Browser communication with the server. What methods are most effective?

Question

PHP

When developing one project, the question arose of what is better to use for communication between the browser and the server.
The project is a web-chat, with channels, private and other things.
At first I used ajax, but, for obvious reasons, I abandoned this idea.
Then I switched to websocket, but it also has a number of disadvantages.
Please share examples of your solutions to similar issues. The xmpp protocol is of particular interest: how to work with it on the client, on the server, on what you can write a handler (php, python?), etc.

Answer 1

Node.js(io.js) + socket.io
Socket.io supports transports:
--- WebSocket
--- Adobe Flash Socket
--- AJAX long polling
--- AJAX multipart streaming
--- Forever Iframe
--- JSONP Polling
Browsers: Internet Explorer 5.5+/Safari 3+/Google Chrome 4+/Firefox 3+/Opera 10.61+