Protocol

A protocol is nothing but a a set of formal rules defining how data will be transmitted across a network. Protocols at the lower end deal with the electrical and physical standards to be observed, bit- and byte-ordering, transmission and error detection and correction of the bit stream. On the other hand protocols at the high end concern themselves with data formatting, syntax of messages, terminal to computer dialogue, character sets, sequencing of messages etc. Most commonly used protocols on the internet to send and receive information is the TCP / IP protocol. Similarly, HTTP is used in web based communication, HTPPS is used for secure web based communication.