byte-oriented protocol

A text-oriented synchronous communications protocol that handles only full bytes or characters of text, thereby requiring an entire byte to communicate a command signal to the target station. Control characters are embedded in the header and trailer of each data byte or block. As byteoriented protocols are overhead-intensive, they are used exclusively in older computer protocols at the Data Link Layer. Byte-oriented protocols generally are synchronous and half-duplex (HDX) in nature, and operate over dial-up, two-wire circuits. Bisynchronous Communications (BSC) is an example of a byteoriented protocol. See also bit-oriented protocol, block, BSC, Data Link Layer, dial-up access, overhead, synchronous, synchronous transmission, and two-wire circuit.