The "User Datagram Protocol" (UDP) is a communication protocol of the Internet Protocol (IP). It is therefore used in IT communication.
In contrast to TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), a UDP connection is a so-called "connectionless protocol". This means that UDP does not establish a fixed connection between the sender and receiver before data transmission. There is no direct sequence of data packets and no guarantee that they will reach their destination in full.
In practice, this means that a UDP connection is faster than its TCP counterpart because it has to process less data. It takes significantly less time to send packets of data if there is no need to ensure that the packets arrive in the correct order.
Applications such as video conferencing and online gaming require real-time communication. In these situations, it is not so important that every packet arrives undamaged.
Even a wrong sequence is not important. A retransmission between source and destination is not necessary. It is more important that the data is transmitted as a UDP packet quickly and without delay (low latency). This is why a UDP connection tends to be used in such situations.
In comparison, a TCP connection is used for applications such as web browsing, e-mail and data transfer. Here the data transfer must be reliable. The TCP requires more time and resources to ensure that all packets arrive and are ordered in the correct sequence.
The best way to talk about complex topics is in person. Via chat, e-mail, phone or in a personal demo remote or on-site.
