In programming, what does "streaming" mean?

The concept of "streaming" in programming refers to a method of processing data in such a way that it can be consumed or manipulated while it is still being received or generated, rather than requiring the entire dataset to be loaded into memory first. This approach is particularly useful for handling large amounts of data or when the data arrives in a continuous flow, such as video or audio streams. By processing data in a streaming fashion, systems can begin to utilize and respond to it almost immediately, reducing latency and improving efficiency.

For instance, when watching a video online, streaming allows the viewer to start watching the content without waiting for the entire file to download. Instead, parts of the video are sent in sequences, which enables continuous playback while additional data is still being transmitted. This is fundamentally different from methods that involve loading complete sets of data into memory before starting the processing, which could lead to significantly higher memory usage and delays.