in multi-processor database terms is used to describe a pipelined producer-consumer system. As soon as data is produced it is (usually) sent to the next process to be further processed. The use of the word should not be confused with the term as it is used to describe dataflow computer architectures (i.e. a computer which does not use an Instruction Pointer).

Dataflow is a term used in computing, and may have various shades of meaning. It is closely related to message passing.

(n.) A model of parallel computing in which programs are represented as dependence graphs and each operation is automatically blocked until the values on which it depends are available. The parallel functional and parallel logic programming models are very similar to the dataflow model.

In ORACLE CASE*Method, a named flow of data between business functions, data stores, and external entities. See business function, data store, and external entity.