Too many (way too many) people claim that BlazeDS is a message pushing technology, when in fact it is only a polling technology. Long polling does not make it pushing.

Let’s just call it what it is.

Polling, regardless of whether it is short interval polling or long cycle polling is still just that, polling.

Push technology is ONLY available when a client has a connection in which the server can push a message in real-time to the connected client.

Do note, my use of “real-time”. Not “near real-time”, but actual “real-time” is necessary to be a push technology. In addition, the foundation of the HTTP protocol can’t support full duplex connections required for push technology.

An analogy that I like to use:

It doesn’t matter how many times you check your mailbox, or how long you wait each time you arrive, you are still polling your mailbox for letters.

BlazeDS does offer an alternative to the costly LiveCycle Data Services, however it does not provide real time message push as defined by the definition of push technology.