Data communication

Data communication is the exchange of digital information between devices or systems through a transmission medium and agreed protocols.

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Communication protocol: A set of rules that governs how devices format, send, receive, and interpret messages. Protocols make exchanges intelligible and coordinate the behavior of communicating devices.
Digital data: Information represented using discrete values, commonly binary digits. Data communication carries digital representations rather than requiring shared physical copies.
Computer network: A collection of interconnected devices that exchange data and share resources. Data communication is the exchange that makes network connectivity useful.
Circuit switching: A communication method that reserves a dedicated path between endpoints for the duration of a connection. Unlike packet switching, it allocates a continuous path rather than sharing links packet by packet.
Packet switching: A method that divides data into packets sent independently across shared networks. It lets many data exchanges share network links without reserving a continuous circuit.
Bit: The smallest unit of digital information, with a value of zero or one. Communication ultimately encodes information as sequences of bits.
Internet: A global system of interconnected networks that communicate using the Internet protocol suite. It carries data among devices across networks with different owners and technologies.
Broadcasting: The distribution of a signal from one source to many receivers. It contrasts with exchanges directed between particular devices or endpoints.
Data link layer: The network layer responsible for transferring frames between directly connected devices. It handles local-link framing and delivery beneath end-to-end communication.
Signal: A changing physical quantity that conveys information through space or a medium. Transmitters map data onto signals that channels can carry.