Sooner, we needed PROTOCOLS to group up methodologies, standardize them. Electronics, Broadcasting and Computers were not quite different even at the time of mainframe computers. To understand more, you can read our articles on analog and digital pins of Arduino, Terminal emulator of computers which we use for management of servers. Slowly, when telegram improved, terminal devices became faster encoder and decoder of human input or sending data. That was the starting of analog means of connection. Around 150 years back, we had only way to communicate is sending pulses of current.
Why They RX/TX LEDs Blinks Upon Code Uploading? How History of Terminal Relates to it? What Are RX/TX LEDs and Pins on Arduino Boards? History of old Terminal, Telegram and Broadcast engineering.