How deeply does The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition cover polling?

Explains the request sequence and optimization metadata, but does not detail client scheduling algorithms.

Polling

As explained in The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition

A polling strategy repeatedly sends requests to check the current state or result of an asynchronously running operation.

Polling repeatedly sends requests to check the status of an asynchronous operation. It avoids keeping a connection open for work that may last minutes or hours, reducing timeout and scalability risks. section 14.7 section 14.7.1

Monitoring a stress test

A dashboard starts a stock-market simulation with POST /simulations. The API returns 202 Accepted, current status, and Location: /simulations/12345. The dashboard then calls GET /simulations/12345 until the status changes from IN_PROGRESS to DONE. section 14.7.1

Make polling more efficient by:

Returning progressPercentage, progressPercentagePerMinute, or estimatedEnd so consumers can adjust request frequency. section 14.7.1
Returning Retry-After with an estimated completion time when another wait is appropriate. section 14.7.1
Considering callbacks or webhooks as alternatives, while retaining retrieval for consumers that cannot implement them. section 14.7 section 14.9

How The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition covers it

Cover of The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition

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Also explained in

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LatencyPolling is the repeated checking of a device or status condition by software instead of waiting for an interrupt.
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API Design PatternsA polling loop is a repeated sequence of requests that checks an asynchronous operation until a completion condition is reached.
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Logs and TelemetryPolling is a technique in which a client periodically requests data or checks state from a service.
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Python Concurrency with asyncioPolling is a technique that repeatedly checks a resource to determine whether it is ready for processing.
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The Art of CodeA communication technique in which a program repeatedly requests an endpoint to check for changes.
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Data Pipelines with Apache Airflow, Second EditionPolling is the technique of repeatedly checking an external system or condition at intervals until a desired state is observed.
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Learn Rust in a Month of LunchesPolling is the process of repeatedly checking asynchronous computations for progress or completion.
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Build Your Own Robot: Using Python, CRICKIT, and Raspberry PiPolling is a technique that repeatedly checks a resource or condition at a configured interval.

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Related concepts

WebSocketalternative to · WebSocket is a network protocol that enables persistent, bidirectional, full-duplex communication between endpoints over a single TCP connection.
sensorused by · An Airflow sensor is a task component that repeatedly waits for an external condition or event and succeeds when it becomes true.
source connectorused by · A source connector is a Kafka Connect connector that reads data from an external source system and publishes records to Kafka.
HTTP GETuses · HTTP GET is a request method for retrieving a representation of a resource identified by the request target, without requesting a state change.
file watcheralternative to · A file watcher is a background process or component that detects changes to files or directories in a filesystem.
Amazon SQSused by · Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a managed AWS message-queuing service for storing and asynchronously exchanging messages between distributed software components.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.