Networking & Internet
UDP
Definition
The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communication protocol used across the Internet for time-sensitive transmissions such as video playback or DNS lookups. It is a simpler, connectionless protocol that does not provide reliability, ordering, or error checking.
Why It Matters
UDP is used for applications where speed is more important than reliability. By skipping the error-checking and ordering overhead of TCP, it can send data with much lower latency.
Contextual Example
Online gaming, voice calls (VoIP), and video streaming often use UDP. In these applications, it's better to have a tiny glitch (a lost packet) than to have a long delay while the system waits for a lost packet to be re-sent.
Common Misunderstandings
- UDP is "fire and forget." It sends packets but doesn't guarantee they will arrive.
- It is contrasted with TCP, which is reliable but slower.