-grade Spring-based applications. Spring Boot is designed to simplify the development process and reduce the time and effort required to build and deploy applications.

What is Websocket?

Websocket is a communication protocol that provides bidirectional communication between client and server over a single TCP connection.

What is STOMP over Websocket?

STOMP over Websocket is a protocol that allows STOMP messages to be exchanged over a websocket connection. STOMP provides a number of features that make it easy to implement real-time messaging in a web application.

What are the benefits of using Websocket in Spring Boot?

Using websocket in Spring Boot provides a number of benefits, including real-time communication, low-latency, high-performance communication, bidirectional communication, reduced network traffic, increased scalability and flexibility, and improved user experience.