Talk:Protocol (computing)

Please comment at Talk:Communications protocol#Confusingly similar articles.

The TCP/IP layer names are not a subset of the OSI layer names...--69.133.205.118 22:01, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Just general lack of information

A lot more could be added here, I came here for reference of a lot of information about Computer Protocol that I once knew and have now forgotten.

the other reference model

The article currently claims that "The OSI model is not the only reference model however."

What other reference model?

I wish the article said

The other reference model is called "".

-- but of course, filled in with the actual name of that other reference model(s).

(The article mentions a "The Internet model". But it links those words to the Internet protocol suite, which, as far as I can tell, is not a reference model for protocols, but a collection of actual protocols.)

--65.70.89.241 13:44, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Combine with Communications Protocols

There is no difference between a Protocol (Computing) and a Communications Protocol. The fields of computing and communications overlap in the area of protocols; computers need protocols to communicate and communications network need computing (hardware and/or software) to carry out the procedure for communicating. You could say that this wasn't the case when mechanical switches were in use for telephony, but if a slide rule can be called a computer then so can a mechanical switch. Ngriffeth 11:44, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

t —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.95.10.104 (talk) 12:02, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

I agree - merge the two articles. Neither of them is particularly good; maybe we could get one good one? Gordon Findlay (talk) 20:45, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

[ Agree ] I second the motion - Mainly because the line between a general computing protocol and a communication one has blurred over the years of related technology advancement and also because the sense of a protocol( as far as computing field goes ) lies in the job of communication. Hence ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Raj.kcv (talk • contribs) 11:57, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Agree - I suggest content be moved to Communications protocol as the protocols used in computing are a subset of the protocols used in communications. --Kvng (talk) 17:32, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

[ Disagree ] Unfortunately protocol in computing has a secondary meaning in various programming languages such as C# and Java. In those languages a protocol is a formally defined set of functions that an object can implement. I would recommend that this article be merged into Communications protocol and that this article cover the object oriented aspects of the term, or perhaps disambiguates them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Almightylinuxgod (talk • contribs) 14:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

This is a very good article because

It gave me an idea of what a computing protocol is. I have long wondered what all those acronyms meant. Now I have an idea. Thanks, fellow editors you made my day.1archie99 (talk) 22:17, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

In general, protocol testers work by capturing the information exchanged between a Device Under Test (DUT) and a reference device known to operate properly. In the example of a manufacturer producing a new keyboard for a personal computer, the Device Under Test would be the keyboard and the reference device, the PC. The information exchanged between the two devices is governed by rules set out in a technical specification called a "communication protocol". Both the nature of the communication and the actual data exchanged are defined by the specification. Since communication protocols are state-dependent (what should happen next depends on what previously happened), specifications are complex and the documents describing them can be hundreds of pages.

The captured information is decoded from raw digital form into a human-readable format that permits users of the protocol tester to easily review the exchanged information. Protocol testers vary in their abilities to display data in multiple views, automatically detect errors, determine the root causes of errors, generate timing diagrams, etc.

Some protocol testers can also generate traffic and thus act as the reference device. Such testers generate protocol-correct traffic for functional testing, and may also have the ability to deliberately introduce errors to test for the DUT's ability to deal with error conditions.

Protocol testing is an essential step towards commercialization of standards-based products. It helps to ensure that products from different manufacturers will operate together properly ("interoperate") and so satisfy customer expectations. This type of testing is of particular importance for new emerging communication technologies. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.163.123.170 (talk) 12:19, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Barney videos?

Under "Importance" there's a link to a non-existent article with the text "barney videos", is this a "computing term" or did that purple dinosaur really play a role in the importance of computer protocols? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.231.35.195 (talk) 14:19, 1 June 2009 (UTC)