A walk through Web Real Time Communication ie WebRTC

WebRTC - A walk through

What is WebRTC?

According to Wikipedia, the definition of WebRTC is, “WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is an API definition drafted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that supports browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing without the need of either internal or external plugins.”

In simple words, it is a piece of software which enables programmers to develop programs which can help users communicating via their Web Browsers without any installations. So, basically the need of installation of Software like Skype, Google Talk, etc. is not needed with the help of WebRTC. Besides that, one client can directly communicate to other client directly, without any intermediary. Hence, the confidentiality of the communication remains intact.

A brief history of WebRTC :

Graphic by Jimmy Lee / jimmylee.info

We all need effective and reliable modes communication. As the average time spent by the individuals online increasing, communicating via web is on demand. WebRTC is supply to that demand. Initially, RTC needed licensed Audio and Video Technologies which were expensive. But acquired a company called GIPS which developed many components required for RTC. In 2011, Google Open Sourced it and made it publicly available. In May, 2011, Ericsson came up with first WebRTC application.

Need for WebRTC ?

WebRTC has open standards for real-time, Audio-Video Communication without any need of any Plugins.

- Many commercial/proprietary applications use RTC but they need installation. Like, Skype, Google Hangout, etc.

- Downloading and installing plugins increases users overhead.

- Commercial/proprietary applications may be expensive to use.

The motivation behind WebRTC is to keep Open Source, Free, Standardized and more efficient than existing Technologies.

Abstract Design

The API Stack of WebRTC is composed of mainly following :

Mediastream (getUserMedia) : Responsible for accessing Data Streams, for example, mic and camera.

RTCPeerConnection : This part helps in setting up Audio and Video Calls, Encryption and optimized management of Bandwidth.

RTCDataChannel : Responsible for Sharing the data peer to peer between the browsers.

Benefits of WebRTC

To individuals :

Simplicity in using

Security: The API offers P2P Encrypted Communication. Hence, the level of security is higher.

To Companies :

- Cost saving

- Rich communication without needing proprietary software.

- Higher level of Security

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