Can you explain the main differences between TCP and ICMP protocols in network communication?

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) are different network protocols with different purposes:

• TCP is a transport protocol that provides reliable, connection-oriented data transfer between applications. It guarantees delivery, order, and integrity of data using connection establishment, acknowledgments, and retransmissions.

• ICMP is a network management and diagnostic protocol used for sending error messages and operational information (e.g., "host unreachable", "time exceeded"). It is not intended for user data transmission.

Example: the ping command uses ICMP to check the availability of a host, while TCP is used, for example, to transfer web pages via HTTP.

Thus, TCP is responsible for reliable data transfer, and ICMP for exchanging control messages and network diagnostics.