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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Protocol

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈprəʊtəkɒl/nounCore term

In software engineering, protocol means: A set of agreed rules that defines how devices format, send, receive and check data, so that equipment from different vendors can talk to each other.

In Turkish: protokol, iletişim kuralları

How it is used

Used everywhere: routing protocols, network protocols, a protocol stack. Protocols are defined in standards such as RFCs and IEEE documents, and devices support, run or implement them. Many protocol names are acronyms ending in P: TCP, UDP, BGP, DHCP.

Example sentences

  1. Both sites must run the same routing protocol, otherwise they won't exchange routes.

  2. This old camera only supports outdated protocols, so we're keeping it on an isolated VLAN.

Common collocations

  • routing protocol
  • network protocol
  • protocol stack
  • support a protocol
  • run a protocol
  • TCP/IPThe family of protocols that the internet and almost all modern networks are built on, named after its two best-known members, TCP and IP.
  • OSI modelA reference model that splits network communication into seven layers, from the physical cable (layer 1) up to the application (layer 7), so that problems and technologies can be described clearly.
  • TCPShort for Transmission Control Protocol: a protocol that sets up a connection and makes sure data arrives complete and in the right order, resending anything that is lost.
  • UDPShort for User Datagram Protocol: a simple, fast protocol that sends data without setting up a connection and without checking whether it arrived; used for voice, video, DNS and gaming.
  • BGPShort for Border Gateway Protocol: the routing protocol that networks on the internet use to exchange routes with each other, so that traffic can find its way between different operators and companies.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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