In connection-oriented communication, a data stream is the transmission of a sequence of digitally encoded signals to convey information. Typically, the transmitted symbols are grouped into a series of packets.

Data streaming has become ubiquitous. Anything transmitted over the Internet is transmitted as a data stream. Using a mobile phone to have a conversation transmits the sound as a data stream.

In a formal way, a data stream is any ordered pair ${\displaystyle (s,\Delta )}$ where:

Data Stream contains different sets of data, that depend on the chosen data format.

There are various areas where data streams are used:

Core integrations with data streams are:

In a data stream it is visible what device has been used by the user side – it is visible on user agent:

The following information is shared out of used device: