Webhooks Provide an Efficient Alternative to API Polling – InApps

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Key Summary

Overview: The article by InApps Technology explores webhooks as a more efficient alternative to API polling for real-time data updates in 2022, detailing their functionality, benefits, and use cases in modern web development and IT operations.
What are Webhooks?:
- Definition: Webhooks are user-defined HTTP callbacks triggered by specific events, delivering real-time data to a specified URL when an event occurs in a source application.
- Functionality: Instead of repeatedly querying an API (polling), webhooks push data instantly to a receiving application upon events like user actions, system updates, or data changes.
- Example: A webhook notifies an e-commerce app when a payment is processed in a payment gateway.
What is API Polling?:
- Definition: A method where an application periodically sends requests to an API to check for new data or updates.
- Drawbacks:
  - High resource usage due to frequent requests, even when no updates exist.
  - Increased latency as updates are only detected during the next polling cycle.
  - Potential to hit API rate limits, causing delays or throttling.
- Example: An app checks a weather API every 5 minutes for updates, wasting resources if no changes occur.
How Webhooks Work:
- 1. Event Trigger: An event occurs in the source system (e.g., a new user signs up).
- 2. HTTP Request: The source system sends a POST request with event data to a preconfigured webhook URL.
- 3. Data Processing: The receiving application processes the payload and takes action (e.g., updates a database, sends a notification).
- 4. Acknowledgment: The receiver typically responds with a 200 OK status to confirm receipt.
- Example: GitHub sends a webhook to a CI/CD pipeline when code is pushed, triggering an automated build.
Webhooks vs. API Polling:
- 1. Efficiency:
  - Polling: Consumes resources with frequent, often unnecessary requests.
    - Example: Querying an API 12 times/hour with no updates wastes bandwidth.
  - Webhooks: Only sends data when events occur, minimizing resource usage.
    - Example: A webhook delivers data only when a new order is placed.
- 2. Real-Time Updates:
  - Polling: Delayed updates based on polling intervals (e.g., 5-minute delays).
  - Webhooks: Near-instant notifications, ideal for time-sensitive applications.
    - Example: A webhook instantly alerts a CRM when a lead submits a form.
- 3. Scalability:
  - Polling: Scales poorly with increased frequency or multiple endpoints, straining servers.
  - Webhooks: Scales efficiently as payloads are event-driven, reducing server load.
    - Example: Webhooks handle thousands of event notifications without constant querying.
- 4. Complexity:
  - Polling: Simpler to implement but harder to optimize for performance.
  - Webhooks: Requires setup of callback URLs and handling logic but offers long-term efficiency.
    - Example: Setting up a webhook endpoint in Node.js to receive payment updates.
- 5. Cost:
  - Polling: Higher costs due to excessive API calls and server resources.
  - Webhooks: Lower costs with event-driven architecture.
    - Example: Reduced AWS costs by switching from polling to webhooks for real-time updates.
Benefits of Webhooks:
- Efficiency: Reduces server load and bandwidth by eliminating unnecessary requests.
- Real-Time: Enables instant data delivery for responsive applications.
- Cost Savings:
  - Minimizes API call expenses and infrastructure costs.
  - Offshore development in Vietnam ($20–$50/hour via InApps Technology) for webhook integration saves 20–40% compared to U.S./EU rates ($80–$150/hour).
- Scalability: Supports high-volume, event-driven workflows in distributed systems.
- Flexibility: Integrates with various platforms (e.g., Stripe, Slack, GitHub) for diverse use cases.
Challenges of Webhooks:
- Setup Complexity: Requires configuring secure endpoints, handling payloads, and ensuring reliability.
- Reliability: Delivery failures (e.g., network issues) need retry mechanisms or queuing.
- Security Risks: Exposed webhook URLs can be targeted; authentication is critical.
- Monitoring: Requires logging and alerts to track delivery and errors.
Security Considerations:
- Authentication: Use signatures (e.g., HMAC, or tokens to verify webhook sources.
- Encryption: Enforce TLS for secure data transmission.
- Rate Limiting: Implement limits to prevent abuse or DDoS attacks.
- Validation: Verify payload integrity to avoid processing tampered data.
- Example: A webhook endpoint validates a Stripe signature before processing a payment event.
Use Cases:
- E-commerce: Real-time order notifications (e.g., Shopify webhooks for new purchases).
- DevOps: Triggering CI/CD pipelines on code commits (e.g., GitHub webhooks to Jenkins).
- Customer Support: Updating CRMs with user actions (e.g., Zendesk webhooks for new tickets).
- IoT: Sending device status updates (e.g., via AWS IoT webhooks for sensor alerts).
- Notifications: Alerting teams on Slack for system events (e.g., Datadog webhooks for monitoring).
InApps Technology’s Role:
- Offers expertise in webhook implementation and integration with modern web and DevOps ecosystems.
- Leverages Vietnam’s 200,000+ IT professionals, providing cost-effective rates ($20–$50/hour) for high-quality development.
- Supports Agile workflows with tools like Jira, Slack, and Zoom for transparent collaboration (GMT+7).
Recommendations:
- Replace polling with webhooks for real-time applications to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
- Secure webhook endpoints with signatures, TLS, and rate limiting to mitigate risks.
- Use retry mechanisms and logging (e.g., AWS SNS, Prometheus) to ensure reliable delivery.
- Partner with InApps Technology for expert webhook solutions, leveraging Vietnam’s skilled developers for cost-effective, high-performance integrations.

APIs vs. Webhooks

Mitchell talked about the difference between webhooks and APIs. When using an API to get data from a server, the client requests the data and the server sends it back. The client has no idea if there is any new data or the status of the information on the server until it makes the request.

Webhooks are the opposite. The server knows what information the client needs, and it sends it to the client as soon as it has some new data. The client then sends back a “thanks :)” also known as an HTTP “200 OK” acknowledgment to let the server know that the request was received and that there is no need to try to send it again.

When you think about this over time, Mitchell demonstrates that webhooks can be quite efficient when compared to using APIs for a similar task. With a polling method of checking an API for changes, you might make many requests that return no changes for a particular event. With webhooks, you only exchange data when there is new information.

APIs vs Webhooks

Designing Webhooks for Your Application

Mitchell says that “webhooks require prearrangement” with the service, and you need to provide the information required for it to know where and how to send you data.

In the case of GitHub, for example, this would include a payload URL, content type, secret (token for security), and the events you want to trigger the webhook. She also cautions that “most webhooks are like the Internet of Things,” meaning that they are “not very good” when it comes to security. So you need to think about how to handle security to avoid DDoS and other potential security issues when using webhooks.

She also mentions two use cases to consider when designing your webhooks:

“Try to include all information for common outcomes.”
“Consider impact of payload size vs potentially many follow-up API calls.”

When receiving your webhook data, Mitchell emphasizes that “It’s just a POST request!” and offers this advice:

“DO: accept, store and acknowledge quickly.”
“DON’T: validate or process before acknowledging.”

Mitchell says, “The internet can be bursty — accept and acknowledge the request. Do the processing later to avoid holding open the network connection and creating a bottleneck.”

The easiest way to do this is to accept the data, drop it into a database along with a status field (new / processed / failed), and acknowledge it before doing any processing of the data. This allows you to create a cron job for a convenient time to process the data, do whatever work you need to do, and update the status field.

“If you outgrow the database method, use a queue,” Mitchell then advised. In this scenario, you accept the data, drop it in a queue, and acknowledge it.

For this task, Mitchell admitted that she’s “drunk the RabbitMQ Kool-Aid,” but other options include Beanstalkd, and Gearman. Whichever back-end queue you choose, putting the data in a queue gives you an “easy way to link many workers with work to do” to process your data, she said.

Publishing Webhooks

If you have a popular online service, you might also need to offer webhooks for your users to consume services. Mitchell said that offering webhook integrations is ideal if:

you have clients polling your API a lot.
it’s common for another system to react to changes in your system.
you want to offer notifications for specific events.
any of the above apply either internally or externally.”

Mitchell summarizes the talk at end with one simple statement, “Webhooks … are awesome :)”

IBM is a sponsor of InApps.

Source: InApps.net

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Phu Nguyen

As a Senior Tech Enthusiast, I bring a decade of experience to the realm of tech writing, blending deep industry knowledge with a passion for storytelling. With expertise in software development to emerging tech trends like AI and IoT—my articles not only inform but also inspire. My journey in tech writing has been marked by a commitment to accuracy, clarity, and engaging storytelling, making me a trusted voice in the tech community.