What is the correct description of TCP in contrast to UDP?

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is fundamentally characterized as a connection-oriented protocol, distinguishing it from UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which is connectionless. This means that TCP establishes a dedicated end-to-end connection between the communicating devices before any data is transmitted. During this process, TCP uses a three-way handshake mechanism to ensure that both parties are ready for data transfer and that they agree on the parameters of the communication.

This connection-oriented nature allows TCP to provide reliability features, including error detection, retransmission of lost packets, and data integrity through sequencing. These features ensure that data is delivered in the correct order and without errors, making TCP well-suited for applications that require reliable communication, such as web browsing and file transfers.

On the other hand, since UDP does not establish a connection, it does not guarantee delivery, order, or error checking, which can result in faster transmission speeds for certain applications like streaming video or online gaming, where speed is more critical than reliability.

By recognizing the connection-oriented behavior of TCP versus the connectionless nature of UDP, one can appreciate the specific use cases best suited for each protocol in network communications.