Singlerecipient

Singlerecipient is a term used to describe a system or transaction in which a message, data item, or resource is delivered to exactly one recipient. It denotes a one-to-one delivery model, as opposed to one-to-many or many-to-one patterns. The term can appear in discussions of communication architectures, networking, and software design to emphasize that there is a single intended recipient for each transfer.

In computing and networking, singlerecipient aligns with unicast or point-to-point delivery. A message is directed to a specific destination identified by an address, and the system ensures that only that destination processes the message. In software architecture, a singlerecipient interaction may involve a request that yields a response to a single caller, rather than broadcasting results to multiple listeners.

Delivery guarantees associated with singlerecipient vary by system. Some environments provide exactly-once delivery, others offer at-least-once or best-effort delivery. Key concerns include addressing accuracy, ordering, deduplication, and fault tolerance. Security and privacy considerations are also prominent, since the content is intended for one recipient; access controls, encryption, and authentication are common safeguards.

Applications of the concept span several domains. Email and direct messaging often operate in a singlerecipient mode when messages are addressed to a single recipient. Remote procedure calls, push notifications to a single device, and direct sensor-to-processor streams are other examples where one-to-one delivery is essential.

See also: unicast, one-to-one communication, point-to-point, targeted delivery.