The Web Streams API in JavaScript provides a way to handle data piece by piece, which is useful for real-world applications where data arrives incrementally.
Before the Web Streams API, stream handling in JavaScript was inconsistent between Node and browser environments.
The API standardizes stream handling with ReadableStream, WritableStream, and TransformStream, working seamlessly across browsers, Node, and Deno.
Readable streams allow control over the flow of data, with a queuing strategy and backpressure management.
Writable streams handle data writing to destinations, managing queues and backpressure efficiently.
Connecting readable and writable streams, and adding transforms in between, allows for building multi-step processing systems easily.
The Web Streams API is widely supported in modern browsers without the need for polyfills, facilitating streaming operations in web applications.
Newer versions of Node also support the Web Streams API, making it easier to develop applications that run on both the client and server sides.
Streams can be utilized for various tasks like working with network responses, decoding data, handling compressed files, and more.
Custom stream pipelines can be built for specific data processing tasks, providing flexibility and efficiency in handling data incrementally.