Purpose of Communication Protocols

What is the purpose of communication protocols?

These rules and regulations ensure the proper transmission and receipt of communications between components. They essentially ensure that the system’s parts are capable of understanding one another. Within the text, the concept parallels that of language, diction, dialect, etc. for human beings - without set rules governing the language, interaction would be chaotic. Just as in a classroom setting, English speaking instructors and students assume that English will be spoken, so too must this understanding be within computer components if communication is to effectively take place.

What are examples of communication media? What are their characteristics (e.g., bandwidth, relative price, etc.)?

A few examples for transmission media include fiber optic cabling, copper wire, and glass. And the air itself for RF and microwaves. Some common characteristics include bandwidth (data transfer capacity), price (each media varies, fiber optic generally being the most expensive versus copper cable being the least). Another element is subjectivity to noise or EMI, as is a common consideration when using copper cabling, but far less so when relying on fiber optics. Speed is yet another consideration which goes hand in hand with bandwidth - fiber optic cabling being an extremely fast medium, but with price as the primary drawback. Whereas copper is also fast, considerably cheaper, but with the tradeoff being its susceptibility to noise and other forms of interference.

What is the importance of error detection? Of error correction?

Depending on the context of employment, error detection/correction is considered vitally important. In situations involving user to user communication, some error correction can be foregone (i.e. it’s not a big deal if two people Skyping are pixelated and have to repeat their last transmissions). On the other hand, it’s extremely important that medically related or financially related data...