Laravel development: How to implement WebSockets communication using Laravel Echo?

Laravel is a popular PHP framework that has many useful tools and extension libraries that allow developers to easily build high-quality web applications. Among them, Laravel Echo is a powerful WebSockets communication tool that can help developers achieve real-time communication in web applications.

In this article, we will introduce how to use Laravel Echo and establish a WebSockets server to achieve real-time communication. We will first briefly describe what WebSockets and Laravel Echo are, then we will explain how to install and configure Laravel Echo, and finally demonstrate how to use Laravel Echo to communicate with JavaScript clients.

What are WebSockets?

WebSockets is a protocol that allows real-time communication connections between web applications and web servers. This connection can remain open for a long time and is bidirectional, allowing simultaneous reading and writing.

Unlike HTTP requests, the continuous opening of the WebSockets connection allows the server to push data to the client in real time without the need for polling or long polling. This enables web applications to communicate quickly, efficiently, and in real time.

What is Laravel Echo?

Laravel Echo is an official extension library of the Laravel framework, which can help developers implement WebSockets communication in web applications. It provides a simple API to easily subscribe to broadcast channels and pass messages between client and server using JavaScript.

Use Laravel Echo and Laravel Pusher to easily set up a WebSockets server and use broadcast channels to organize WebSockets communication. On the client side, we can use JavaScript and Laravel Echo to listen for messages in real time to enable real-time communication in web applications.

Installing and Configuring Laravel Echo

Before starting to use Laravel Echo, we need to install and configure the required software: Laravel and pusher PHP SDK. Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK can be installed through the Composer package manager.

First we need to install Laravel:

composer create-project laravel/laravel your-project-name

Next, we need to install pusher PHP SDK. The installation of pusher PHP SDK can be completed by running the following command:

composer require pusher/pusher-php-server

In order to integrate Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK, we need to add the service provider and alias in the config/app.php file:

// config/app.php

'providers' => [
    // ...
    LaravelBroadcastingBroadcastServiceProvider::class,
],

'aliases' => [
    // ...
    'Broadcast' => LaravelBroadcastingBroadcastFacade::class,
],

Next, let's do some configuration work to ensure that Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK can work properly. We need to add all the configuration required by Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK in the .env file:

BROADCAST_DRIVER=pusher
PUSHER_APP_ID=your-pusher-app-id
PUSHER_APP_KEY=your-pusher-app-key
PUSHER_APP_SECRET=your-pusher-app-secret
PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER=your-pusher-app-cluster

Create WebSockets Server

Next, we will set up using Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK WebSockets server. We need to define the broadcast channel in the routes/channels.php file. The broadcast channel determines which users can receive broadcast messages.

// routes/channels.php

use IlluminateSupportFacadesBroadcast;

Broadcast::channel('chat.{roomId}', function ($user, $roomId) {
    // ...
});

In the above example, we defined a broadcast channel named "chat" and passed it a parameter "roomId". Only users with the "chat.roomId" permission can receive messages from this broadcast channel.

Next, we need to define the broadcast event and push its message. Create a new event class in the app/Events directory, for example:

// app/Events/ChatMessageSent.php

<?php

namespace AppEvents;

use IlluminateBroadcastingPrivateChannel;
use IlluminateContractsBroadcastingShouldBroadcast;
use IlluminateFoundationEventsDispatchable;
use IlluminateQueueSerializesModels;

class ChatMessageSent implements ShouldBroadcast
{
    use Dispatchable, SerializesModels;

    public $message;

    public function __construct($message)
    {
        $this->message = $message;
    }

    public function broadcastOn()
    {
        return new PrivateChannel('chat.' . $this->message['room_id']);
    }
}

This event class contains the logic of broadcast events, and needs to implement the ShouldBroadcast interface to be broadcast.

Now we can instantiate the event in our application and then send the broadcast message. For example, add the following message sending method in the app/Http/Controllers/ChatController.php file:

// app/Http/Controllers/ChatController.php

<?php

namespace AppHttpControllers;

use AppEventsChatMessageSent;
use IlluminateHttpRequest;

class ChatController extends Controller
{
    public function sendMessage(Request $request)
    {
        $message = [
            'user_id' => $request->user()->id,
            'room_id' => $request->get('room_id'),
            'message' => $request->get('message'),
        ];

        event(new ChatMessageSent($message));

        return response()->json(['status' => 'Message Sent!']);
    }
}

Please note that in the above code, event(new ChatMessageSent($message)) triggers the event and sends A broadcast event containing message data.

Establishing real-time communication

Finally, we need to use Laravel Echo in the JavaScript client to listen for broadcast events to obtain real-time WebSockets communication. In JavaScript, we can use two ways to listen to broadcast events:

• Echo.channel(channelName).listen(eventName, callback): Subscribe to broadcast events and register a callback function to receive Executed when the event occurs.
• Echo.private(channelName).listen(eventName, callback): Subscribe to private broadcast events and register a callback function to execute when the event is received.

For example, in our chat application, we can use the following code to listen for events for new messages:

// resources/js/app.js

import Echo from 'laravel-echo';
window.Pusher = require('pusher-js');

window.Echo = new Echo({
    broadcaster: 'pusher',
    key: process.env.MIX_PUSHER_APP_KEY,
    cluster: process.env.MIX_PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER,
    encrypted: true,
});

window.Echo.channel(`chat.${roomId}`)
    .listen('ChatMessageSent', (e) => {
        console.log(e);
    });

In the above code, we use the Laravel Echo client to subscribe "chat.roomId" channel and print out the event data when the "ChatMessageSent" event is received.

Conclusion

By using Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK, we can easily set up a WebSockets server and use broadcast channels to implement WebSockets communication. On the client side, we can use JavaScript and Laravel Echo to monitor messages in real time to achieve real-time communication.

Additionally, Laravel Echo provides many other broadcast channels and events available, which we can use to build complex web applications. If you are looking for a modern real-time communication solution, Laravel Echo and pusher PHP SDK are a good choice.

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