How to make the web work in real-time

BBC News

Shortcomings of the traditional web search methods are becoming apparent as the online audience swells.  That ask-and-you-will-receive mechanism breaks down when too many people want data from a server at the same time. Everyone knows the frustration of websites that will not respond because they are overwhelmed.

A change is under way to help the web cope with this growth and help some parts of it cope better in a real-time age. The change comes in the form of software specifications known as the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

Despite the complicated name, XMPP does a very simple thing. Whereas the web, via HTTP, asks for information on behalf of an individual, XMPP makes sure everyone is told.  If HTTP is a performance for one, XMPP is a stadium gig.

Lufthansa uses it,  Facebook is thinking about it,  Google’s started using it, …

“There’s a transition going on,” said Dr Giles Nelson.  “XMPP is about pushing the information out rather than waiting for the people to come and ask.”

“That’s going to become more and more important on the web generally,” he said. “The information sources you want, the data will be pushed to you and will become available immediately.”

Pontus Kristiansson, head of a behavioural marketing firm says  something like XMPP is going to be essential as we move from a web of pages to a web of people.

“When the web is all about what people are doing, what they are saying right now, then a different way of handling that data is required.  The way you declare you are interested in something is simply by behaving like you do,” he said.  “Instead of people having to report what they are doing to a page so others can see it, the information might be published via XMPP to all those who are interested.” … BBC article.

DCL: I’m wondering if a little CEP might help the guys building these protocols?