How to build a turn-based multiplayer "real time" server

Posted by jmosesman on Game Development See other posts from Game Development or by jmosesman
Published on 2012-10-07T06:23:01Z Indexed on 2012/10/07 9:52 UTC
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I want to build a TCG for mobile devices that is multiplayer over the web (not local wifi or bluetooth). As a player plays cards I want the second player to see what is being played in "real time" (within a few seconds). Only one player can play at a time.

Server requirements:
1) Continuously listens for input from Player 1
2) As it receives input from Player 1, sends the message to Player 2

I know some PHP, but it seems like unless I had a loop that continued until I broke it (seems like a bad idea) the script would just receive one input and quit.

On the mobile side I know I can open sockets using various frameworks, but what language allows a "stream-like" behavior that continuously listens/sends messages on the server?

Or if I'm missing something, what would be the best practice here?

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