Real-time communication is a necessity in a globally connected world. Such can be achieved via Flask, Python, and WebSockets.
This chat application utilizes simultaneous two-way communication channels over a single TCP connection via WebSockets to provide fast, real-time communication between users. Users must input their name and randomly-generated room code to join a session that is deleted after all users leave. Front-end utilizes Bootstrap and JavaScript to populate the message area with received/sent messages. Back-end utilizes Flask web-framework powered by Python and SocketIO to provide WebSocket capabilities.
- Flask
- Gunicorn
- Heroku
- PyCharm
- Python
- SocketIO
This application was challenging to say the least! I originally wanted to deploy on PythonAnywhere but realized, after deployment, that it was not functioning as intended. After some research on their forums, I learned that they do NOT yet have support for WebSockets. After some further research, I decided to deploy to Heroku using Gunicorn, which was the exact solution I needed to restore proper functionality for the application!
This project demonstrated the power of WebSockets as a way to enable simultaneous communication between users. Flask allowed me to develop the back-end with few lines of code. Opportunities to refactor could include database persistence and limiting chat rooms to a specified number of users.
