Kipp Berdiansky on Nagle’s algorithm definition

Named for its creator, John Nagle, the Nagle algorithm is used to automatically concatenate a number of small buffer messages; this process (called nagling) increases the efficiency of a network application system by decreasing the number of packets that must be sent. Nagle’s algorithm, defined in 1984 as Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation Congestion Control in IP/TCP Internetworks (IETF RFC 896) was originally designed to relieve congestion for a private TCP/IP network operated by Ford, but has since been broadly deployed.