UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a communications protocol that is primarily used for establishing low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the internet. It speeds up transmissions by enabling the transfer of data before an agreement is provided by the receiving party. As a result, UDP is beneficial in time-sensitive communications, UDP is an alternative to TCP (Transmission Control Protocol.)

User Datagram Protocol has attributes that make it beneficial for use with applications that can tolerate lost data. For example:

It allows packets to be dropped and received in a different order than they were transmitted, making it suitable for real-time applications where latency might be a concern.

UDP can be used in applications where speed rather than reliability is critical. For instance, it might be prudent to use UDP in an application sending data from a fast acquisition where it’s OK to lose some data points.