Message
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A message in its most general meaning is an object of communication. It is something which provides information; it can also be this information itself. Therefore, its meaning is dependent upon the context in which it is used; the term may apply to both the information and its form. A communiqué is a brief report or statement released by a public agency.
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[edit] In communications science
More precisely, in communications science, a message is information which is sent from a source to a receiver. Some common definitions include:
- Any thought or idea expressed in a language, prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication.
- An arbitrary amount of information whose beginning and end are defined or implied.
In communication between humans, messages can be verbal or nonverbal:
- A verbal message is an exchange of information using words. Examples include face-to-face communication, telephone calls, voicemails, etc.
- A nonverbal message is communicated through actions or behaviors rather than words. Examples include the use of body language and the actions made by an individual idea.
[edit] In computer science
There are two main senses of the word "message" in computer science: messages passed within software, which may or may not be human-readable, and human-readable messages delivered via computer software for person-to-person communication.
- Message passing is a form of communication used in concurrent and parallel computing, object-oriented programming, and interprocess communication, where communication is made by sending messages to recipients. In a related use of this sense of a message, in object-oriented programming languages such as Smalltalk or Java, a message is sent to an object, specifying a request for action.
- Instant messaging and e-mail are examples of computer software designed for delivering human-readable messages in formatted or unformatted text, from one person to another.
[edit] See also
- Airmail
- Amateur radio emergency communications
- Beacon
- Communications satellite
- Drum (communication)
- Electronic mail
- Emergency Alert System
- Encryption
- Express mail
- Flare (pyrotechnic)
- Homing pigeons
- Instant messaging
- Message in a bottle
- Packet (information technology)
- Pioneer plaque
- Pony Express
- Radio
- Semaphore
- Sign language
- Smoke signals
- Steamshipping
- Telegraphy
- Telephony
- Television
- Text messaging
- Wind-powered shipping
