Other forms: payloads
A payload is the actual data carried inside a request. The request payload, a JSON payload, inspect the payload.
It is what the message is for, as against the headers and routing that get it there — the distinction matters because the two are handled differently at every layer. In rocketry, the payload is what the launch exists to deliver and is a tiny fraction of the mass. In security, a payload is the harmful part of an attack. Note that payload originally meant the revenue-earning cargo.
1nounpayloadThe actual data carried inside a request.
“The app sends a small payload of data to the server each time you tap the button.”
2nounrocketWhat a rocket or vehicle exists to deliver.
“The rocket carried a payload of three satellites into orbit.”
payload is carried content.
Pay plus load, from the early twentieth century — the part of a load that pays, as against the fuel and structure needed to carry it.
From pay + load. From the early 20th century.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Computing & Code