Push vs. pull

Push vs. Pull

Term originated in the marketing and advertising world, but is all so applicable in the world of electronic content. Both terms, Push or Pull, refer to users or consumers interaction with the data.

Push: In a push system the user, or consumer, does not request the content the content is sent, "Pushed at", the user. An example of this is a network television commercial, the television watcher does not request to see the car advertisment. The commercial is pushed at the watcher.

Pull: In a pull system the user, or consumer requests the content. The user pulls the content through the channel. An example of this would be a web search using a search engine, the user performs a search for a specific car and the content is returned.