latenze

Latenze, or latency in Italian, refers to the time delay between a triggering event and the observable result. The term is used across disciplines to describe how quickly a system or process responds to input, and it is usually measured in units such as milliseconds or seconds. Latenze can be intrinsic to a system or caused by external factors, and it is often evaluated together with other performance metrics such as throughput and reliability.

In informatics and telecommunications, latenze describes the time required for data to travel from a source to a destination. In networks, the total latency decomposes into propagation delay (the time signal needs to traverse the physical distance), transmission delay (time to push all bits onto the medium), processing delay (time routers and hosts take to examine packets), and queuing delay (time spent waiting in buffers). Latency is a critical factor for interactive applications; lower latency tends to improve user experience, while high latency can cause noticeable lag. Jitter, the variability of latency over time, is another important consideration.

In human–computer interaction and media applications, latency affects responsiveness of devices, video conferencing, online gaming, and telepresence. Reducing latency may involve optimizing software paths, deploying edge computing, increasing bandwidth, or choosing shorter communication routes. In streaming, latency budgets help balance real‑time requirements with reliability and compression.

In medical and biological contexts, latency describes delays between a triggering event and its observable effect. This can refer to the latent period between exposure to a pathogen and the appearance of symptoms, or to delays in physiological or pharmacological responses.

Overall, latency is a core concept for evaluating and optimizing the timeliness of systems and processes across fields.