Communication protocol

A set of rules that allow two or more devices to exchange information.

A communication protocol is a set of rules that allow two or more entities of a system to exchange information. The communication protocol defines the rules, the syntax, the semantics, the synchronization of communication, and the possible error recovery methods. Communication protocols may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of both.

Communicating systems use well-defined formats for exchanging various 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. To reach an agreement, a protocol may be developed into a technical standard. A programming language describes the same for computations, so there is a close analogy between protocols and programming languages: protocols are to communication what programming languages are to computations. An alternate formulation states that protocols are to communication what algorithms are to computation.

Multiple protocols often describe different aspects of a single communication. A group of protocols designed to work together is known as a protocol suite; when implemented in software they are a protocol stack.


Communication protocol
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