This article was written in 2005. It is a DRAFT, with expectations of a detailed rewrite.
The protocol standard covers the negotiation process and interfacing that an application uses to use a Coded Raw resource.
We use the term 'protocol' because it is a two-way process, where the application queries the file, and the file responds as a service (using the runtime environment or virtual machine provided by the application).
Example of an exchange (top level)
| Step | Sent by App | Sent by Coded Raw resource |
| 1 | Establish Coded Raw Interface Standard | |
| 2 | Which Methods do you support? | |
| 3 | These methods*: x, y, z, ... | |
| 4 | What are the basic image attributes? (standard foo) | |
| 5 | RGB-16, 800 pixels wide, 600 high. | |
| 6 | Give me RGB-8 at optimal native resolution (800 × 600 preferred) | |
| 7 | (data stream) | |
| 8 | Close connection | Free resources |
* The data structure of the method list will include standard enumerations (for common identification), standard Method Set membership, name, and entry point (or block) for execution.