Communications protocol
In telecommunications, a communication protocol is a system of rules that allow two or more entities of a communication system to communicate between them to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity.
Contents
Description
These are the rules or standard that defines the syntax, semantics and synchronization of communication and possible error recovery methods.
Protocols may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of both.
Communicating systems use well-defined formats (protocol) for exchanging messages.
Each message has an exact meaning intended to elicit a response from a range of possible responses pre-determined for that particular situation.
The specified behavior is typically independent of how it is to be implemented.
Communication protocols have to be agreed upon by the parties involved.
Technical standards
To reach agreement, a protocol may be developed into a technical standard.
Protocols and programming languages
A programming language describes the same for computations, so there is a close analogy between protocols and programming languages:
Analogy:
Protocols are to communications
as
See also
- Communication
- Computer network
- Cryptographic protocol, a protocol for encrypting messages
- Internet
- IP address
- Physical quantity
- Proprietary protocol
- Quantum cryptography protocol, a protocol for encrypting messages
- Telecommunication
- Transmission (telecommunications)
External links
- Communications protocol @ Wikipedia
