A communication protocol for distributing information related to a
resource in substantially real-time to a subscriber includes a first HTTP
request message for allowing the subscriber to request a subscription to
the information related to the resource, where the first HTTP request
message includes subscription data in a header and/or in a Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI) reference associated with the first HTTP
request message, and the subscription data identifies the first HTTP
request message as a subscription request. The communication protocol
also includes a second HTTP request message for allowing a publisher to
update the information related to the resource, and an HTTP response
message for allowing a publish/subscribe service to notify the subscriber
of the updated information related to the resource each time the
publish/subscribe service receives the second HTTP request message from
the publisher.