In our increasingly connected digital world, data communication is the lifeblood that connects us. Understanding how various modes of data transmission function is essential in the design of reliable and efficient networks. From the simple one-way nature of simplex communication to the bidirectional nature that is full-duplex communications different methods affect the way data is transferred and received.
To transmit data efficiently hardware in a communication circuit uses a variety of techniques, including multiplexing as well as demultiplexing, which are processes that combine and separate signals into composite ones for transmission, and then back into the individual components. This increases bandwidth and decreases costs. Signal amplifiers and error-detecting code reduce the possibility of data corruption due to electrical disturbances or noise.
Data communications also includes a set of rules (protocol) that are followed by the computers that send and receive the data. These rules ensure that the message is read and accepted without error.
The sender is the device or computer which generates and sends the message, which may be in the form of numbers, text images, sound or video. The device or computer that receives the message could be different from the sender. The transmission medium is a physical route that connects the sender and receiver. It can be wired, such as the twisted-pair wire, or fiber optic cable, or wireless, like radio waves or lasers.