Polling With Trongate MX

Polling is a powerful feature in Trongate MX that allows you to periodically fetch updates from the server without user interaction. This can be particularly useful for real-time updates, live data feeds, or any scenario where you need to keep your web application's content fresh and up-to-date.

Usage

Polling in Trongate MX is implemented using the mx-trigger attribute. By specifying a polling interval, you can instruct Trongate MX to automatically send requests to the server at regular intervals.

Basic Example:

<div mx-get="api/live_data" mx-trigger="every 5s">
  <!-- Content will be updated every 5 seconds -->
</div>

In this example, the content of the <div> will be updated with data from the specified URL every 5 seconds.

Polling Options

Trongate MX supports several polling options to provide flexibility in how and when updates are fetched:

Option	Description	Example Syntax
Basic Polling	Polls at a regular interval starting immediately.	`mx-trigger="every 10s"`
Load Polling	Starts polling after an initial delay.	`mx-trigger="load delay:3s"`
Polling with Initial Delay	Combines an initial delay with a different interval for subsequent requests.	`mx-trigger="load delay:2s, every 7s"`

Time Interval Specification

Trongate MX allows you to specify time intervals using different units:

s: seconds
m: minutes
h: hours
d: days

This flexibility allows you to set up polling intervals that best suit your application's needs.

Examples:

Basic Polling (every X seconds):

The code sample below fetches updates from the server every 3 seconds, providing real-time data without page refresh:

<div mx-get="api/updates" mx-trigger="every 3s"></div>

Load Polling (delay then poll every X minutes):

This code initiates polling after a 5-minute delay, then continues to poll every 5 minutes, useful for less frequent updates:

<div mx-get="api/data" mx-trigger="load delay:5m"></div>

Polling with Initial Delay:

This example waits for 1 hour before the first poll, then polls every 30 minutes thereafter, ideal for long-term data tracking:

<div mx-get="api/stats" mx-trigger="load delay:1h, every 30m"></div>

Consider server load: Be mindful of the polling frequency to avoid overwhelming your server with requests.
Use appropriate intervals: Choose polling intervals that make sense for your data's update frequency.
Combine with other attributes: Use polling with mx-target and mx-swap for more dynamic updates.
Error handling: Implement proper error handling to manage failed requests gracefully.

Additional Notes

Polling is only applied to elements that exist when the page is initially loaded.
Polling works with various request types but specifically excludes mx-post requests to prevent unintended repeated form submissions.
The polling mechanism is handled entirely client-side, making it easy to implement without server-side changes.

By leveraging polling in Trongate MX, you can create dynamic, real-time experiences for your users without the need for complex JavaScript or WebSocket implementations. This feature allows your web applications to stay current and responsive with minimal effort.