Application Protocols Module Guide
Your guide: Bex
“A message with no listener is a tree falling in an empty forest — plan where it goes and what it says.”
Start With the Module
This guide maps the current learning path for App Protocols. The module contains 9 chapters, linked below in the order learners can study them.
Compare two message paths for the same soil reading and two different team needs.
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One soil sensor serves two teams.
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The first team needs one daily reading.
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The second team needs every update in three places.
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The message path should fit each team's need.
An application protocol is a shared set of rules for exchanging messages. This module introduces the main choices before asking you to compare them:
- HTTP means Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It carries web requests and responses. REST is a common way to organise resources and actions over HTTP.
- MQTT means Message Queuing Telemetry Transport. Telemetry means measurements or status reports sent from a device. A payload is the useful data inside a message.
- CoAP means Constrained Application Protocol. It gives small devices a request-and-response style similar to the web. It commonly runs over UDP, which means User Datagram Protocol.
- AMQP means Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. A broker is a service that receives messages and sends them to the right consumers.
- A gateway is a device or service that links one network or message system to another.
With that word now introduced, the guide’s full nickname is Broker Bex.
Chapters by Part
Protocol Overview & Selection
HTTP & Web Protocols
- 4 Modern HTTP for IoT – Application Protocols
- 5 HTTP Connection Pitfalls – Application Protocols
- 6 REST API Design Patterns – Application Protocols
- 7 REST API Worked Examples – Application Protocols
- 8 Real-Time Protocol Workflows – Application Protocols
- 9 XMPP Presence and Federation – Application Protocols
Protocol Debate Scenarios
Choose a Starting Point
If this subject is new, follow the parts and chapters in the order shown above. If you already have a specific design or troubleshooting question, use the relevant part heading and open the direct chapter link whose title matches that question.
Use the sidebar and site search for supporting material; use this chapter map as your main route through the module.
The Dedicated Messaging Books
This overview module covers protocol selection and the HTTP/web family. For the three dedicated messaging books, use the current canonical entry chapters:
- MQTT Publish-Subscribe Basics for telemetry streams, commands, device state, and gateway-to-cloud messaging.
- CoAP Fundamentals for constrained nodes, local control, and REST-style resources over UDP.
- AMQP Core Concepts for durable queues, routing rules, and reliable service-to-service messaging.
How to Use This Material
- Start with the first chapter in the relevant part when the topic is unfamiliar.
- Use direct chapter links for study plans, lab preparation, and review evidence.
