A smart card comprises a microcontroller, a memory unit, a storage unit,
and a communications unit. The smart card may be connected to a terminal,
which is in turn may be connected to a host computer and/or a network.
The smart card is configured to initiate communications with the
terminal, which enables the smart card to control the terminal, host
computer, or network and to access the resources connected to the
terminal, host computer, or network. A communications protocol defines
the commands that the smart card can send and allows the smart card to
communicate using asynchronous or logical asynchronous communication.