Understanding Data Formats
Imagine there are two different systems on a network, such as a computer and a router. The computer was to share data with the router, but since these are two different devices altogether, the router may not understand or be able to interpret the message it receives from the computer. To solve this issue, data formats are used to ensure that the data being exchanged between systems is presented in a format that is easy to understand by another system. Think of data format like a person’s handwriting: a document handwritten by a person who has legible handwriting that can be read by another, as compared to a document written by a person who has illegible handwriting.
Data format goes a step further to ensure computers, network devices, and applications are all able to understand the data that is being shared among themselves. As an example, take a look at a simple web page written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), as shown in Figure 18.1:
