The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20120912020227/http://www.britannica.com:80/EBchecked/topic/410357/protocol
  • Contributors
  • History
  • Citations

protocol

i Help us expand this topic.
Submit Contribution

protocol, In computer science, a set of rules or procedures for transmitting data between electronic devices, such as computers. In order for computers to exchange information, there must be a preexisting agreement as to how the information will be structured and how each side will send and receive it. Without a protocol, a transmitting computer, for example, could be sending its data in 8-bit packets while the receiving computer might expect the data in 16-bit packets. Protocols are established by international or industrywide organizations. Perhaps the most important computer protocol is OSI (Open Systems Interconnection), a set of guidelines for implementing networking communications between computers. The most important sets of Internet protocols are TCP/IP, HTTP, and FTP.

Bibliography
Table Of Contents
Help us expand the resources for this topic. Click below to submit new publication for review and accepted updates will be published to the site.
Websites
Table Of Contents
External Websites
  • Protocols.comInformation on various data communication protocols for LAN, WAN, ATM and overview of different networking technologies. Includes protocol structures, errors and their function in the current OSI Model, also details of frame decoding and physical layer designs are given. Contains documentations, presentations, and papers on data communication and telecom industry.
You May Also Like...
“I Didn't Know That...”

What made you want to look up "protocol"? Please share what surprised you most...

Table Of Contents×
You are now in edit mode. You may directly modify any part of this article.
Once you are finished, click on the Submit button to send your modifications to our editors for review.
Export
MLA style:
"protocol". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Sep. 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/410357/protocol>.
APA style:
protocol. (2012). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/410357/protocol
Harvard style:
protocol. 2012. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 11 September, 2012, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/410357/protocol
Chicago Manual of Style:
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "protocol", accessed September 11, 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/410357/protocol.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

×
Share this page with your friends, associates, or readers by linking to it from your web site or social networking page.
Permalink
Cancel
Continue
FEEDBACK