Protocol (computing)

In computing, a protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two computing endpoints. Protocols may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of the two. At the lowest level, a protocol defines a hardware connection.

The wide-spread use and expansion of communication protocols is both a prerequisite to the Internet, and a major contributor to its power and success. The Transmission Control Protocol (or TCP) was the first of these, and the term TCP-IP refers to an important collection of the most used protocols. Most communication protocols are established in the RFC documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force or IETF.

Object-oriented programming has extended the use of the term to include the programming protocols available for connections and communication between objects.