Integration Protocol

An Integration Protocol is a technical communication interoperability protocol that defines standards, rules, and procedures for enabling data exchange and functional interaction between different systems, applications, or components.

• AKA: System Integration Protocol, Interoperability Protocol, Interface Protocol, Communication Standard.
• Context:
  • It can typically specify Message Formats for data interchange.
  • It can typically define Authentication Methods for secure access.
  • It can typically establish Error Handling Rules for fault management.
  • It can often implement Version Control Mechanisms for backward compatibility.
  • It can often provide Rate Limiting Specifications for resource management.
  • It can often support Transaction Management for data consistency.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple Integration Protocol to being a Complex Integration Protocol, depending on its feature richness.
  • It can range from being a Synchronous Integration Protocol to being an Asynchronous Integration Protocol, depending on its communication pattern.
  • It can range from being a Point-to-Point Integration Protocol to being a Multi-Point Integration Protocol, depending on its topology support.
  • It can range from being a Stateless Integration Protocol to being a Stateful Integration Protocol, depending on its session management.
  • ...
  • It can enable System Interoperability through standardized interfaces.
  • It can facilitate Service Orchestration through coordination mechanisms.
  • It can support Distributed Architecture through network communication.
  • It can ensure Data Integrity through validation rules.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Web Service Integration Protocols, such as:
    • REST API Protocol for resource-based integration.
    • SOAP Protocol for enterprise service integration.
    • GraphQL Protocol for query-based integration.
  • Platform-Specific Integration Protocols, such as:
    • 3rd-Party AI Platform Integration Protocol for AI service connection.
    • Cloud Service Integration Protocol for cloud resource access.
    • Database Integration Protocol for data source connection.
  • Industry Integration Protocols, such as:
    • Healthcare HL7 Protocol for medical system integration.
    • Financial FIX Protocol for trading system integration.
    • Manufacturing OPC Protocol for industrial system integration.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • File Format, which defines data structure rather than integration procedures.
  • Programming Language, which defines syntax rather than integration rules.
  • Network Protocol, which handles transport rather than application integration.
  • Data Model, which defines structure rather than communication.
• See: API Specification, System Integration, Service-Oriented Architecture, Enterprise Service Bus, Message Queue, Microservice Architecture, Protocol Stack.

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