How can you compare TCP and UDP?

1. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): - It's like sending a registered letter; reliable and in order. - Ensures data arrives intact and in the right sequence. - Used for tasks where data accuracy is crucial, like file transfers and web pages. - Slower than UDP due to the reliability checks. 2. UDP (User Datagram Protocol): - Think of it as sending a postcard; faster but less reliable. - Data is sent without ensuring if it arrives or in what order. - Ideal for real-time applications like video streaming and online gaming. - Faster because it doesn't have the overhead of reliability checks. TCP is for when you need data to be error-free and in order, while UDP is for speed when occasional data loss is acceptable.

TCP uses a three way handshake to establish a reliable connection. The framework entails SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK. The connection is full duplex meaning both devices synchronize and acknowledge each other. UDP on the other hand partitions data into smaller chunks called datagrams further delivering them to the requisite destination ports

TCP(Transmission Control Protocol) - This is a connection oriented service, we can compare it with Telephone call .Where connection is established between sender and receiver. Then the conversation starts and reach the receiver in the same order as that of sender UDP -It is connection less . Here the data sent once reached to destination sends acknowledgement back to the sender. we can compare it with sending register post, where we can keep track of the current status and location of the post , and once post reached at destination, they back the acknowledgement card to the sender to inform the sender that post has safely reached the destination. If we send 2 or more post from sender to destination , reaching order and days may vary.

TCP connection is for lightweight transmission of data from one device to the other on the web browsers. whereas UDP is mainly used for high throughput streaming services such as video gaming, cloud migration, and downloading petabytes of data.

Unlocking the world of UDP! 🚀🌐 As a connectionless protocol, UDP ditches the formalities—no handshakes, no constant check-ins. It's a speedster, delivering datagrams without guarantees. 📦💨 But, simplicity comes with risks. No acknowledgments or error correction means it's a wild ride—datagrams may be lost, duplicated, or jumbled. It's the trade-off between speed and the unpredictable. 🔄⚙️

For practical applications, one should also consider that due to the somewhat anonymous nature of UDP, ISPs and firewalls commonly disallow UDP connections (especially incoming) by default. It is also much easier to pass TCP traffic through a NAT since NAT can infer the completion of transaction without relying on timeouts. In case of UDP, the completion of transaction cannot be inferred and NAT must rely on a predetermined timeout between packets to detect that the connection mapping (translation) can be dropped. This can clog your NAT if it is waiting for many UDP connections to time out.

A lot of people mentioned main differences and forgetting about multicast/broadcast ability of UDP, which is the only way to discover network devices in a subnet, the only way how DNS could be handled efficiently.