What is a network application?
A network application is a software program which operates over a network and allows communication and data sharing between multiple devices and users.
A number of network applications are used on devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, servers, etc. In fact, every device that is connected to a network uses some kind of network application to be able to communicate over that network.
Example of a network application
An example of a network application is a web browser. When you visit a website - blog CodiLime - the web browser “talks” over the Internet with another network application, e.g. HTTP server, which can run on a server or virtual machine located on the other side of the globe. Other typical examples of network applications are: email clients, messaging applications, file-sharing programs.
How do network applications communicate?
In order to be able to communicate with one another, network applications use various protocols. These protocols specify rules and procedures for establishing connections, transmission of data, managing network traffic, etc. Examples of protocols include: IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, and DNS.
Another use for network applications
Also, network applications facilitate the work of network professionals. Thanks to network apps, they can better manage network traffic and analyze data that can help them with network optimization or in troubleshooting network-related issues. They could be simple network utilities like ping 
or traceroute but also very complex solutions such as those dedicated to network observability tasks.
