Trailer (computing)

In information technology, trailer refers to supplemental data placed at the end of a block of data being stored or transmitted, which may contain information for the handling of the data block, or just mark its end.

In data transmission, the data following the end of the header and preceding the start of the trailer is called the payload or body.

It is vital that trailer composition follow a clear and unambiguous specification or format, to allow for parsing. If a trailer is not removed properly, or part of the payload is removed thinking it is a trailer, it can cause confusion.

Examples

In data transfer, the OSI data link layer adds a trailer at the end of the data encapsulating.

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