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Definition: stream


(1) To transmit live or on-demand audio or video content while users listen or watch. This was the original meaning of the term; however, it has evolved to become a synonym for "transmit" and is used to refer to transmitting wired or wireless from any source to a destination. See streaming.

(2) The continuous flow of data from one place to another.

(3) Any contiguous group of bytes or chunk/block of data.

(4) The I/O management in the C programming language. A stream is a channel through which data flows to/from a disk, keyboard, printer, etc.

(5) The data part of a Structured Storage file. See Structured Storage.