| DS 420ssg b |  Las Vegas Team |
Dr.Elliott |
| DS 420ssg b | Las Vegas Team |
Dr.Elliott |
Glossary:
1. API: Application Programming Interfaces Abbreviation of application program interface, a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer puts the blocks together Most operating environments, such as MS-Windows, provide an API so that programmers can writ applications consistent with the operating environment. Although APIs are designed for programmers, they are ultimately good for users because they guarantee that all programs using a common API will have similar interfaces. This makes it easier for users to learn new programs.
2. ADO: Short for ActiveX Data Objects, Microsoft's newest high-level interface for data objects. ADO is designed to eventually replace Data Access Objects (DAO) and Remote Data Objects (RDO). Unlike RDO and DAO, which are designed only for accessing relational databases, ADO is more general and can be used to access all sorts of different types of data, including web pages, spreadsheets, and other types of documents. Together with OLE DB and ODBC, ADO is one of the main components of Microsoft's Universal Data Access (UDA) specification, which is designed to provide a consistent way of accessing data regardless of how the data is structured.
3. ActiveX: A loosely defined set of technologies developed by Microsoft. ActiveX is an outgrowth of two other Microsoft technologies called OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) and COM (Component Object Model). As a moniker, ActiveX can be very confusing because it applies to a whole set of COM-based technologies. Most people, however, think only of ActiveX controls, which represent a specific way of implementing ActiveX technologies.
4. AFC: Short for Application Foundation Classes, a set of Microsoft foundation classes written entirely in Java. The AFC sits on top of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and extends Sun's Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT). A similar group of foundation classes is Netscape's Internet Foundation Classes (IFC).
5. AWT: Short for Abstract Windows Toolkit, the Java API that enables programmers to develop Java applications with GUI components, such as windows buttons, and scroll bars. The Java Virtual Machine (VM) is responsible for translating the AWT calls into the appropriate calls to the host operating system. Ideally, the AWT should enable any Java application to appear the same whether it's run in a Windows, Macintosh or UNIX environment. In practice, however, most Java applications look slightly different depending on the platform on which they're executed.
6. CORBA: Short for Common Object Request Broker Architecture, an architecture that enables pieces of programs, called objects, to communicate with on another regardless of what programming language they were written in or what operating system they're running on. CORBA was developed by an industry consortium known as the Object Management Group (OM) There are several implementations of CORBA, the most widely used being IBM's SOM and DSOM architectures. CORBA has also been embraced by Netscape as part of its Netscape ONE (Open Network Environment) platform. Two competing models are Microsoft's COM and DCOM and Sun Microsystems' RMI.
7. CGI: Abbreviation of Common Gateway Interface, a specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. A CGI program is any program designed to accept and return data that conforms to the CGI specification. The program could be written in any programmin language, including C, Perl, Java, or Visual Basic. CGI programs are the most common way for Web servers to interact dynamically with users. Many HTML pages that contain forms, for example, use a CGI program to process the form's data once it's submitted. Another increasingly common way to provide dynamic feedback for Web users is to include scripts or programs that run on the user's machine rather than the Web server. These programs can be Java applets, Java scripts, or ActiveX controls. These technologies are known collectively as client-side solutions, while the use of CGI is a server-side solution because the processing occurs on the Web server. One problem with CGI is that each time a CGI script is executed, a new process is started. For busy Web sites, this can slow down the server noticeably. A more efficient solution, but one that it is also more difficult to implement, is to use the server's API, such as ISAPI or NSAPI. Another increasingly popular solution is to use Java servlets.
8. CICS: Short for Customer Information Control System, a TP monitor from IBM that was originally developed to provide transaction processing for IBM mainframes. It controls the interaction between applications and users and lets programmers develop screen displays without detailed knowledge of the terminals being used. CICS is also available on non-mainframe platforms including the RS/6000, AS/400 and OS/2 -based PCs.
9. DCOM: Short for Distributed Component Object Model, an extension of the Component Object Model (COM) to support objects distributed across a network. DCOM was developed by Microsoft and has been submitted to the IETF as a draft standard. Since 1996, it has been part of Windows NT, and is also available for Windows 95. DCOM serves the same purpose as IBM's DSOM protocol, which is the most popular implementation of CORBA. Unlike CORBA, which runs on many operating systems, DCOM is currently implemented only for Windows.
10. DSOM: Short for Distributed System Object Model, a version of SOM that supports sharing binary objects across networks. DSOM is similar to Microsoft' competing standard called DCOM.
11. DCE: A Short for Distributed Computing Environment, a suite of technology services developed by The Open Group for creating distributed applications that run on different platforms. DCE services include:
12. GUI: Pronounced goo-ee, acronym for graphical user interface.
13. IIS: Short for Internet Information Server, Microsoft's Web server that runs on Windows NT platforms. In fact, IIS comes bundled with Windows NT 4.0. Because IIS is tightly integrated with the operating system, it is relatively easy to administer. However, currently IIS is available only for the Windows NT platform, whereas Netscape's Web servers run on all major platforms, including Windows NT, OS/2 and UNIX.
14. DLL: Short for Dynamic Link Library, a library of executable functions or data that can be used by a Windows application. Typically, a DLL provides one or more particular functions and a program accesses the functions by creating either a static or dynamic link to the DLL. A static link remains constant during program execution while a dynamic link is created by the program as needed. DLLs can also contain just data. DLL files usually end with the extension .dll, .exe., drv, or .fon. A DLL can be used by several applications at the same time. Some DLLs are provided with the Windows operating system and available for any Windows application. Other DLLs are written for a particular application and are loaded with the application.
15. ISAPI: Short for Internet Server API, an API for Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information Server) Web server. ISAPI enables programmers to develop Web-based applications that run much faster than conventional CGI programs because they're more tightly integrated with the Web server. In addition to IIS, several Web servers from companies other than Microsoft support ISAPI.
16. IIOP: Short for Internet Inter-ORB Protocol, a protocol developed by the Object Management Group (OMG) to implement CORBA solutions over the World Wide Web. IIOP enables browsers and servers to exchange integers, arrays, and more complex objects, unlike HTTP, which only supports transmission of text.
17. JDBC: Short for Java Database Connectivity, a Java API that enables Java programs to execute SQL statements. This allows Java programs to interact with any SQL-compliant database. Since nearly all relational database management systems (DBMSs) support SQL, and because Java itself runs on most platforms, JDBC makes it possible to write a single database application that can run on different platforms and interact with different DBMSs.
18. JAR: Short for Java Archive, a file format used to bundle all components required by a Java applet. JAR files simplify the downloading of applets since all the components (.class files, images, sounds, etc.) can be packaged into a single file. In addition, JAR supports data compression, which further decreases download times. By convention, JAR files end with a .jar extension.
19. JavaBeans: A specification developed by Sun Microsystems that defines how Java objects interact. An object that conforms to this specification is called a JavaBean, and is similar to an ActiveX control. It can be used by any application that understands the JavaBeans format. The principal difference between ActiveX controls and JavaBeans are that ActiveX controls can be developed in any programming language but executed only on a Windows platform, whereas JavaBeans can be developed only in Java, but can run on any platform.
20. JDK: Short for Java Development Kit, a software development kit (SDK) for producing Java programs. The JDK is developed by Sun Microsystem's JavaSoft division. The most recent version, 1.1, includes the JavaBeans component architecture and support for JDBC.
21. Middleware: Software that connects two otherwise separate applications. For example, there are a number of middleware products that link a database system to a Web server. This allows users to request data from the database using forms displayed on a Web browser, and it enables the Web server to return dynamic Web pages based on the user's requests and profile. The term middleware is used to describe separate products that serve as the glue between two applications. It is, therefore, distinct from import and export features that may be built into one of the applications. Middleware is sometimes called plumbing because it connects two sides of an application and passes data between them. In a three-tier architecture, middleware occupies the middle tier.
22. NSAPI: Short for Netscape Server API, and API for Netscape's Web servers. NSAPI enables programmers to create Web-based applications that are more sophisticated and run much faster than applications based on CGI scripts.
23. ODBC: Abbreviation of Open DataBase Connectivity, a standard database access method developed by Microsoft Corporation. The goal of ODBC is to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system (DBMS) is handling the data. ODBC manages this by inserting a middle layer, called a database driver, between an application and the DBMS. The purpose of this layer is to translate the application's data queries into commands that the DBMS understands. For this to work, both the application and the DBMS must be ODBC-compliant -- that is, the application must be capable of issuing ODBC commands and the DBMS must be capable of responding to them. Since version 2.0, the standard supports SAG SQL.
24. OLE: Abbreviation of Object Linking and Embedding, pronounced as separate letters or as oh-leh. OLE is a compound document standard developed by Microsoft Corporation. It enables you to create objects with one application and then link or embed them in a second application. Embedded objects retain their original format and links to the application that created them. Support for OLE is built into the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. A competing compound document standard developed jointly by IBM, Apple Computer, and other computer firms is called OpenDoc.
25. OCX: Short for OLE Custom control, an independent program module that can be accessed by other programs in a Windows environment. OCX controls end with a .ocx extension. OCX controls represent Microsoft's second generation of control architecture, the first being VBX controls written in Visual Basic. Both VBX and OCX controls have now been superseded by ActiveX controls. However, ActiveX is backward compatible with OCX controls, which means that ActiveX containers, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, can execute OCX components.
26. OMG: Short for Object Management Group, a consortium with a membership of more than 700 companies. The organization's goal is to provide a common framework for developing applications using object-oriented programming techniques. OMG is responsible for the CORBA specification.
27. ORB: Short for Object Request Broker, a component in the CORBA programming model that acts as the middleware between clients and servers. In the CORBA model, a client can request a service without knowing anything about what servers are attached to the network. The various ORBs receive the requests, forward them to the appropriate servers, and then hand the results back to the client.
28. PERL: Short for Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is a programming language developed by Larry Wall, especially designed for processing text. Because of its strong text processing abilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts. Perl is an interpretive language, which makes it easy to build and test simple programs.
29. PowerBuilder: One of the leading client/server development environments. PowerBuilder supports all the leading platforms -- including Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX and Mac OS. Its integrated development environment (IDE) makes it relatively easy to develop and deploy sophisticated client/server applications.
30. RPC: Abbreviation of remote procedure call, a type of protocol that allows a program on one computer execute a program on a server computer. Using RPC,
a system developer need not develop specific procedures for the server. The client program sends a message to the server with appropriate arguments and the server returns a message containing the results of the program executed.
31. RMI: Short for Remote Method Invocation, a set of protocols being developed by Sun's JavaSoft division that enables Java objects to communicate remotely with other Java objects. RMI is a relatively simple protocol, but unlike more complex protocols such as CORBA and DCOM, it works only with Java objects. CORBA and DCOM are designed to support objects created in any language.
32. SOM: Short for System Object Model, an architecture developed by IBM that allows binary code to be shared by different applications. It serves the same purpose as Microsoft's competing COM standard. SOM is a full implementation of CORBA. A distributed version of SOM that allows binary objects to be shared across networks is known as DSOM.
33. STUB: A routine that doesn't actually do anything other than declare itself and the parameters it accepts. Stubs are used commonly as placeholders for routines that still need to be developed. The stub contains just enough code to allow it to be compiled and linked with the rest of the program.
34. SQL: Abbreviation of structured query language, and pronounced either see-kwell or as separate letters. SQL is a standardized query language for requesting information from a database. The original version called SEQUEL (structured English query language) was designed by an IBM research center in 1974 and 1975. SQL was first introduced as a commercial database system in 1979 by Oracle Corporation.
35. VBX: Short for Visual Basic custom control, a reusable software component designed for use in many different applications. While VBXs can be used in other environments, they were initially created for developing Windows applications with Visual Basic. An application developer can use a number of selected VBXs to quickly develop an application While similar to objects, VBXs do not have two of the properties (inheritance and polymorphism) required by true object-oriented systems. Many different companies offer specialized VBXs for tasks such as controlling instruments or image handling. However, VBXs are being superseded by ActiveX controls, which are more flexible.
