Data Header

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What Does Data Header Mean?

Data header is a broad term for preliminary information that helps prepare an end device for further, more specific information.

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Techopedia Explains Data Header

Depending on what field of the IT industry one may be working, the term header can refer to any number of things. When referring to headers in a networking context, a header could refer to the initial set of bits transmitted by an end device that describes what the receiving end device can expect to receive throughout the data stream.

When referring to headers in a web development context, a header could refer to the beginning portion of an HTTP packet which contains information such as browser type, language, content type, and so on.

To muddy the waters even further, headers in an overall computer science context can refer to header files that a programming compiler can reference prior to the program’s run time.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.