FETCH

Fetch is a verb meaning to go and bring back something, or to cause something to come. It is commonly used in phrases like “fetch the ball” or “the dog will fetch.” In some contexts, fetch can also imply bringing someone to a place or causing something to come along.

In computing, fetch describes the act of retrieving data or instructions from a source. In CPU architecture, the fetch-decode-execute cycle begins with fetching the next instruction from memory, directed by the program counter, before it is decoded and executed. In software and data contexts, fetch operations retrieve data from storage or across networks, and the term is used for functions or methods that obtain data from a resource.

The Fetch API is a widely used web API that provides a modern interface for fetching resources over a network. It returns a promise and can request resources via HTTP methods such as GET and POST. Responses can be processed as text, JSON, blobs, or other formats, and the API integrates with asynchronous JavaScript patterns such as async/await.

In video games and popular culture, the term fetch appears in the phrase fetch quest, a type of objective in which a character must locate and return an item. The concept is common in role-playing games and adventure games, and the term is often used to describe similar retrieval tasks in other media.