I want to implement some of the twitter's client application's features in a web application, for example updating the timeline and searching for users etc. Now from what i found out by searching is, to do this in real time without refreshing a page or time delay, i would need to implement twitter's streaming API(user stream). I understand the twitter's REST API but unfortunately, i cant get the concept of streaming around my head. The documentation didn't help much either. For example about keeping a connection open and populate the page with real time tweets. I am planning to do this with PHP. Can anyone provide me an insight on how to go around doing it and what library to use?
Maybe you could try phirehose. Supports Streaming API and REST API as well. Check its Introduction page in the Wiki to understand how phirehose handles the Streaming API.