====
txWS
====

txWS (pronounced "Twisted WebSockets") is a small, short, simple library for
adding WebSockets server support to your favorite Twisted applications.

Usage
=====

Use ``txws.WebSocketFactory`` to wrap your factories. That's it! Adding
WebSockets support has never been easier.

    >>> from txws import WebSocketFactory
    >>> reactor.listenTCP(8080, WebSocketFactory(factory_to_wrap))

There is no extra trick to txWS. There is no special setup involved.

Do you want secure WebSockets? Use ``listenSSL()`` instead of ``listenTCP()``.

Versions
========

txWS supports the following versions of the WebSockets draft:

 * Version 76

   * Hixie-76 (Chrome 6, Fx 4, Opera 11, **UNTESTED** Safari 5)
   * HyBi-00

 * Version 7

   * HyBi-07 (Fx 6)

 * Version 8

   * HyBi-08
   * HyBi-10 (Chrome 14, Chrome 15, Fx 7, Fx 8)

 * Version 13

   * RFC 6455 (Chrome 16)

All listed browser versions have been tested and verified working; any browser
marked "UNTESTED" hasn't been personally tested, but has been reported working
by third parties.

In case you're wondering, the version numbers above are correct; WebSockets
versioning is not sane.

Browser Quirks
==============

This might save you some time when developing your WebSockets-based
application.

 * Firefox (all versions): WebSockets do not follow the standard WebSocket
   API.
 * Opera 11: WebSockets are disabled by default and are very slow to close
   connections.

Comparisons
===========

Here's how txWS compares to other Twisted WebSockets libraries.

txWebSockets
------------

txWS, unlike txWebSockets, doesn't reuse any HTTP machinery and doesn't
pretend to be HTTP. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends largely on
whether the WebSockets standard ends up being a valid HTTP subset.

txWS supports newer WS versions 7 and 8, but txWebSockets supports the older
version 75. Both libraries support version 76.

Autobahn
--------

Autobahn provides a client library for WebSockets as well as a server, and
provides a fancy set of messaging protocols on top of the WS layer. Autobahn
also provides support for WS version 10.

However, Autobahn doesn't provide support for WS version 76, and requires
clients to subclass their factories and protocols in order to provide WS
functionality. txWS uses a compositional approach with wrapped protocols,
allowing completely transparent reuse of existing protocols and factories.

Cyclone
-------

Cyclone provides a simple WebSockets handler. This handler can do WS versions
75 and 76. The Cyclone WebSockets handler is very limited, can only wrap other
Cyclone handlers, and doesn't support any of the more modern WebSockets
versions.

License
=======

txWS is (c) 2011 Oregon State University Open Source Lab and is made available
under the MIT license.

Thanks
======

Thank you to all of the contributors in the community who have chipped in to
help keep txWS alive.
