A real-time chat application is an excellent example of how WebSocket can revolutionize real-time interactive communication on the web. In this article, we'll walk through building a simple chat application using Laravel and integrating WebSocket using the laravel-websockets
package to deliver responsive and interactive communication experiences to users.
Objectives of the Application
We will build a real-time chat application with the following features:
Send and Receive Messages Instantly: Users can send and receive messages instantly without needing to refresh the page.
Online User List: The application will display a list of online users and their chat status.
Send Images and Files: Users can share images and files within the chat.
Getting Started with Installation and Configuration
To get started, we need to install the laravel-websockets
package and configure it to integrate WebSocket with Laravel. Follow these steps:
Install the laravel-websockets
package: Begin by installing the package using Composer.
Publish the configuration file: After installation, publish the configuration file to customize the settings.
Run migration: Create the necessary database tables for WebSocket.
Start WebSocket server: Launch the WebSocket server to handle real-time connections
Building the User Interface
We'll create a simple user interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to display the message list, input box, and the list of online users.
Integrating WebSocket and Broadcasting
We'll use Laravel Broadcasting to integrate WebSocket with the application.
Install Pusher: Install the pusher/pusher-php-server
package to use Pusher as the Broadcasting driver.
Configure Broadcasting: In the config/broadcasting.php
file, configure the driver and provide your Pusher credentials.
Create an event and broadcast: Create a ChatMessageSent event and broadcast it when a user sends a message.
JavaScript Script: Use JavaScript to listen for events from the server and update the user interface.
Conclusion
By completing this tutorial, you've successfully built a real-time chat application using WebSocket in Laravel. Users can send and receive messages instantly, and you've witnessed how WebSocket provides a responsive and interactive communication experience.