

Ask HN: How do you define the word “protocol”? - vonklaus

I an having trouble finding a definition for this word, which is super weird, as it is ubiquitous. Some have ranged from &quot;procedure to call subprogram&quot; to the broad &quot;a system of communication&quot;.<p>How would you describe what a protocol is to someone not in the industry?<p>I know what a protocol is, but I want to know if there is a set of requirements or commonalities between all protocols and what are the &quot;requirements&quot;.
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greenyoda
Wikipedia has a pretty good article:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol)

It discusses the things that are common to all protocols:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol#Basic_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol#Basic_requirements_of_protocols)

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cylinder714
When explaining email and the web to my mother, I define a protocol as "a
language that computers use to talk to each other."

