Clear DefinitionsStreaming Data API
1 min read
Pronunciation
[streem-ing dey-tuh ey-pee-eye]
Analogy
Like a live news ticker that pushes updates to your screen as they happen.
Definition
An application programming interface that delivers continuous, real-time data streams—such as blockchain events or price feeds—to clients over persistent connections.
Key Points Intro
Streaming Data APIs provide low-latency access to event-driven information.
Key Points
Persistent connections: uses WebSocket, gRPC streams, or SSE
Backpressure handling: manages client consumption speed
Subscription model: clients subscribe to specific event types
Scalability: often built on message brokers like Kafka or NATS
Example
A trading bot connects to a DeFi protocol’s WebSocket API to receive real-time transaction and price updates for arbitrage opportunities.
Technical Deep Dive
APIs deploy pub/sub brokers that topic-route messages to subscriber channels. Protocols define message schemas (e.g., Protobuf or JSON). Clients implement heartbeats, reconnection logic, and ack/nack for reliable delivery. Server clusters scale horizontally with partitioned topics and consumer groups.
Security Warning
Failure to authenticate subscriptions can expose sensitive data; encrypt streams and enforce access control.
Caveat
Persistent connections can strain client resources and require robust reconnection strategies.
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