What does "DTO" mean in programming?

DTO is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.

Definition

Data Transfer Object. A simple object used to carry data between processes or layers of an application. A DTO contains only data — no business logic. It defines the shape of data sent to or received from an API.

Example

"The CreateUserDTO has three required fields: email, name, and role. The service validates it before writing to the database."

Related terms

API
payload
serialization
schema
endpoint

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