jQuery, simple polling example

function doPoll(){
    $.post('ajax/test.html', function(data) {
        alert(data);  // process results here
        setTimeout(doPoll,5000);
    });
}

Here's a (archive.org mirror of a) helpful article on long polling (long-held HTTP request) using jQuery. A code snippet derived from this article:

(function poll() {
    setTimeout(function() {
        $.ajax({
            url: "/server/api/function",
            type: "GET",
            success: function(data) {
                console.log("polling");
            },
            dataType: "json",
            complete: poll,
            timeout: 2000
        })
    }, 5000);
})();

This will make the next request only after the ajax request has completed.

A variation on the above that will execute immediately the first time it is called before honouring the wait/timeout interval.

(function poll() {
    $.ajax({
        url: "/server/api/function",
        type: "GET",
        success: function(data) {
            console.log("polling");
        },
        dataType: "json",
        complete: setTimeout(function() {poll()}, 5000),
        timeout: 2000
    })
})();