The English Oracle

Are the words "network packet" and "network package" interchangeable?

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Chapters
00:00 Are The Words &Quot;Network Packet&Quot; And &Quot;Network Package&Quot; Interchangeable?
00:18 Accepted Answer Score 11
00:52 Thank you

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Tags
#wordchoice #nouns

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ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 11


Packet and package are certainly different in IT terms.

A packet is a small piece of data, that needs to be combined with other packets to create a whole. This is how data is transmitted over a network, by breaking it into packets of a few bytes: http://www.computeruser.com/dictionary/packet/

A package refers to an entire piece of software, that can be installed and operated by a user: http://www.computeruser.com/dictionary/software-package/

A software package would be broken into packets to be sent over a network, and the packets would then be reassembled into a package at the destination.

Network package is technically incorrect, although the meaning can be easily inferred.