AI engineering glossary · Web APIs HTTP
What is polling?
Polling: A technique where a client repeatedly asks a server at regular intervals whether something has changed or a job has finished. It is simple but wasteful when little changes, so webhooks or streaming are preferred for frequent updates.
Polling: an example
A script checks GET /jobs/12 every 5 seconds until the status becomes done.
Related terms
More Web APIs HTTP terms
Where you learn it
Polling is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.