# Gorilla WebSocket

Gorilla WebSocket is a [Go](http://golang.org/) implementation of the
[WebSocket](http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6455.txt) protocol.

### Documentation

* [API Reference](http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket)
* [Chat example](https://github.com/gorilla/websocket/tree/master/examples/chat)
* [File watch example](https://github.com/gorilla/websocket/tree/master/examples/filewatch)

### Status

The Gorilla WebSocket package provides a complete and tested implementation of
the [WebSocket](http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6455.txt) protocol. The
package API is stable.

### Installation

    go get github.com/gorilla/websocket

### Protocol Compliance

The Gorilla WebSocket package passes the server tests in the [Autobahn Test
Suite](http://autobahn.ws/testsuite) using the application in the [examples/autobahn
subdirectory](https://github.com/gorilla/websocket/tree/master/examples/autobahn).

### Gorilla WebSocket compared with other packages

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket">gorilla</a></th>
<th><a href="http://godoc.org/code.google.com/p/go.net/websocket">go.net</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455">RFC 6455</a> Features</td></tr>
<tr><td>Passes <a href="http://autobahn.ws/testsuite/">Autobahn Test Suite</a></td><td><a href="https://github.com/gorilla/websocket/tree/master/examples/autobahn">Yes</a></td><td>No</td></tr>
<tr><td>Receive <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455#section-5.4">fragmented</a> message<td>Yes</td><td><a href="https://code.google.com/p/go/issues/detail?id=7632">No</a></td></tr>
<tr><td>Send <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455#section-5.5.1">close</a> message</td><td><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket#hdr-Control_Messages">Yes</a></td><td><a href="https://code.google.com/p/go/issues/detail?id=4588">No</a></td></tr>
<tr><td>Send <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455#section-5.5.2">pings</a> and receive <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455#section-5.5.3">pongs</a></td><td><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket#hdr-Control_Messages">Yes</a></td><td>No</td></tr>
<tr><td>Get the <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455#section-5.6">type</a> of a received data message</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes, see note 2</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3">Other Features</tr></td>
<tr><td>Limit size of received message</td><td><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket#Conn.SetReadLimit">Yes</a></td><td><a href="https://code.google.com/p/go/issues/detail?id=5082">No</a></td></tr>
<tr><td>Read message using io.Reader</td><td><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket#Conn.NextReader">Yes</a></td><td>No, see note 1</td></tr>
<tr><td>Write message using io.WriteCloser</td><td><a href="http://godoc.org/github.com/gorilla/websocket#Conn.NextWriter">Yes</a></td><td>No, see note 1</td></tr>
<tr><td>Encode, decode JSON message</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td></tr>
</table>

Notes: 

1. The go.net io.Reader and io.Writer operate across WebSocket frame boundaries.
  Read returns when the input buffer is full or a frame boundary is
  encountered, Each call to Write sends a single frame message. The Gorilla
  io.Reader and io.WriteCloser operate on a single WebSocket message.
2. The application can get the type of a received data message by implementing
   a [Codec marshal](http://godoc.org/code.google.com/p/go.net/websocket#Codec.Marshal)
   function.