Datentransferobjekt

A Datentransferobjekt, often abbreviated as DTO, is a simple object whose purpose is to transfer data between different software layers or processes. DTOs are typically used to carry data from a presentation layer to a business layer, or from a business layer to a data access layer, or between different applications in a distributed system. They are characterized by having no behavior or logic, only fields and their associated getters and setters. The primary goal of using DTOs is to reduce the number of method calls required to transfer data, especially when dealing with complex data structures or remote procedure calls. By packaging multiple pieces of information into a single DTO, the overhead associated with network communication or inter-process communication can be significantly diminished. DTOs are also useful for decoupling the sender and receiver of data. The sender can evolve its internal data representation without affecting the receiver, as long as the DTO structure remains consistent. Conversely, the receiver can process the data in its own way without needing to know the internal workings of the sender. This makes them a valuable pattern for improving performance and maintainability in software design. They are a common concept in various programming languages and frameworks, particularly in enterprise application development.