How to do Applet/Servlet permanent interactive connection

Question

Hi, I'm modifying an Instant Messaging Application originally implemented under the Applet client/standalone-server scheme that I'm implementing now under the Applet/Servlet scheme using HTTP Tunneling with Object Serialization. But this yet don't work correctly because the connection's flows are closed ever after a Servlet's response to a client request (in this moment are close the connection's flows). I'm using flows of type ObjectInputStream and ObjectOutputStream using Object Serialization with HTTP Tunneling.
this is part of the connection code in the servlet side:
public void doGet (HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws
ServletException, IOException{
doPost( request, response);
public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws
ServletException, IOException{
is = new ObjectInputStream(
new BufferedInputStream(request.getInputStream()));
try{  
response.setStatus(HttpServletResponse.SC_OK);
out = new ObjectOutputStream (
new BufferedOutputStream (response.getOutputStream ()));
out.writeObject("OK");
out.flush();
// Send the input and output flows to the Thread the Handle the client Connection
newUser(is, out);
} catch(Exception ex){
System.err.println("Exc1: "+ex.toString());
ex.printStackTrace();
Run Method to read client request:
public void run() {
SocketData sd;
while ((sd = readObject()) != null) {                               
sd.performAction(this);
close();
After a servlet response in the readObject() method the input flow is closed in the reader request of clients and the connection between the applet (client) and servlet is lost.
How to can implement a smarter HTTP Tunneling with permanent interactive connection beetween the Applet and Servlet such as in the Applet /server Standalone connection using TCP/IP Socket connection.
Is possible the use of TCP/IP Sockets in the implementation of HTTP Tunneling with Object Serialization in the Applet/Servlet permanent interactive communication scheme?
some links or code samples?
Please show me the ligth.
Thanks greatly a smarter help.

Answer 1

I'm not sure that I fully understand your problem, but HTTP is a stateless protocol. That means request-response pairs are completely separated from each other.
You should ask yourself if you really need to use HTTP and a servlet or if a raw TCP/IP communication would be a better approach to your problem.