I am always curious how different sites function.
I am assuming the site in general can be built purely in PHP and javascript and that the timer is basically running on an ajax call but how does the internal server/client machine keep everybody's computers in sync at the same time (especially given JS is a client-side language)?
If it is in fact making ajax calls (apparently every 1/5 of a second) in order to keep up with the bidding/timer settings, what type of hardware and bandwidth does a site like that have to maintain?
Are there better languages for sites like these in reality?
Thanks ahead of time!
Update
I am not asking how to create a display of a countdown in JS ultimately - how does the relay back and forth take place between the two (server and end user)