In previous articles of this series, I described the physical basis of computers. Yet most people wouldn’t know anything to do with the mere physical basis. Some protocols are necessary for making the different components of a computer or of a computer network communicate with each other. You need additional devices like mouse, screen, or keyboard. Then you need an operating system, which makes the devices work together. The devices, device drivers, and operating system are already three layers and you still don’t have any application!

Looking at a computer network should make you see even more layers. There’s the physical layer, the data link layer, the network layer, the transport layer (IP/ TCP), the session layer, the presentation layer, and the application layer (HTTP or FTP or SMTP and so on). And this still is only providing a working environment! Several suggestions have been made for the nature of an eighth layer. This is where censorship and the most parts of cybersecurity take place. Funding sometimes is nicknamed as the 0th layer.

Also different access levels (hosting plans) to web-based services, computer programs getting translated (into assembler and then) into machine language before executing, or writing a computer program for producing texts instead of writing them directly can you count as layers. The texts containing HTML, CSS, or JavaScript again are layers. A database in the background of a website again is another layer. So whenever you have something to do with computers, then there are layers wherever you look.