Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a core protocol of the Internet Protocol Suite. It provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data between applications running on hosts communicating over an IP network. TCP is connection-oriented, meaning that a connection between the sender and receiver is established before data is exchanged.
TCP works by dividing data into packets and adding a header to each packet to track the sequence and ensure that packets are delivered reliably and in order. TCP uses a variety of mechanisms, such as acknowledgments, timeouts, and retransmissions, to ensure that data is delivered correctly. It also includes flow control mechanisms to prevent senders from overwhelming receivers with data.
Example: When you visit a website, your web browser and the web server communicate using TCP to exchange data such as HTML, images, and other content. TCP ensures that the data is delivered reliably and in order, even if there are network issues or congestion.