protocol

noun

• 1 [mass noun] the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions:protocol forbids the prince from making any public statement in his defence
• the accepted or established code of procedure or behaviour in any group, organization, or situation:what is the protocol at a smart lunch if one’s neighbour dozes off during the speeches?

• 2the original draft of a diplomatic document, especially of the terms of a treaty agreed to in conference and signed by the parties: signatories to the Montreal Protocol Hungary and the Soviet Union signed a trade protocol
• an amendment or addition to a treaty or convention:a protocol to the treaty allowed for this Danish referendum

• 3a formal or official record of scientific experimental observations: protocols of published cases frequently lack this vital information
• a procedure for carrying out a scientific experiment or a course of medical treatment: a study protocol approved by the ethics committee of the hospital the low doses of morphine recommended in the protocol

• 4 Computing a set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data between devices.