Protocol (computer)

In computer science, a protocol is a specification of the rules for communication among devices across a network. Protocols have a wide range in complexity. On one end of the spectrum, the electrical characteristics of ones and zeros within a particular digital logic family might be considered a protocol. Similarly, the sequence of modulated infrared light emitted by a television remote control is also a protocol. A more complicated example of a protocol is the set or "stack" of protocols used in computer networking reference models, such as the Internet Protocol Suite or Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model.