Data streaming is a method used to transfer data from a remote server to a user’s computer or mobile device, allowing an application to run without having to wait until the file has downloaded completely. Data streaming is used extensively by large and small businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, private users, and others to deliver online video and other content to anyone with Internet connectivity.

Web browsers have brought Internet access to the general public and changed the way that information, services, and instruction are delivered by allowing users to access data stored on servers across the globe. During the early years of the Web, accessing text-dominated webpages could occur quickly and efficiently, even on low-powered computers with slow dial-up Internet access. The addition of graphics ...