Creating A Real Time Chat App In Angular With Websocket

Are you looking to add real-time chat functionality to your Angular web application? Well, you're in luck! In this article, we will walk you through the process of creating a real-time chat app in Angular using WebSockets. By the end of this guide, you will have a fully functional chat application that allows users to communicate in real-time. Let's dive in!

### What Are WebSockets?

First things first, let's talk about WebSockets. WebSockets provide a full-duplex communication channel over a single, long-lived connection between a client and a server. This means that both the client and the server can send data to each other freely. In the context of real-time chat applications, WebSockets are a powerful tool that enables instant messaging without the need for polling or constant refreshing of the page.

### Setting Up Your Angular Project

To get started, make sure you have Node.js and Angular CLI installed on your machine. If you haven't already, create a new Angular project by running the following command in your terminal:

ng new chat-app

Next, navigate into your project directory and install the `ngx-socket-io` library, which provides Angular integration for WebSockets:

npm install ngx-socket-io --save

### Creating the Chat Service

Now, let's create a service that will handle the WebSocket connection and message handling in our Angular app. Inside your Angular project, generate a new service using the Angular CLI:

ng generate service chat

Open the generated service file (`chat.service.ts`) and import the necessary dependencies:

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { Socket } from 'ngx-socket-io';

In the service class, establish a WebSocket connection to your server:

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class ChatService {

  constructor(private socket: Socket) {
    this.socket.connect();
  }
}

### Building the Chat Component

With the service in place, let's create a chat component where users can send and receive messages. Generate a new component using the Angular CLI:

ng generate component chat

In the chat component template (`chat.component.html`), include an input field for users to type messages and a display area for incoming messages. Don't forget to bind these elements to the corresponding methods in your chat service!

### Implementing Real-Time Messaging

To enable real-time messaging, listen for incoming messages in your service class using the `socket.fromEvent()` method:

export class ChatService {

  constructor(private socket: Socket) {
    this.socket.connect();
    this.socket.fromEvent('message').subscribe((message: string) => {
      // Handle incoming messages
    });
  }

  sendMessage(message: string) {
    this.socket.emit('message', message);
  }
}

### Wrapping Up

Congratulations! You've successfully created a real-time chat app in Angular using WebSockets. Feel free to enhance the functionality by adding features like user authentication, message persistence, or message formatting. Real-time communication is a powerful tool that can transform your web applications and provide a seamless user experience. Happy coding!