MQTT vs SSE

This text discusses the differences between MQTT and Server-Sent Events (SSE), two protocols used for real-time web or mobile applications. MQTT, a publish-subscribe messaging protocol, was first introduced in 1999 by Andy Stanford-Clark of IBM and Arlen Nipper of Eurotech. It is designed to work on limited networks with low bandwidth and unpredictable connectivity, making it ideal for IoT solutions. SSE appeared much later, in 2006, and is based on Server-Sent DOM Events. The text also provides an overview of MQTT and SSE in action, their pros and cons, and open source solutions available for both protocols. It concludes by recommending using a commercially available real-time messaging platform like Ably to enjoy consistently high levels of performance and reliability while scaling up.