© The Author(s), under exclusive license to APress Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023
J. BartlettProgramming for Absolute Beginnershttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8751-4_3

3. How Computers Communicate

Jonathan Bartlett1  
(1)
Tulsa, OK, USA
 

Before we start our study of computer programming, we are going to begin by studying the way that computers communicate. The Internet is basically a giant communication system. Communication systems operate using protocols. A protocol is a predefined sequence of steps used to ensure proper communication.

We actually use protocols every day. Think about what happens when you answer the phone. What do you say and why do you say it? Think about what happens when you answer the phone (see Figure 3-1). This ...

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