Pull

Pull means to request data from another program or computer. The opposite of pull is push, where data is sent without a request being made. The terms push and pull are used frequently to describe data sent over the Internet. The World Wide Web is based on pull technologies, where a page isn’t delivered until a browser requests it. Increasingly, however, Information services are harnessing the Internet to broadcast information using push technologies. A prime example is the PointCast Network.