The subject of computer communications seems to befuddle most people. Relatively unfamilair with the subject, most people regard the principles of communications as extremely complex. This article attempts to prove that communications is really a very simple concept, easily understood by all.

We shall begin by attempting to clear away the haze of jargon that surrounds the concept of communications. Many people are put off by the proliferation of verbosity that invariably seems to accrue when the idea of communications is being discussed. Let us put that straight right now. To begin with, when we speak of communications, we must of course provide something to communicate. In various systems, this can be called data, information, messages or text. For purposes of simplification, the term "stuff" will do very nicely as a substitute. Secondly, we must have some thing to communicate 'from'. This is known as the central processor, central site or communications center. The expression "the 1st guy" will do just as well. Next, we must have something to communicate 'to'. Instead of using the terms terminal, station, remote device or data set, we can just say "the 2nd guy". Finally, we must have a communications medium -- something to send the communications 'over' (1st guy to 2nd guy). Rather than bore the reader with discussions of simplex, half duplex, full duplex, switched, asynchronous, synchronous or private lines, we will use the expression "the wire". Thus, communications consists of the 1st guy sending stuff over the wire to the 2nd guy. The 2nd guy can, in turn, send 'his' stuff back over the wire to the first guy. This can take place all day long, with people alternating as the 1st and 2nd guy.

The first and major problem in communications is getting your stuff in the proper format to send over the wire to the 2nd guy. Since there are all kinds of wires, each requiring stuff in a different format, the problem could get to be unbearable. For this reason, 'communications handlers' have been developed. For purposes of simplification, let us call them "stuff manipulators". Stuff manipulators take the burden of formatting stuff off the programmer and place it in the machine, where it belongs. Stuff manipulators serve to place appropriate 'header' and 'trailer' characters ("fancy stuff") on different ends of the stuff. This fancy stuff gets the real stuff moving over the wire in the intended direction. Simple, isn't it? Next, we have to find a way to get stuff 'into' the system so that the wire can take over, passing the stuff by way of fancy stuff to the 2nd guy. Stuff can be entered into the sytem through almost any peripheral device (except the card punch or printer), known as a "stuff stuffer". Got that so far? The stuff stuffer stuffs stuff into the system, where the stuff manipulator appends fancy stuff to each end of the stuff so it can be sent over the correct wire to the 2nd guy.

Now we have the problem of receiving the stuff at the location to which it was sent (the 2nd guy). For this purpose, there are several types of devices (teletypewriters, CRT terminals, other computers -- the list is endless and therefore boring). Let us just call them "stuff getters". A stuff getter gets stuff that has been stuffed into the system by the stuff stuffer, strips off the fancy stuff appended by the stuff manipulator and shows the original stuff to the 2nd guy. It is now the 2nd guys turn to be the 1st guy, and the process takes place all over again, only in reverse.

Now, isn't that simple?

(Downloaded from the User's Port in Monterey, August 1987 by JWC.)