Communication protocol

A communication protocol is a set of rules governing how devices or software systems format, transmit, receive, and interpret messages. It enables independent systems to exchange information predictably.

Protocol stack: An organized set of communication protocols, with different layers handling distinct tasks. Protocols are often grouped into layers so each set of rules can serve a defined role.
Client–server model: A computing architecture in which clients request services from servers that provide them. Many application protocols define exchanges between a requesting client and a responding server.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol: An application-layer protocol for exchanging requests and responses used by web systems. HTTP defines the messages that web clients and servers use to exchange resources.
User Datagram Protocol: A transport protocol that sends datagrams without guaranteeing delivery, ordering, or duplicate protection. UDP contrasts with protocols that build reliable, ordered delivery into the transport service.
Interoperability: The ability of systems or organizations to exchange information and use it effectively. Shared protocol rules allow independently implemented systems to communicate.
Packet: A formatted unit of data carried across a network, often with control information alongside its payload. Many protocols divide messages into packets that can be addressed and routed independently.
Transmission Control Protocol: A transport protocol that provides ordered, reliable byte-stream delivery between networked hosts. TCP illustrates how connection setup, acknowledgments, sequencing, and retransmission become protocol rules.
Domain Name System: A distributed naming system that maps domain names to information such as IP addresses. DNS uses defined query and response formats to resolve human-readable names.
Proprietary protocol: A protocol controlled by a particular organization rather than fully defined by an open standards process. Proprietary rules can limit interoperability compared with openly specified protocols.
Internet Engineering Task Force: An open standards organization that develops and publishes technical specifications for the Internet. The IETF coordinates many Internet protocol standards through its specification process.

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