Dictionary definition(s) for: protocol

• n., [computing] A set of formal rules describing how to transmit data, especially across a network. Low level protocols define the electrical and physical standards to be observed, bit- and byte-ordering and the transmission and error detection and correction of the bitstream. High level protocols deal with the data formatting, including the syntax of messages, the terminal to computer dialogue, character sets, sequencing of messages, etc.
  [ Computer and Information Sciences - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC) ]
  FOLDOC: Free Online Dictionary of Computing. http://foldoc.org/.
• n., [documentary form] The initial section of a document, usually containing the identification of the persons concurring to its formation and of its temporal, geographical and administrative context.
  [ Archives - Diplomatics: New Uses for an Old Science , Page: 142 ]
  Duranti, Luciana. Diplomatics: New Uses for an Old Science. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998.
• n., [record] See: protocol register
• n., A set of conventions governing the treatment and especially the formatting of data in an electronic communications system.
  [ General Dictionaries - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ]
  Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=protocol.
• n., A summary of a document or treaty.
  [ Government - Black's Law Dictionary ]
  Black's Law Dictionary. 8th ed. Edited by Bryan A.Garner and Henry Campbell Black. St. Paul, MN : Thomson/West, 2004.
• n., A treaty amending and supplementing another treaty.
  [ Government - Black's Law Dictionary ]
  Black's Law Dictionary. 8th ed. Edited by Bryan A.Garner and Henry Campbell Black. St. Paul, MN : Thomson/West, 2004.
• n., Either the minutes of the proceedings at an international conference or an addendum to a treaty.
  [ Government - A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage ]
  A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. 2nd ed. Edited by Bryan A.Garner. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.