Stream vs. Buffer
Stream is an abstract interface (“abstract” meaning it made for beginner users i.e. relatively easy-to-use) primarily to work with streaming (which means “in-memory”) (session) data rather than in-disk (persistence-like) data .
EXAMPLE : Pipe is an important mechanism connecting two & more processes (streams, processes are mounted onto PCB, RAM by kernel) without storing anything on the disk for persistency [backed up by baeldung] ;
Readable – earth , that generates water ;
| Stream (continues in time) FIFO-like | Buffer (discrete in time) STACK-like | |
|---|---|---|
| Example: Constantly running water in your mouth (consumer, writable) in small gulps (chunks) | Example: Water as ice cubes, the measured units of water to prevent clogging | |
| How long can you drink without taking a breath (discrete pause of time) | Buffer as stream optimization gives discrete pauses between "swallowing" big ice cube chunks (blobs) by one's mouth as a writable (consumable) | |
NOTE : Stream can be readable, but not mandatory writable – water can be generated, but not consumed;
KEEP IN MIND : Buffer does pack stream in discrete units, giving a measuring feature, that sounds like optimization, however streaming ensures plausibly un-interrupted consumption . Inter-process-communication (IPC) messaging is a real life example of buffering, whereas I/O over Network (e.g. video, audio, or both) is a real life example of streaming .
Refs
- Node.js fundamentals et al. link
Stay tuned, more is coming shortly !
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