DEV Community: Ali Asad

HTTP Requests vs WebSockets vs Server-Sent Events

Ali Asad — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:45:20 +0000

We all crave apps that run Blazingly FAST even faster than a caffeinated cheetah. No one wants their Valorant frames doing the limbo, or waiting for messages as if they're delivered by snail mail. And who wants stale Figma designs? Not us!

So, today, we're spilling the beans on how to keep your digital world running like a Formula 1 racecar! 🏁

How REST APIs work

Before we delve into the heart of the competition, let's understand how traditional REST APIs work. REST (Representational State Transfer) APIs rely on HTTP requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to exchange data between clients and servers. These requests are stateless, meaning that each request must contain all the information needed. While robust, REST has its limitations when it comes to real-time updates.

Techniques for Receiving Real-Time Data

There are a lot of communication protocols to send/receive data in realtime but we are gonna discuss relatively simpler ones today:

Short Polling
Long Polling
WebSockets
Server-Sent Events (SSE)

1. Short Polling

Short polling involves clients sending periodic HTTP requests to the server at fixed intervals, asking if there's new data. It's like a child repeatedly asking, "Are we there yet?" during a long car ride.

Pros

Simple & quick to implement
Best for Prototyping and building Proof of concepts

Cons

Generates frequent network traffic
Inefficient
Delays in data retrieval can make real-time feel more like "near-time."

Applications

Short polling is ideal for applications where slight delays are acceptable, such as news feeds.

2. Long Polling

Long polling is a more intelligent approach. The client sends an HTTP request, but the server doesn't respond immediately. Instead, it holds the request open until new data is available or a connection timeout occurs.

In the above example, say the connection timeout is 30 seconds, if the server doesn't have data to send within this time, the connection will close. The client will have to send another request.

Pros

Reduces the frequency of HTTP requests as compared to short polling.
Offers near-real-time updates without overwhelming the server.

Cons

Not as efficient as Websockets or SSE.
May result in frequent connection timeouts if not managed correctly.

Applications

Long polling is great for applications that require low-latency updates, like chat apps and real-time notifications.

3. WebSockets

WebSockets establish a persistent, full-duplex connection between the client and server, enabling bidirectional communication. It's like having a phone line where both parties can talk freely without repeatedly dialing.

If the connection breaks, the client has to implement a mechanism for reconnecting with the server.

Pros

Low latency and true real-time capabilities.
Ideal for interactive applications, multiplayer games, and collaborative tools.

Cons

Requires more complex server-side implementation.
Firewalls or proxies can hinder WebSocket connections.

Applications

WebSockets excel in applications requiring real-time interaction, such as online gaming, online collaboration tools and chat applications.

4. Server-Sent Events (SSE)

SSE is a unidirectional communication method where the server sends updates to the client over a single HTTP connection. If the connection breaks, the client has to implement a mechanism for reconnecting with the server.

Pros

Lightweight and easy to implement.
Well-suited for applications where the server primarily pushes data to clients, like stock tickers and live scoreboards.

Cons

Limited to one-way communication from server to client.
Lacks the full-duplex capabilities of Websockets.

Applications

SSE is ideal for scenarios where you only need server-to-client data updates, such as stock market tickers and live blog feeds.

The Verdict

In this epic battle of real-time communication technologies, the right choice depends on your project's unique needs. Short polling, long polling, Websockets, and SSE each have their strengths and weaknesses, so choose wisely. Whether you want to stay updated on stock prices or host a real-time gaming event, there's a real-time communication solution ready for your needs. Make the right choice, and let your project's real-time journey begin!

Stay tuned for more in-depth and hands-on articles related to each one of these.

How to build a STARTUP with ZERO experience

Ali Asad — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:41:11 +0000

The classic tale of every CS grad's dreams we're talking about the kind of stories that make you feel like you're about to embark on a quest to discover the next legendary treasure, like the tech-savvy Indiana Jones! 🚀🌟

We've all been there, right? Growing up, we've idolized tech entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs, daydreaming about creating the next Facebook, Instagram, or Spotify. Well, folks, today, I'm here to spill the beans on my own epic adventure, a tale of how I conjured up my very first startup with ZERO experience, sprinkled with the invaluable lessons I picked up along the way. So, grab your digital map and your virtual fedora; it's time for a journey you won't soon forget! 💼🔍💡

Ideation

During my Senior Year of University, we had a course in Entrepreneurship for which we had to build a real-life startup. It could be anything that could generate revenue. My classmates worked on a wide range of things like clothing e-commerce stores, online bakeries, and online marketplaces for a variety of things. For me, building e-commerce stores or an IT-based services business is boring because there's not much risk involved.

It was a golden opportunity for me to execute any of the ideas that I had been holding on to. I with 2 of my group mates, performed a feasibility analysis on all of our ideas and chose 3 of our best ideas. After a lot of research on those ideas, understanding the problems, marking out the solutions, figuring out all the distribution channels, exploring the potential markets, and so on. We finally came down to 1 idea that seemed the most feasible.

Validation Phase

The early validation starts from your close circles, your friends, family, mentors, and subject matter experts. You don't get real validation from friends and family per se but you start thinking about that idea critically, and you find loopholes in your idea or ways you could enhance your idea. Basically, it's a litmus test, but if you have something like SpaceX in your mind, you might get ridiculed because your goal seems unachievable to regular people(aka your friends and family).

So take this point with a grain of 🧂, although it made sense in our case but it may or may not make sense in your case.

During the very early stages, we had to do a lot of presentations, create pitch decks, a lot of public-speaking to the faculty and classmates. This helped me build confidence over time to not shy away from speaking in front of large audiences, and believe me I was so shy that if someone would ask me my name in public gatherings I would freeze (jk, exaggerated a bit too much😅 but you get my point). At this point, I knew what problem we were targeting, what we were building, why we were building, how are we solving that problem and what competitive advantage we had.

There's this thing called BMC (Business Model Canvas) which is a tool for visualizing a business model in a simple, structured manner. This method can lead to a better understanding of your market segments, value proposition, distribution channels, revenue streams etc. It gives you clarity of thought about your idea and helps you find any piece you are missing that could be leveraged or anything that can be a blocker for the whole business.

What mistakes do people often make?

Most people build a solution and then find a problem for which they are building the solution. That is quite a naive approach to building a startup. You gotta

know the problem ,
feel it in its depth
understand it better than most people

only then you can build a solution, that no one has been able to find and build before.

In cases where founders know what the problem is and what is their unique proposition, their employees don't know about it. It apparently doesn't cause any harm, but if you observe it critically you realize that this closes the feedback loop where employees can contribute to the solutions that you are building because they don't understand the core business value.

Validation With Target Market Segment

With all that said, it is highly advisable to not start the development process until you have some paying customers for the said product/service. For that purpose, we tried selling the idea to a handful of clients, but there was no luck initially. The response was quite like a scene from Silicon Valley

The reason was we were so product-focused having the typical developer mindset, that we forgot to understand the perspective of our clients. So rather than selling the idea, we tried to sell the monetary benefit and user experience that they could achieve if we went ahead. So slowly we started to understand

how the market works
what are the issues they are facing
which are the big players in the market
why they are surviving despite their flaws

Once we figured out all that, we designed prototypes in Figma and pitched the final product with possibilities the business owners could achieve if they became our customers. As soon as we got validation from the actual target market, we went ahead with full throttle in developing the MVP.

Minimum Viable Product(MVP)

An MVP represents the essential, bare-bones iteration of your products or services, enabling you to validate your concept in the real world with actual users. It's not about sacrificing quality; instead, it involves concentrating on the core features that address the primary issue your product intends to tackle.

Minimum Lovable Product (MLP)

There's a fascinating concept known as MLP - the Minimum Loveable Product. It's not just about delivering the basics; it's about creating something that genuinely resonates with users and wins their affection. Personally, I find this idea quite appealing, but its applicability depends on your specific product/idea. For instance, if you're entering a market with many competitors, yet you offer a unique twist, the MLP approach can be a smart strategy to charm users. However, in cases where you're pioneering something entirely innovative, like ChatGPT when it first launched with no commercial competition, the MVP might be the way to go.

MVP Mindset

Building an MVP can be quite a challenge for most Product people because you have to consider what The North Star Metric is for your customers. I have seen a lot of Product guys, even senior ones adding fluff to the MVP because it's very easy to get distracted. Building an MVP is a very crucial step to ship the most value-driving stuff first because of the following reasons:

Resource Allocation Efficiency: Startups often operate on tight budgets and limited resources. Developing an MVP enables you to direct your resources where they matter most, reducing the risk of depleting your budget prematurely.
Rapid Market Entry: Time is crucial in the startup world. An MVP gets your product in the hands of users faster, allowing for quick testing and iteration. This swift feedback loop can be a game-changer.
Real-World Feedback: While you may believe you have the perfect product, reality often has different plans. An MVP helps you gather valuable input from actual users, assisting in refining your offering to align with the market's genuine needs.
Adaptation and Pivoting: The startup journey rarely follows a linear path. An MVP equips you to make necessary pivots when required.

Building a Loyal User Base

The main aim of an MVP is to build a loyal user base that will show us

how to improve the product
what we are doing wrong
what features to kill
which features to double down on

They basically give us the hidden nuggets of criticism that keep us focused on building the right thing and solving the right problems. So that's what we did, We built an MVP with the tech stack that would take the least time to build and eventually be scalable when the time is right. We threw an MVP out there with our early bird customers to use and also new customers whom we could attract with our bare-bones MVP.

Investment

Ah, behold the formidable hurdle that early founders often regard with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. You see, the investment landscape has become a bit like a rollercoaster no longer the wild dollar downpour it once was. Since the economic crunch, things have taken a rather leisurely pace on the investment front, but don't lose heart, my friend. The VC path isn't the only trail in these woods.

Fundraising may not be a walk in the park, but if you have unwavering faith in your idea, God works in mysterious ways. Picture this: Opportunity casually strolls down the road, and when it spots your hard work and determination, it decides to saunter over and meet you halfway. 🌟🚶

Investment Choices to Fuel Your Startup

Now, there are a few dependable ways to summon the funds you need

Bootstrapping - DIY Magic: Ever heard of bootstrapping? It's like starting a business with the savings you have, so make sure you have your expenses for at least a year or two saved up.
Friends and Family - The Inner Circle: Picture this: your besties and favorite cousins pooling their money into your startup because they believe in your genius. Just remember to get everything in writing; you don't want Thanksgiving dinner to turn into a business strategy debate.
Angel Investors - Business Guardian Angels: Angel investors are like the fairy godparents of the business world. They provide some capital in exchange for some equity. Plus, they've got a treasure of industry wisdom and connections in their back pocket.
Venture Capital - The Big League: Think of venture capitalists as the high rollers of startup funding. They're looking for the next big thing and aren't shy about asking for a piece of your company's action. But hey, their deep pockets come with a playbook for success.
Crowdfunding - The Power of the People: Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo turn your startup dreams into a massive online party. People who love your idea chip in, and in return, they get front-row seats or even backstage passes to your startup journey.
Accelerators and Incubators - Startup Boot Camp: Joining an accelerator or incubator program is like getting a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, but for startups. They give you funding, mentorship, and, best of all, a chance to shine in front of potential investors on the big demo day.

Our Stars Aligned Perfectly

We hit the jackpot when it came to getting that sweet investment cash! No bootstrapping headaches, no VC begging. It could be pretty nerve wrecking to pitch your ideas to VCs, just to hear that they don't want to invest. Its a Shark Tank episode but irl

We just tapped into our freelance connections, shared our fantastic idea, and our buddy couldn't resist jumping on board. Boom! He brought in the investment, and suddenly, we had a runway that would last us for a whopping 1.5 years! 🚀💰

PMFit

So what is PMFit? To understand what is Product Market Fit, let's start with Marc Andreesen's definition

Being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.

Basically when you have tapped in the right market, there is a need of the product you are selling and the customers are eager to buy the product/service. And the product is serving the purpose much better than the competitors.

Product-market fit is happening

Customers are buying as fast as you provide products, expand services, and hire salespeople. Reporters are sending you emails because they hear the buzz. Investors want to know more about your solution. Life is good.

Product-market fit is not happening

Customers aren't getting the value they expected, so word of mouth is kinda meh. The sales cycles take too long and deals often end up not happening. Press and investors are as silent as dead. The growth numbers go a little bit up or a little bit down. Knock knock, is anybody there?

GTM

Once you have achieved PMFit, now, it's time to figure out the most effective approach for converting as many folks as you can from that potential market in other words, crafting a top-notch go-to-market strategy. Your goal here is to lay out the game plan for marketing and sales channels, pricing strategies, and tactics to keep those customers coming back for more. 📈🎯

When executed with precision, your go-to-market strategy has the power to set you apart from your rivals, steering your startup toward a revenue-generating model that's not only repeatable but also scalable and highly profitable. 🚀💰

Growth

You've got the product-market fit, your go-to-market approach has been thoroughly vetted, and your financials are looking pretty darn good. Now, it's time to crank things up and fully embrace the exhilarating growth stage.

Your business is primed to transition from startup to scaleup, and there are a couple of savvy strategies to consider. You could set your sights on acquiring competitors or businesses that complement your own, and expand your company into new geographic territories.

But here's the kicker: this might be the moment to seek additional funding, not just from venture capital firms, but also from growth equity and private equity firms. They can provide the resources and expertise needed to fine-tune your startup for maturity, helping you dominate your competition and venture into fresh segments and global markets. 🚀💼💎

Conclusion

Startup ideas are a dime a dozen, all the fun and effort lies in its execution. There's a phrase among entrepreneurs:

Be a cockroach.

Being a cockroach means, not going the blitzscaling route with VC funding. VC funds comes with added pressure to scale and show the exponential growing revenue otherwise they pull the plug. So bootstrap and keep the team lean and your startup can't die unless you want it to. You can keep learning, iterating and pivoting until you reach the delicious PMFit.

All the fun lies in the process, just start the journey. Whether you're going for the punchy MVP or the charming Minimum Lovable Product (MLP), remember it's all about winning hearts and minds in the market. Whether you're pulling off bootstrapping magic, rallying your friends and family for a startup heist, or going all-in with venture capitalists and crowdfunding, the choice is yours. Every road has its twists and turns, and each can lead to a thrilling climax.

In the end, this entrepreneurial adventure is a testament to the wild spirit of innovation, showing that every hurdle is just another chance to showcase your perseverance. Armed with the wisdom of this adventure, aspiring entrepreneurs should gear up, take a leap, and chart their own course through the thrilling startup universe. 🚀💼🌟

Don't Think, Just Do

Ali Asad — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:23:15 +0000

I've consistently wrestled with overthinking, which has frequently acted as a roadblock in my life. Following the guidance of Maverick, I've finally decided to embark on my blogging journey after months of endless contemplation and countless excuses not to put my thoughts into writing.

Today, I'm eager to share my personal journey: how I managed to overcome my imposter syndrome (at least temporarily 😅) and the humble beginnings of my adventure.

Backstory

It all started before the summer of my Sophomore Year, shortly after completing a semester-long project where I developed an In-patient Department (IPD) management system using Flask. My project took significantly more time to develop compared to my peers' work. At the time, I found myself struggling to grasp key concepts such as:

How HTTP requests and responses functioned.
The intricacies of authentication and authorization.
And let's not even mention my less-than-impressive CSS skills.

I couldn't help but admire my classmates who seemed to breeze through their projects effortlessly. I viewed their projects and their creators with the same awe that people reserve for Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley.

As I delved deeper into the world of web frameworks, I quickly realized that my peers used a framework called Django which accelerated their development. So, I set my sights on mastering the Django framework during the upcoming summer break.

FOMO Igniting my Learning Journey

During the following summers, alongside my other planned activities, I immersed myself in Django. I completed several courses and built various projects along the way.

One of the great resources worth mentioning is a course that taught me quite a lot Build a Backend REST API with Python & Django - Advanced (not sponsored). It not only taught me about test-driven development (TDD), but also introduced me to Docker, containerization, and the intricacies of production environments.

My First Break

Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation - Seneca

Fast forward a few months, one of my friends, who was working part-time as a Django Developer, found a new job and asked if anyone wanted to take his place. I seized the opportunity and secured my first job as a Django Developer.

In the initial weeks, I felt overwhelmed by the scope of the project and the fact that it was used by thousands of users daily. I didn't want to be the junior dev who broke the production. Whenever doubt crept in, one of my friends would remind me:

Fake it till you make it

That's precisely what I did for the next few months. My confidence grew as:

I successfully deployed features to production, serving thousands of users.
My data migration scripts executed flawlessly, without disrupting production (my biggest fear at the time).
I played a role in onboarding significant clients for the company.

Conclusion

Reflecting on this journey, I find it quite intriguing. Many of you may be in a similar place to where I once was, battling imposter syndrome, wrestling with overthinking, and confronting various challenges. So, trust me when I say, "Don't think, just do". Keep grinding, one step at a time, and have faith in the process. You will reach your goals, and don't forget to savor every step of the journey.

As I continue down this exciting path of blogging, my goal is to inspire others facing similar challenges. If I can help even a single person out there, that's a victory for me.