What is a downloading files?

Answer 1

The term "download" means to receive data. If you download a file, then some outside source (another computer, an external hard drive, a CD, etc.) is transferring the data contained in a file to your computer or storage device.

Answer 2

The use of the terms uploading and downloading often imply that the data sent or received is to be stored permanently, or at least stored more than temporarily. In contrast, the term downloading is distinguished from the related concept of Streaming , which indicates the receiving of data that is used near immediately as it is received, while the transmission is still in progress and which may not be stored long-term, whereas in a process described using the term downloading, this would imply that the data is only usable when it has been received in its entirety.

Increasingly, websites that offer streaming media or media displayed in-browser, such as YouTube, and which place restrictions on the ability of users to save these materials to their computers after they have been received, say that downloading is not permitted. In this context, "download" implies specifically "receive and save" instead of simply "receive".