{"id":679,"date":"2025-09-18T22:52:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/?post_type=docs&#038;p=679"},"modified":"2025-09-21T14:08:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T14:08:21","password":"","slug":"what-is-a-protocol","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/documentation\/what-is-a-protocol\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a protocol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">A <strong>protocol<\/strong> is a set of rules that defines how two or more devices exchange data.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">Just like people need a common language to communicate, machines and software need protocols to understand each other.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">Protocols define things such as:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<strong>How data is structured<\/strong> (the format of the message).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>How data is transmitted<\/strong> (over a cable, wireless, or network).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>How devices confirm they received data<\/strong> (acknowledgments or retries).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>What happens if an error occurs<\/strong> (error detection and correction).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"everyday-analogy\"><strong>Everyday Analogy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">Imagine a phone conversation. For it to work:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both people must speak the same language.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They must agree on when it&rsquo;s their turn to talk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They must confirm they understood each other (&ldquo;Did you hear me?&rdquo;).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">This is exactly what a protocol does for devices: it ensures communication is clear, orderly, and reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"types-of-protocols\"><strong>Types of Protocols<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">Protocols come in many forms, depending on where and how they are used:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<strong>Industrial protocols<\/strong>: Modbus, Profibus, CANopen (used in factories and machines).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Networking protocols<\/strong>: TCP\/IP, HTTP, MQTT (used on the internet and IoT).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Hardware-level protocols<\/strong>: I&sup2;C, SPI, UART (used between chips and sensors).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-protocols-matter-in-protolinker\"><strong>Why Protocols Matter in Protolinker<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\">Different devices often &ldquo;speak&rdquo; different protocols. For example, a legacy sensor might use <strong>Modbus<\/strong>, while a modern IoT platform expects <strong>MQTT<\/strong>. Without translation, they cannot communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\"><strong>Protolinker bridges this gap<\/strong> by converting between protocols, so your systems can talk to each other seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \" style=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A protocol is a set of rules that defines how two or more devices exchange data. Just like people need a common language to communicate, machines and software need protocols to understand each other. Protocols define things such as: Everyday Analogy Imagine a phone conversation. For it to work: This is exactly what a protocol &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[14],"doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-679","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-protocols"],"year_month":"2026-07","word_count":230,"total_views":0,"reactions":{"happy":0,"normal":0,"sad":0},"author_info":{"name":"beraldoigor","author_nicename":"beraldoigor","author_url":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/author\/beraldoigor\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Protocols","term_url":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/docs-category\/protocols\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=679"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protolinker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}