Two-way alternating communications is a term sometimes used to disambiguate the term
Duplex (telecommunications)
A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow ...
. In a two-way alternating communications channel, each endpoint can either send or receive at any given time, but cannot send and receive at the same time.
Two-way simultaneous
A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow ...
communications lets the endpoints talk and listen simultaneously.
Two-way alternating communications are sometimes called half-duplex, but there may be a fine distinction that two-way alternating communications is a property of the communication
protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technology
...
used between the endpoints, while the underlying communications medium may support either two-way alternating or two-way simultaneous communications. When the medium is shared for transmitting and receiving, it can only support two-way alternating protocols, and the medium may be called physically half-duplex.
Channel access methods
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