A data communication protocol is a set of rules governing the exchange of data over a computer network. BACnet provides a standard way of representing the functions of any device, as long as it has these functions.
Examples are analog and binary inputs and outputs, schedules, control loops, and alarms.
Some of these properties are required while others are optional. One of the object's most important properties is its identifier, a sort of numerical name that allows BACnet to unambiguously access it.