Directory listing of http: uap.unnes.ac.id ebook biblebook Visual Basic 6 com & Library Books
Glossary
Access 2000 An easy-to -use to o l to develo p database applic atio ns. Part o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite.
ACID Stands fo r ato mic , co nsiste nt, iso latio n, and durable ,
whic h desc ribe the majo r c harac teristic s o f a transactio n.
Active Directory A c o mpo nent o f Windo ws 2000 Se rve r that
allo ws yo u to find info rmatio n abo ut vario us reso urc es
lo c ated ac ro ss a netwo rk.
ActiveX A set o f tec hno lo gies that allo ws yo u to build and
use o bje cts using the Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l (COM) and
Distribute d Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l (DCOM).
ActiveX Controls Co mpiled so ftware c o mpo nents develo ped
with Ac tiveX tec hno lo gy that run o n c lient c o mputers.
ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) An o bjec t-o riented way to
ac c ess a database suc h as Mic ro so ft SQL Server, Ac c ess, and
Orac le fro m an applicatio n pro gram . This tec hno lo gy replac es
o lder tec hno lo gies suc h as Data Acce ss Obje cts ( DAO) and
Re mo te Data Obje cts ( RDO) . This is a high-level implementatio n o f OLE DB, just like DAO and RDO are high-level implementatio ns o f ODBC.
ActiveX DLL A COM c o mpo nent residing in a DLL file that is
lo aded into the main pro gram’s address spac e at runtime. It is
also kno wn as an in-pro ce ss o bjec t.
ActiveX EXE A COM c o mpo nent residing in an EXE file that is
lo aded into a separate addre ss space .
Address Space The range o f addresses that c an be ac c essed
by a pro gram in virtual memo ry. Address spac e inc ludes
memo ry that c an be used by an applic atio n and memo ry
reserved fo r use by the o perating system.
ADO See Active X Data Obje cts.
682
Glossary
Administration Queue A que ue that is used to ho ld system-generated ac kno wledgement messages, whic h indic ate whether o r no t an applicatio n me ssage reac hed
its destinatio n.
Aggregate The pro c ess o f c o mbining the values o f a single c o lumn ac ro ss a set o f
ro ws. Typic al aggregatio n func tio ns are: Count, Max , Min , and Sum .
Alias An alternate name fo r a c o lumn o r table that exists o nly fo r the duratio n o f a
query.
ANSI SQL A standard fo r the SQL language fro m the Americ an Natio nal Standards
Institute (ANSI). The c urrent versio n o f the standard is referred to as SQL-92.
Apartment Model Threading A metho d that ensures that o bjec ts c reated in Visual
Basic c an be used by multithre ade d applicatio ns. As eac h o bjec t is c reated, it is
assigned to a single thread. All c alls fro m c o de o n different threads will need to be
marshale d to ac c ess the o bjec t.
API See Applicatio n Pro gramming Inte rface .
Application A c o llec tio n o f pro grams and database s that allo ws a use r to so lve a
pro blem.
Application Log A file c o ntaining SQL Server status info rmatio n in a Windo ws
2000/ NT system.
Application Message A message generated by an applic atio n and sent using COM+
Que ue d Co mpo ne nts. This is different fro m a syste m me ssage , whic h is generated by
the COM+ queued c o mpo nents, whic h sto res c o pies o f applic atio n messages after
they are pro c essed.
Application Programming Interface (API) A well-defined set o f rules and c alling
c o nventio ns that desc ribes ho w a pro grammer c an invo ke the servic es o f ano ther
applic atio n o r the o perating system.
Application Queue A public o r private que ue that is used to send and rec eive
applic atio n-spec ific messages.
Application Server A c o mputer dedic ated to running the busine ss rule s o f an
o rganizatio n. These rules are o ften implemented using transactio ns running under
the c o ntro l o f a transactio n se rve r.
Asynchronous Processing The type o f pro c essing that o c c urs when a pro gram
c alls ano ther pro gram o r c o mpo nent to perfo rm a task and bo th pro grams c o ntinue
to o perate independently. See also Synchro no us Pro ce ssing.
Glossary
Atomic A o bjec t that c an’t be subdivided. See Ato mic Fie ld. Also part o f the ACID
test fo r transactio ns when it refers to the c o nc ept that either all o f the pro c essing in
a transac tio n must c o mplete suc c essfully o r no t if it c o mpletes. It ensures that
there is no suc h thing as a partially-c o mpleted transac tio n.
Atomic Field A field who se c o ntents c an’t be bro ken do wn any mo re. (Fo r example,
a date is no t ato mic sinc e it c an be bro ken do wn into day, mo nth, and year, while a
mo nth is ato mic sinc e it c an’t be bro ken into smaller piec es.)
Authentication The pro c ess o f establishing a use r’s identity. This usually invo lves
pro viding a user name and a sec ret passwo rd to the o perating system o r to a
database se rve r to pro ve that yo u have ac c ess to the func tio ns asso c iated with
the user name.
Authenticated User A perso n who has passed the authe nticatio n test.
Authorization The pro c ess o f determining the ac c ess rights to func tio ns and data
that an authe nticate d use r is allo wed to perfo rm.
Axis One dimensio n o f an OLAP cube .
Backup A c o py o f the info rmatio n in a database taken at a given po int in time. It
c an be used to re co ve r the info rmatio n in the database.
Base Table A real table in the database that is referenc ed in a view.
Batch Job A pro c ess where a no n-interac tive pro gram is exec uted, typic ally at a
time when no o ne is aro und to c o ntro l its exec utio n.
Binary Large Object (BLOB) A co lumn c o ntaining info rmatio n suc h as an image that
c an exc eed the size o f a no rmal binary c o lumn. It o ften requires spec ial handling
when c o mpared to a no rmal c o lumn.
Binding The pro c ess o f lo c ating an o bjec t and asso c iating with yo ur pro gram. See
also e arly binding and late binding.
BLOB See Binary Large Obje ct.
BMP An image file fo rmat develo ped by Mic ro so ft. It suppo rts many different image
fo rmats (8-bit c o lo r, 24-bit c o lo r, and so o n), but files are usually larger than with
o ther image fo rmats, suc h as GIF and JPEG.
Browser A pro gram that is designed to translate HTML tags into a visible do c ument.
683
684
Glossary
Business Logic The set o f busine ss rule s used to o perate a business o r o ther o rganizatio n. The rules desc ribe what an applic atio n pro gram is suppo sed to do in a given
situatio n. Fo r example, a business rule may require a pro gram to plac e an o rder fo r
an item in invento ry when its quantity o n hand falls belo w a c ertain level.
Business Rule A set o f instruc tio ns that implements a business pro c edure. Fo r
example, the steps that are taken to purc hase a bo o k by a business are c o nsidered
a business rule. Business rules are o ften implemented as part o f a pro gram o r set o f
pro grams that runs o n a c o mputer.
By Reference A type o f parameter passing in whic h the address o f a variable is
passed to a ro utine. This allo ws the ro utine to direc tly c hange the c o ntents o f the
variable. See also By Value .
By Value A type o f parameter passing in whic h a c o py o f the variable is passed to
the ro utine. If the ro utine c hanges the value o f this parameter, the o riginal variable
remains unc hanged. See also By Re fe re nce .
Cache A b uffer that is used to ho ld freq uently-used info rmatio n. In a datab ase
system, a c ac he typic ally resides in the c o mputer’s memo ry and ho lds info rmatio n fro m the datab ase’s disk sto rage.
Calculated Member A me mbe r o f a cube that is c o mputed o n the fly based o n data
that already exists in the c ube.
Cell The intersec tio n o f a ro w and a co lumn in a table , c o ntaining a single value. In
an OLAP cube , a c ell represents the intersec tio n o f all o f the dime nsio ns.
Child A me mbe r in the next lo wer le ve l in a hie rarchy . This member represents a
subset o f the info rmatio n o f its pare nt.
Class Module A template fro m whic h an o bjec t is c reated. This template allo ws yo u
to define pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts, whic h c an be used by o ther parts o f yo ur
applic atio n. A COM c o mpo nent is built fro m o ne o r mo re c lass mo dules in an
Active X DLL o r Active X EXE.
Client The user side o f a multi-c o mputer applic atio n. Fo r example, Query Analyzer,
Exc el, and MapPo int c an all be c lient pro grams fo r an SQL Server database.
Client/ Server A pro gramming tec hnique where a clie nt pro gram makes requests o f
a se rve r pro gram. In the c ase o f a database se rve r, the clie nt pro gram running o n the
user’s c o mputer generates requests fo r info rmatio n o r supplies c o mmands to the
database server, whic h pro c esses them and returns the results bac k to the c alling
applic atio n.
Glossary
CLSID The c lass identifier fo r an o bjec t. All o bjec ts are assigned a CLSID, whic h is
used as a key in the Windo ws Re gistry to lo c ate the o bjec t’s c o de. A CLSID is sto red
as a GUID, so that it will always be unique.
Clustered Index A spec ial type o f index that is used to determine the o rder o f the
ro ws in a table. A table c an c o ntain o nly o ne c lustered index.
Codify A tec hnique that replac es a field in a database with an enc o ded value that is
used as a key to ano ther table where the o riginal field is extrac ted. This is typic ally
used when dealing with “standard” text fields. Fo r example, the text field Jo bTitle
c an be c o dified into an integer field c alled Jo bTitleCo de. Using Jo bTitleCo de in yo ur
database ensures that all emplo yees have the same value fo r their jo b title. Sinc e
Jo bTitleCo de is muc h smaller than Jo bTitle, yo u’ll also save spac e in the database.
Column An attribute o f a table that c o ntains info rmatio n. The c o nc ept o f a c o lumn
is similar to a fie ld in a re co rd. Also referred to as data e le me nts.
COM See Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l.
COM+ The next versio n o f COM that inc ludes many new servic es, so me o f whic h
were previo usly independent o f COM. These servic es inc lude the COM+ Transactio n
Se rve r (fo rmerly kno wn as the Micro so ft Transactio n Se rve r) and COM+ Que ue d
Co mpo ne nts.
COM+ Application The primary unit o f management by the Co mpo ne nt Se rvice s
to o l. It c o nsists o f a single DLL o r EXE file that c o ntains a set o f o ne o r mo re COM
c o mpo nents.
COM+ Queued Components An easy to inc o rpo rate me ssage que ue s with COM+
c o mpo nents. This feature allo ws yo u to issue a metho d o r ac c ess a pro perty in an
async hro no us fashio n.
COM+ Transaction Server A so ftware pac kage that manages the exec utio n o f transactio ns under Windo ws 2000 Se rve r. See also Transactio n se rve r.
Commit The ac t o f saving a set o f c hanges in a database. The c hanges c an be abando ned by perfo rming a Ro ll Back.
Compile-Time Refers to ac tivities perfo rmed and events that o c c ur while c o mpiling
a pro gram.
Component An o bjec t that c o ntains a set o f pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts. It is
implemented in Visual Basic using a class mo dule and represents a type that c an be
asso c iated with a variable.
685
686
Glossary
Component Object Model (COM) A tec hno lo gy used to c reate and ac c ess o bje cts
fro m a Windo ws pro gram.
Component Services A utility inc luded with Windo ws 2000 Se rve r that is used to
manage the COM+ Transactio n Se rve r.
Composite Field A field that c an be bro ken into smaller parts. A date is an example
o f a c o mpo site field, sinc e it c an be bro ken into year, mo nth, and day.
Composite Index An index that uses multiple c o lumns as the key value.
Composite Key A ke y c o ntaining mo re than o ne co lumn.
Concatenation The pro c ess o f c o mbining multiple strings into a single string by
appending o ne string to the end o f ano ther.
Concurrency Oc c urs when multiple users share a reso urc e; o ften requires lo cks to
ensure that the sharing is do ne in an o rderly fashio n.
Connection A link between the c lient pro gram and the database se rve r.
Connection String A string c o ntaining the parameters nec essary to c o nnec t to the
database se rve r. Typic ally used by ADO and RDO o bjec t mo dels.
Consistent Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transactio n. It ensures that the wo rk
do ne by a transactio n leaves the applic atio n in a c o nsistent state.
Constituent Controls The set o f c o ntro ls that are used in an Active X Use rCo ntro l
o bjec t.
Constraint A restric tio n plac ed o n a co lumn o r a set o f c o lumns that any value
entered into the c o lumn must meet. So me examples o f c o nstraints are fo re ign ke y ,
primary ke y , and unique .
Container A c o ntro l that c an c o ntain o ther c o ntro ls.
Control An o bje ct that c an be plac ed o n a Visual Basic fo rm o r repo rt to pro vide a
spec ific func tio n o r to interac t with the user. So me examples o f c o ntro ls are text
bo xes, where the user c an enter and edit text strings, labels that display text values,
and butto ns that c an be pushed by the user.
Cookie A set o f data that is maintained b y a user’s bro wse r and is availab le fo r
pro c essing b y Web server b ased applic atio ns.
Cross-tabulation Report A repo rt that aggregates every c o mbinatio n o f two o r
mo re data fields.
Glossary
Crosstab Report See Cro ss-tabulatio n Re po rt.
Cube A set o f data o rganized by dime nsio ns and c o ntaining me asure s. The data
is generally extrac ted fro m a data ware ho use and is analyzed by to o ls like Exc el
Pivo tTable s.
Cube Browser A to o l inc luded in the OLAP Manager that allo ws yo u to view the
data in a c ube.
Cube Editor A to o l inc luded with the OLAP Manager that allo ws yo u to view and
c hange the struc ture o f a c ube.
Current Record The single ro w po inted to by the curso r. The c urrent rec o rd c an be
c hanged by mo ving the c urso r to a different ro w.
Cursor Used by an applic atio n pro gram to po int to a spec ific ro w in a table o r
re co rdse t. This ro w is then c o nsidered the curre nt re co rd.
DAO See Data Acce ss Obje cts.
Data Access Objects (DAO) An o bso lete way to ac c ess a database fro m Visual
Basic . Active X Data Obje cts have replac ed this tec hno lo gy.
Data Bound Controls A way o f linking a co ntro l in a Visual Basic pro gram to a co lumn in a re co rdse t. Whenever the value in the c o lumn c hanges, it will auto matic ally
be updated in the c o ntro l. Changing the value in the c o ntro l will c hange the value in
the database .
Data Consumer Rec eives data fro m a data so urce in the ADO o bjec t mo del.
Data Control A Visual Basic co ntro l that links o ther c o ntro ls o n a fo rm to a
database . This c o ntro l suppo rts sc ro lling thro ugh a re co rdse t o ne rec o rd at a time
and displaying the c o ntents o f the rec o rdset o n the bo und co ntro ls. Yo u c an also use
the data c o ntro l to insert new rec o rds, update existing rec o rds, o r delete existing
rec o rds.
Data Dictionary A repo sito ry that c o ntains detailed info rmatio n abo ut every field,
table, and view in a database and ho w they are related to eac h o ther.
Data Element Ano ther name fo r co lumn.
Data Environment A to o l in Visual Basic that simplifies database pro gramming. It
allo ws yo u to define and design yo ur ac c ess metho ds to the database .
687
688
Glossary
Data Mart A c o nc ept identic al to a data wareho use, but smaller in sc o pe. Rather
than enc o mpassing all o f the data in an o rganizatio n, a data mart may o nly c o ntain
info rmatio n abo ut a single department o r applic atio n.
Data Scrubbing The pro c ess o f analyzing data fo r c o nsistenc y befo re data is
lo aded into a data wareho use.
Data Source The so urc e o f the data that is to be lo aded into a dime nsio n o r me mbe r o f a c ube. A data so urc e is also the so urc e o f data in the ADO mo del. It pro vides
data to data co nsume rs fo r pro c essing.
Data Transformation Services (DTS) A to o l in SQL Server that allo ws yo u to mo ve
and transfo rm data fro m o ne database to ano ther. This to o l is extremely useful
when yo u are extrac ting data fro m yo ur pro duc tio n database to yo ur data wareho use.
Data Type Defines the sto rage mec hanism fo r a co lumn. It also determines the set o f
basic o peratio ns that c an be against the c o lumn. So me c o mmo n data types inc lude
CHAR, whic h ho ld strings o f c harac ters, and INT, whic h ho ld numeric values.
Data Warehouse A c entral repo sito ry c o ntaining data that is made available to
satisfy unstruc tured requests fo r info rmatio n by end users. The data is generally
extrac ted fro m pro duc tio n applic atio ns and summarized to minimize the amo unt
o f wo rk needed to satisfy the request.
Database A c o llec tio n o f table s, inde xe s, and o ther database o bje cts that are used
by o ne o r mo re applicatio ns sto red inside a database se rve r.
Database Administrator (DBA) A database administrato r is the perso n respo nsible
fo r the design and maintenanc e o f a database. Besides c reating and c hanging
databases, this perso n is also respo nsible fo r suc h tasks as database bac kup and
database rec o very.
Database Client The c o mputer that is used to ac c ess a database se rve r. Typic ally,
this c o mputer will run either a to o l suc h as Query Analyzer to perfo rm que ry o peratio ns against the database o r a c usto m applic atio n that allo ws the user to add,
delete, and mo dify info rmatio n in the database.
Database Diagram A graphic al representatio n o f a subset o f the database o bje cts
c o ntained in a database.
Database Management System (DBMS) A highly spec ialized piec e o f so ftware that
is used to sto re and retrieve data quic kly and sec urely. It exists independently o f an
applic atio n pro gram and allo ws c o nc urrent ac c ess to the data it c o ntains. See also
Database .
Glossary
Database Object A table , co lumn, inde x , trigge r, vie w , co nstraint, rule , sto re d pro ce dure , o r ke y in a database.
Database Owner (DBO) The use r name o f the individual who is respo nsible fo r the
database . This individual is also kno wn as the database administrato r.
Database Query See Que ry .
Database Replication The pro c ess whereby the c o ntents o f o ne database are sync hro nized with ano ther database.
Database Server The c o mputer that c o ntains the set o f database s and the so ftware
that servic es requests fro m database clie nts.
Database Structure See Database Obje ct.
DBA See Database Administrato r.
DBMS See Database Manage me nt Syste m.
DBO See Database Owne r.
DCE See Distribute d Co mputing Enviro nme nt.
DCOM See Distribute d Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l.
DCOM Configuration Utility (DCOMCNGF) A utility pro gram available in Windo ws
that is used to maintain the additio nal info rmatio n nec essary to find COM co mpo ne nts in a distributed enviro nment.
Dead-Letter Queue A syste m que ue that is used to ho ld applicatio n me ssage s that
c an’t be delivered.
Decision Support System An applic atio n designed to help peo ple make b etter
b usiness dec isio ns. Typic ally, a dec isio n suppo rt system uses a data wareho use
as the so urc e o f the data to b e analyzed.
Delegation The imperso natio n o f c lients o ver a netwo rk when using DCOM o r
COM+. See also Impe rso natio n.
Design-Time Refers to ac tivities perfo rmed and events that o c c ur while writing a
pro gram.
689
690
Glossary
Dimension A part o f the cube that is used to o rganize the me mbe rs in the c ube. A
dimensio n may have o ne o r mo re le ve ls, whic h are used to gro up data values. Fo r
instanc e, a time dimensio n has the All level at the to p, fo llo wed by a Years level
c o ntaining the set o f years, and a Mo nths level c o ntaining the mo nths in a partic ular year.
Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) A superset o f the Co mpo ne nt Obje ct
Mo de l (COM) that allo ws the distributio n o f o bjec ts o ver a lo c al area and wide area
netwo rk.
Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) The Open So ftware Fo undatio n standards fo r distributed applic atio n servic es. These servic es inc lude a distribute file
system, a distributed sec urity system, and re mo te pro ce dure calls.
Dimension Table A table in a data ware ho use that is used to index the values in a
fac t table.
DLL See Dynamic Link Library .
Drill Down The ac t o f expanding the info rmatio n displayed fro m a cube to see the
next level o f detail.
Domain A c o llec tio n o f c o mputers in a Windo ws enviro nment that share a c o mmo n
sec urity database.
DTS See Data Transfo rmatio n Se rvice s.
Dump See Backup .
Durable Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transac tio n. It ensures that o nc e a transac tio n has been c o mpleted, the o perating system c an always rec o ver the wo rk do ne
by the transac tio n after a system failure.
Dynamic Link Library (DLL) A file c o ntaining c o mpiled c o de that c an be shared by
multiple pro grams at runtime .
Early Binding Oc c urs when Visual Basic is able to determine the type o f o bjec t yo u
wish to ac c ess at develo pment-time. To implement early binding, yo u must dec lare
yo ur variable as a spec ific o bjec t type, suc h as Recordset rather than Object. Early
binding makes yo ur pro gram mo re effic ient bec ause less wo rk is needed at runtime
to determine the o bjec t’s type. See also Late Binding.
Endpoints Represents eac h end o f a TCP/ IP c o nnec tio n. A spec ific TCP po rt number c harac terizes eac h endpo int.
Glossary
English Query A to o l inc luded in Mic ro so ft SQL Server 7 that allo ws yo u to enter
queries using English-like questio ns and sentenc es.
Equijoin A jo in o peratio n with two o r mo re tables, where o ne field in o ne table
must be equal to ano ther field in the o ther table.
Event An external subro utine c alled by an o bje ct when a spec ific situatio n is
enc o untered. This allo ws the pro gram using the o bjec t to supply additio nal info rmatio n to the o bjec t, o r take a spec ific ac tio n based o n info rmatio n supplied by
the o bjec t.
Excel 2000 A part o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite o f pro grams that is used to analyze tabular data using wo rksheets and multi-dimensio nal data using Pivo tTables.
EXE See Exe cutable File .
Executable File (EXE) Co ntains a c o mpiled versio n o f a pro gram that c an be
lo aded into memo ry and exec uted.
Export The pro c ess o f mo ving data fro m a database to a file.
Expression An algebraic fo rmula that c an invo lve c o nstants, c o lumns, func tio ns,
and arithmetic o perato rs. Often used in SQL statements.
External Transaction A transactio n that inc ludes units o f wo rk fro m mo re than o ne
re so urce manage r.
Fact Table A c entral table in a data wareho use who se primary key values link bac k
to dimensio n tables. The remaining values typic ally desc ribe a transac tio n within
an o rganizatio n suc h as a purc hase. So metimes these values are summarized
ac c o rding to the dimensio ns inc luded in the table to reduc e the amo unt o f data
sto red.
Field An alternate name fo r co lumn o r data e le me nt.
Filter An expressio n that is used to identify a series o f rec o rds in a query.
Friend Property A pro pe rty that appears to be part o f the public inte rface to a COM
o bjec t, but c an be ac c essed o nly by the o ther ro utines in the same pro jec t. Thus,
yo u define a frie nd pro pe rty in o ne class mo dule and ac c ess it in ano ther c lass mo dule, just as if yo u had dec lared it as public . Friend pro perties c an be used o nly in
Active X EXEs, Active X DLLs, and Active X Co ntro ls.
Foreign Key A co lumn o r set o f c o lumns who se value must matc h the primary ke y
o f ano ther table .
691
692
Glossary
Full Backup A c o mplete backup o f a database. Can be used to resto re the entire
c o ntents o f a database witho ut using any o ther bac kups.
Full-Text Query A que ry that searc hes fo r o ne o r mo re wo rds o r phrases in a co lumn.
Function A ro utine that returns a value based o n zero o r mo re parameters.
Func tio ns are typic ally used as part o f an expressio n.
GIF See Graphics Inte rchange Fo rmat.
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) A file fo rmat (whic h uses tec hno lo gy o wned
by Unisys Co rpo ratio n) that is c o mmo nly used to sto re graphic image s typic ally
with 256 c o lo rs o r fewer. Users who se applicatio ns use GIF images may have to pay
a ro yalty fee to Unisys in o rder to use the tec hno lo gy.
Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) A 128-bit (16-byte) value that is generated by an
algo rithm that guarantees that the value will be unique. The algo rithm that generates this value c an be used at the rate o f o ne new GUID per sec o nd fo r several c enturies and never duplic ate a value o n yo ur lo c al c o mputer o r any o ther c o mputer.
GUID See Glo bally Unique Ide ntifie r.
Hierarchy An arrangement o f the me mbe rs in a dime nsio n into le ve ls based o n pare nt child relatio nships. Fo r example, a time dimensio n is bro ken into years, years
are bro ken into mo nths, and so o n.
Hierarchical Recordset A re co rdse t in whic h a co lumn in a partic ular ro w c an
c o ntain ano ther rec o rdset.
HOPAP See Hybrid OLAP Database .
HTML See Hype rte xt Markup Language .
HTTP See Hype rte xt Transpo rt Pro to co l.
HTTP User Agent A unique string that identifies the name and versio n o f a Web
bro wser. Fro m this value, yo u c an deduc e its c apabilities.
Hybrid OLAP Database (HOLAP) A Hybrid OLAP database uses tec hniques fro m
bo th a MOLAP database and a ROLAP database to pro vide better perfo rmanc e than
either appro ac h.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) A simple language used to c reate a hypertext
do c ument c o nsisting o f tags to define fo rmatting o ptio ns and hypertext links.
Glossary
Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) A stateless o bjec t-o riented pro to c o l used
by Web c lients and servers to c o mmunic ate.
I/ O See Input/Output.
Identifier A string o f c harac ters that is used to uniquely desc ribe a database
o bjec t, suc h as a co lumn o r table .
Identity Column A c o lumn in a table that c o ntains a system-generated,
mo no to nic ally-inc reasing value that is guaranteed to be unique within the table.
IID See Inte rface Ide ntifie r.
IIS See Inte rne t Info rmatio n Se rve r.
Image A digital pic ture that c an be sto red o n a c o mputer. Many different image
fo rmats are available, suc h as BMP, GIF, and JPEG.
Import The pro c ess o f c o pying data fro m a file to a database . This is the o ppo site
o f e xpo rt.
Impersonation The ability to perfo rm a task using the sec urity permissio n o f o ne
user, while exec uting under the sec urity permissio ns o f ano ther. See also
De le gatio n.
In-process Object A COM o bjec t that is lo aded into the same address spac e as
the c alling pro gram. It is implemented in Visual Basic as an Active X Co ntro l o r an
Active X DLL.
Incremental Update The pro c ess whereby ro ws are added to a table, rather than
replac ing all o f the ro ws in the table.
Index A database fac ility that sto res details abo ut the lo c atio n o f ro ws c o ntaining a
spec ified ke y value. This database o bje ct allo ws the database se rve r to retrieve ro ws
fro m a table faster than witho ut the index. Indexes are usually c reated based o n typic al searc hes perfo rmed by users to inc rease perfo rmanc e.
Input/ Output (I/ O) An o peratio n whereby the c o mputer either reads data fro m a
devic e o r writes data to a devic e. So me typic al devic es inc lude disk drives, printers,
keybo ards, and mo dems.
Instance An o bjec t that has been allo c ated memo ry to ho ld info rmatio n based o n a
template fo und in an Active X DLL, Active X Co ntro l, o r Active X EXE.
Integrity Constraint See Rule .
693
694
Glossary
Interactive User Refers to the user name asso c iated with the keybo ard and display
o n a Windo ws c o mputer. While there is always an interac tive user o n a Windo ws
98/95 c o mputer, there may no t always be an interac tive user o n a Windo ws 2000/NT
mac hine. This is espec ially true o f Windo ws 2000/NT Se rve r.
Interface A way to ac c ess the servic es supplied by an o bje ct. A COM based o bjec t
c an c o ntain zero o r mo re pro pe rtie s, zero o r mo re me tho ds, o r zero o r mo re e ve nts.
Standard interfac es are tho se defined by Mic ro so ft. All COM o bjec ts are expec ted to
implement IUnkno wn. IDispatc h is required when yo u want to suppo rt late binding.
Interface Identifier (IID) The GUID that uniquely identifies an inte rface .
Internal Transaction A transactio n where the COM+ Que ue d Co mpo ne nts feature
supplies the o nly reso urc e manager.
Internet An internatio nal netwo rk that permits c o mputers to c o mmunic ate amo ng
o ne ano ther using the TCP/ IP suite o f pro to c o ls.
Internet Information Server (IIS) Mic ro so ft’s high-perfo rmanc e Web server that
runs o n a Windo ws 2000/NT Se rve r system.
Intranet An internal netwo rk fo r an o rganizatio n that is based o n the to o ls and pro to c o ls used by the Internet.
Intrinsic Controls Co ntro ls available in Visual Basic that are inc luded with the runtime library. They are usually limited to perfo rming relatively simple func tio ns.
Isolation Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transactio n. It pro vides the viewpo int that
eac h transac tio n o perates independently o f o ther transac tio ns.
Job See Batch Jo b .
Journal Queue A syste m que ue that is used to ho ld messages that have been pro c essed and remo ved fro m a transactio n que ue .
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) An image file fo rmat o ptimized fo r
24-bit c o lo r images. It uses a c o mpressio n sc heme where data that may no t be
no tic ed by the user is thro wn away and results in very small images.
JPEG See Jo int Pho to graphic Expe rts Gro up .
Junction Table The table in the middle o f a many-to -many re latio nship .
Key A co lumn o r set o f c o lumns who se c o ntents are used to identify o ne o r mo re
ro ws. See also Primary Ke y , Fo re ign Ke y , and Inde x .
Glossary
Late Binding Oc c urs when Visual Basic is unable to determine the type o f o bjec t
yo u wish to ac c ess at develo pment time. This happens when yo u dec lare yo ur
o bjec t variable as a general type, suc h as Object o r Variant. Late binding slo ws
yo ur pro gram at runtime bec ause Visual Basic must determine the o bjec t’s type
eac h time it is ac c essed. See also Early Binding.
Level Desc ribes the amo unt o f detail displayed in a dimensio n. The lo wer the level,
the mo re detail will be displayed.
License Key A way to prevent so meo ne fro m redistributing an Active X Co ntro l yo u
develo p witho ut yo ur permissio n. The lice nse ke y must be present either in the
Windo ws Re gistry o f the c o mputer using the c o ntro l o r in the pro gram using the
c o ntro l. Only c o ntro ls who se lic ense key is in the Registry c an be used in the
Visual Basic develo pment enviro nment.
Load Balancing The ac t o f assigning new wo rk o r shifting existing wo rk to the
least-busy server in a defined gro up o f c o mputers. This helps to impro ve netwo rk
perfo rmanc e by ensuring that all o f the servers in the gro up o f c o mputers are
equally busy.
Locking A pro c ess where a user is granted exc lusive ac c ess to a partic ular database
o bje ct. This prevents o ther users fro m c hanging the o bjec t until the first user has finished and released the lo c k.
Logical I/ O An I/O request fro m the database se rve r that may o r may no t be satisfied by info rmatio n already in memo ry.
Login An identifier that gives an individual ac c ess to a database se rve r. A lo gin is
mapped to a partic ular use r name when ac c essing a spec ific database .
Many-to-Many Relationship A relatio nship between two data e le me nts where a partic ular value fo r o ne field implies that the o ther field c an have a partic ular range o f
values, while that field implies that the first field may also have a range o f values.
Fo r example, an autho r may write many bo o ks, while a bo o k may be written by
many autho rs.
MapPoint 2000 An applic atio n that is a member o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite
that is used to analyze geo graphic data.
MAPI See Me ssaging Applicatio n Pro gramming Inte rface .
Marshaling The tec hniq ue o f sending interfac e message c alls to an o b jec t o n a
different thread in the same address spac e o r in a different address spac e.
Master Database The database used by the database se rve r to manage all the o ther
databases under its c o ntro l.
695
696
Glossary
MDX See Multi-dime nsio nal Expre ssio ns.
Measure A numeric c o lumn that is inc luded in a fact table . Typic ally c o ntains info rmatio n that c an be analyzed.
Member An item in a dime nsio n that represents o ne o r mo re o c c urrenc es o f data.
The c o mbinatio n o f a member and its parent values must be unique.
Message Info rmatio n that is generated by an applic atio n o r by the system and
sto red in a me ssage que ue .
Message Queue An applic atio n-generated queue that c o ntains applic atio n-generated messages. Also used to refer to Micro so ft Me ssage Que ue s.
Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) An interfac e develo ped by
Mic ro so ft to pro vide func tio ns that develo pers c o uld use to c reate e-mail enabled
applic atio ns.
Metadata A c o llec tio n o f attributes that desc ribes yo ur database inc luding, the
data type o f eac h c o lumn, the fo rmat that sho uld be used to present the data, a
desc riptio n o f the data, plus any o ther info rmatio n that is useful in understanding
ho w the data is c reated and ho w it sho uld be used.
Method A way to ac c ess a subro utine o r func tio n to perfo rm a spec ific task within
an o bje ct.
Microsoft Message Queues (MSMQ) A feature that allo ws yo u to send async hro no us
messages fro m o ne applic atio n pro gram to ano ther.
Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) A server that manages distribute applic atio n
o bje cts. MTS has been superc eded o n Windo ws 2000 systems by COM+ Transac tio n
Server.
Middle Tier The middle level o f pro c essing in an n-tier applic atio n system.
Typic ally this tier c o nsists o f a transactio n se rve r suc h as the COM+ Transactio n
Se rve r.
Model Database A database that c o ntains all the default table s and suppo rting
info rmatio n that must exist in an empty database.
Module-Level Variable A variable defined at the start o f a mo dule. This variable
c an be ac c essed by any ro utine in the mo dule, even if it is dec lared private. If it is
dec lared public , it may be referenc ed by c o de o utside the mo dule. A public variable
in a class mo dule is treated as an o bjec t’s pro perty.
MTS See Micro so ft Transactio n Se rve r.
Glossary
Multi-dimensional Expressions (MDX) A language that is used fo r building queries
that ac c ess a c ube.
Multi-dimensional Database A multi-dimensio nal database sto res info rmatio n in a
c o llec tio n o f large multi-dimensio nal arrays. This makes it easy to lo c ate a spec ific
piec e o f info rmatio n quic kly. Ho wever, this struc ture is extremely time c o nsuming
to lo ad.
Multiprocessor A c o mputer system with mo re than o ne CPU that is under Windo w’s
direc t c o ntro l. This allo ws two o r mo re thre ads to be running at the same time.
Multithreaded A pro c ess that c an have two o r mo re ac tive thre ads running at the
same time.
N-Tier Application Indic ates the number o f c o mputers where pro c essing is perfo rmed as part o f an applic atio n. A stand-alo ne c o mputer is o ne-tier, and c lient/server
c o mputing is two -tier. DCOM and COM+ allo w yo u to perfo rm three-tier pro c essing by
adding ano ther c o mputer in between the c lient and server c o mputers.
Nested Query A Select statement that c o ntains o ne o r mo re subque rie s.
Nontransactional Message A me ssage generated by an applic atio n that is no t part
o f a transactio n.
Nontransactional Queue A que ue that is used to rec eive no ntransactio nal me ssage s.
Normalization The pro c ess o f designing a database ac c o rding to a set o f welldefined rules that minimize duplic atio n o f info rmatio n.
Null A c o nditio n that exists when a co lumn do esn’t have a value. This sho uld no t
be c o nfused with an empty string, who se value is a string o f c harac ters with a
length o f zero .
Object A so ftware c o mpo nent that c o ntains o ne o r mo re inte rface s that c an be
used to request info rmatio n o r perfo rm func tio ns.
Object Browser A func tio n o f the Visual Basic IDE that allo ws yo u to see the definitio ns o f the pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts o f an o bjec t available to yo ur pro gram.
Object Code A c o llec tio n o f mac hine instruc tio ns and data that is lo aded into memo ry fo r exec utio n.
Object Pooling A fac ility in COM+ that allo ws yo u to c reate a set o f o bjec t instanc es
that c an be shared by the transactio ns running in the COM+ Transactio n Se rve r.
697
698
Glossary
ObjectContext The o bjec t used to trac k the status o f a transac tio n under COM+. It
is c reated at the beginning o f a transactio n. At the end o f the transac tio n, yo u c an
mark the transac tio n as suc c essfully c o mpleted o r abo rt all o f the ac tivities asso c iated with the transac tio n.
OCX File A file that c o ntains o ne o r mo re Active X Co ntro ls. It is similar in struc ture
to an Active X DLL file, but it must inc lude extra inte rface s that pro vide the graphic al
interfac e.
ODBC See Ope n Database Co nne ctivity .
OLAP See Online Analytical Pro ce ssing.
OLAP Manager A utility that allo ws yo u to manage an OLAP Server and c o ntains
to o ls that allo w yo u to design and po pulate OLAP c ubes.
OLAP Server A type o f se rve r that is designed to sto re multi-dime nsio nal database s
and to pro c ess queries against the data.
OLAP Services A fac ility in Mic ro so ft SQL Server that inc ludes to o ls like the OLAP
Manage r and a spec ial server c alled OLAP Server that respo nds to requests to Multidime nsio nal OLAP database s.
OLE DB An o bjec t-o riented pro gramming interfac e to ac c ess a database o r o ther
data so urc e that suppo rts Mic ro so ft’s COM tec hno lo gy.
OLE DB Consumer A pro gram that requests info rmatio n fro m a data so urc e using
OLE DB pro vide r.
OLE DB Provider A pro gram that respo nds to requests fo r info rmatio n fro m an
OLE DB co nsume r.
One-to-Many Relationships A relatio nship b etween two data e le me nts where a
partic ular value fo r o ne fie ld implies that the o ther field c an have a partic ular
range o f values, while that field implies that the first field c an have o nly o ne
value. Fo r example, there is a o ne-to -many relatio nship b etween a b io lo gic al
mo ther and her c hildren. A mo ther may have many c hildren, while a c hild has
o nly o ne b io lo gic al mo ther.
One-to-One Relationship A relatio nship between two data e le me nts where a partic ular value fo r o ne fie ld implies that the o ther field will have a partic ular value and
vic e versa. Fo r example, there is a o ne-to -o ne relatio nship between a perso n and
that perso n’s so c ial sec urity number.
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) A database tec hno lo gy that allo ws yo u to
view multi-dimensio nal struc tures fo r data analysis.
Glossary
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) A tec hno lo gy develo ped by Mic ro so ft that
permits Windo ws pro grams to ac c ess different database systems. This tec hno lo gy
has been superc eded by OLE DB.
Operator A symbo l that is used to perfo rm c o mputatio ns, c o mpariso ns, and o ther
tasks within an e xpre ssio n.
Out-of-Process Object A COM o bjec t that is lo aded into its o wn address spac e. It is
implemented in Visual Basic as an Active X EXE file.
Package The c o llec tio n o f info rmatio n defined to Data Transfo rmatio n Servic es
that is used to impo rt o r e xpo rt data fro m yo ur database.
Page The fundamental unit o f physic al database sto rage. All table s, inde xe s, and
o ther database info rmatio n are mapped o nto o ne o r mo re pages, whic h are transferred as needed between disk and memo ry. In SQL Server 7.0, o ne page equals 8K
bytes wo rth o f data. 128 pages equals 1 megabyte o f data.
Parameter A value o r expressio n that is passed to a func tio n.
Parent A me mbe r in the next higher le ve l in a hie rarchy . The parent represents the
aggregatio n o f the values o f all o f its child members.
Partition A sto rage c o ntainer fo r data and aggregatio ns o f a c ube. Every c ube has
at least o ne partitio n. No te that multiple partitio ns are o nly with so me editio ns o f
SQL Server.
Partial Backup An inc o mplete backup o f yo ur database. A partial bac kup rec o rds
the c hanges made sinc e ano ther bac kup was taken. Its primary advantage is that it
runs muc h faster than a full backup . To c o mpletely rec o ver yo ur database, yo u will
need a full bac kup and any o ther partial bac kups that were taken after the full
bac kup was taken.
Pass-Through Query A query that is passed thro ugh the c urrent server unto uc hed
o nto ano ther server fo r exec utio n.
Pathname The fully qualified name o f a queue. It is sto red using the fo rmat mac hinename\queuename, where mac hinename is the name o f the c o mputer c o ntaining
the queue and the queuename is the name o f the queue.
Permission The ability to perfo rm a spec ific func tio n inside a database . Eac h user
must have the pro per autho riz atio n in o rder to use the reso urc e spec ified by the
permissio n.
699
700
Glossary
Persistence The ability to save the info rmatio n inside an o bjec t befo re it is
destro yed and resto re it after the o bjec t is rec reated. An example o f persistenc e is
when Visual Basic saves the pro perty values asso c iated with an Active X Co ntro l
fro m o ne develo pment sessio n to the next.
Personal Web Server (PWS) A lightweight Web server designed fo r use with
Windo ws 98/95, Windo ws 2000 Pro fe ssio nal, and Windo ws NT Wo rkstatio n.
Physical I/ O An I/O o r o utput request that results in a physic al transfer o f data
fro m o r to a disk drive o r o ther hardware devic e. This differs fro m a lo gical I/O ,
where the info rmatio n may be buffered in memo ry and no physic al transfer o c c urs.
Pivot The pro c ess o f exc hanging o ne dimensio n fo r ano ther in a cube o r Pivo tTable .
PivotTable A fac ility in Exce l that allo ws yo u to analyze multi-dimensio nal data.
The data c an be extrac ted lo c ally fro m a wo rkshe e t o r remo tely fro m a database
se rve r o r an OLAP Se rve r.
PivotTable Service A to o l o n a clie nt c o mputer that c o mmunic ates with an OLAP
Se rve r to pro vide data fo r a clie nt applicatio n suc h as Exce l.
Precalculate The pro c ess o f perfo rming aggre gatio ns o n multi-dime nsio nal data in
antic ipatio n o f future queries.
Primary Key The co lumn o r c o lumns in a table that will uniquely identify a ro w .
Private Dimension A dime nsio n that is used o nly by a single cube , as o ppo sed to a
share d dime nsio n, whic h is c o mmo n to multiple c ubes.
Private Message A message that has been enc rypted befo re being sent to a que ue .
Private Queue A me ssage que ue that is registered o nly o n the lo c al mac hine. This
queue is no t published in the Active Dire cto ry , making it harder to find.
Private Variable A variable who se sc o pe is limited to the ro utine o r mo dule in whic h
it was dec lared. If the variable is dec lared inside a ro utine, it may no t be ac c essible
fro m o utside the ro utine. If it was dec lared as a mo dule -le ve l variable , it c anno t be
ac c essed fro m o utside the mo dule.
Process The c o llec tio n o f an addre ss space , thre ads, and o ther info rmatio n that is
asso c iated with the running o f a single pro gram. See also Re fre sh.
Processing Pro c essing is the ac t o f lo ading data into a c ube. This must be do ne
eac h time a c ube is c reated, when its struc ture has been c hanged, o r when the data
in the data wareho use has c hanged.
Glossary
Production Application An applic atio n that implements busine ss lo gic to help an
o rganizatio n perfo rm its primary go als.
Property A way to ac c ess a data attribute sto red inside an o bje ct. A pro perty may
be read/ write, read-o nly, o r write-o nly.
Property Bag An o bjec t asso c iated with a Visual Basic class mo dule that is used to
pro vide persistent sto rage. Befo re the o bjec t is destro yed, yo u are allo wed to save
info rmatio n in the pro pe rty bag. When the o bjec t is c reated, yo u c an resto re this
info rmatio n fro m the pro perty bag.
Property Page A COM o bjec t that allo ws a user to ac c ess the pro perties asso c iated
with an Active X co ntro l as design-time.
Protocol A set o f rules that define ho w two o r mo re c o mputers c o mmunic ate with
eac h o ther.
Public Queue A que ue registered in the active dire cto ry , whic h makes it easier to
find.
Public Variable A variab le that c an b e ac c essed fro m any mo dule in yo ur applic atio n pro gram. If it is inc luded as part o f a COM o b jec t, it b ec o mes a pro pe rty
availab le fo r any ro utine to read o r write.
Publisher The so urc e o f data in the replic atio n mo del.
PWS See Pe rso nal We b Se rve r.
Query A request to retrieve, insert, update, o r delete info rmatio n in a database .
Query Optimizer A part o f the database se rve r that analyzes a database que ry to
determine the mo st effic ient way to exec ute the query.
Queue An o bjec t to ho ld messages between applic atio ns. Implemented by
Micro so ft Me ssage Que ue s.
Queue Name The name o f a que ue . It may c o ntain up to 124 c harac ters, exc ept fo r
the bac kslash ( \), semic o lo n ( ; ), and do llar sign ( $ ).
Rapid Application Development Tool A to o l that allo ws yo u to build applic atio ns
quic kly, at the c o st o f exec utio n effic ienc y.
RDBMS See Re latio nal Database Manage me nt Syste m .
RDO See Re mo te Data Obje cts.
701
702
Glossary
Record A c o llec tio n o f fields c o ntaining related info rmatio n that is treated as a
single entity. Also kno wn as a ro w in a table .
Recordset A c o llec tio n o f rec o rds retrieved fro m a database and made available to
a Visual Basic pro gram thro ugh a COM o bjec t. Rec o rdsets are o bjec ts present in the
ADO , DAO , and RDO o bjec t mo dels.
Recovery The pro c ess o f rebuilding a database based o n database backups and
transactio n lo gs.
Referential Integrity A way to ensure that the info rmatio n in the database is valid
by o nly permitting values to be entered into a table if the value in the fo re ign ke y is
fo und in the primary ke y o f ano ther table.
Registry The area in Windo ws that ho lds c o nfiguratio n info rmatio n abo ut the o perating system and applic atio n pro grams.
Refresh The set o f o peratio ns that deletes the data fro m a c ube and lo ads the c ube
with a fresh set o f data fro m the data wareho use. See also Pro ce ss.
Relational Database A database that appears to the user as a simple c o llec tio n o f
table s, where eac h table c o nsists o f a series o f co lumns o r fie lds ac ro ss the to p and
a series o f ro ws o r rec o rds do wn the side. The underlying data struc tures used to
ho ld the data are to tally invisible to the user.
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) A c o llec tio n o f re latio nal
database s o n a single database se rve r.
Relational OLAP Database (ROLAP) A Relatio nal OLAP database sto res its info rmatio n in a relatio nal database. This has the advantage o f being easy to lo ad, but
c an be time-c o nsuming to searc h.
Relationship A situatio n whereby a fo re ign ke y in a table is linked to a primary ke y
in ano ther table. A relatio nship may be a o ne -to -o ne re latio nship , a o ne -to -many re latio nship o r a many-to -many re latio nship .
Remote Data Objects (RDO) A tec hno lo gy that allo ws a pro gram running o n
Windo ws to ac c ess a database using ODBC tec hno lo gy. This tec hno lo gy is muc h
mo re effic ient than Data Acce ss Obje cts fo r ac c essing large databases. It has sinc e
been superc eded by Active X Data Obje cts.
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) A tec hnique used to allo w a pro gram o n o ne c o mputer to c all a subro utine o n ano ther c o mputer that is attac hed o ver a netwo rk.
Glossary
Repeating Group A variable that c o ntains multiple o c c urrenc es o f info rmatio n.
This is similar to an array with dynamic ally-defined bo unds. An example o f a repeating gro up wo uld be bo o k autho rs, where bo o k autho rs might have o ne, two , three
o r mo re autho rs depending o n the partic ular bo o k.
Replication A way o f keeping two database s with the same info rmatio n in sync .
Replication Model See Database Re plicatio n.
Report Queue A que ue used to trac k the pro gress o f me ssage s as they mo ve to the
De stinatio n Que ue .
Repository See Data Dictio nary .
Response Message An applic atio n-generated message that is returned to a
re spo nse que ue spec ified by the sending applic atio n.
Response Queue A que ue used to rec eive a re spo nse me ssage fro m the applic atio n
that rec eived a message.
ROLAP See Re latio nal OLAP Database .
Role A predefined set o f pe rmissio ns in the database . When a lo gin id is assigned to
a ro le, it inherits all the permissio ns asso c iated with the ro le.
Roll Back The pro c ess o f undo ing a set o f c hanges to the database that have no t
yet been c o mmitted.
Row A c o llec tio n o f co lumns that are sto red in a table .
RPC See Re mo te Pro ce dure Call.
Rule A way to verify a value entered in a co lumn. A rule is c reated by adding an
Inte g
Access 2000 An easy-to -use to o l to develo p database applic atio ns. Part o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite.
ACID Stands fo r ato mic , co nsiste nt, iso latio n, and durable ,
whic h desc ribe the majo r c harac teristic s o f a transactio n.
Active Directory A c o mpo nent o f Windo ws 2000 Se rve r that
allo ws yo u to find info rmatio n abo ut vario us reso urc es
lo c ated ac ro ss a netwo rk.
ActiveX A set o f tec hno lo gies that allo ws yo u to build and
use o bje cts using the Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l (COM) and
Distribute d Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l (DCOM).
ActiveX Controls Co mpiled so ftware c o mpo nents develo ped
with Ac tiveX tec hno lo gy that run o n c lient c o mputers.
ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) An o bjec t-o riented way to
ac c ess a database suc h as Mic ro so ft SQL Server, Ac c ess, and
Orac le fro m an applicatio n pro gram . This tec hno lo gy replac es
o lder tec hno lo gies suc h as Data Acce ss Obje cts ( DAO) and
Re mo te Data Obje cts ( RDO) . This is a high-level implementatio n o f OLE DB, just like DAO and RDO are high-level implementatio ns o f ODBC.
ActiveX DLL A COM c o mpo nent residing in a DLL file that is
lo aded into the main pro gram’s address spac e at runtime. It is
also kno wn as an in-pro ce ss o bjec t.
ActiveX EXE A COM c o mpo nent residing in an EXE file that is
lo aded into a separate addre ss space .
Address Space The range o f addresses that c an be ac c essed
by a pro gram in virtual memo ry. Address spac e inc ludes
memo ry that c an be used by an applic atio n and memo ry
reserved fo r use by the o perating system.
ADO See Active X Data Obje cts.
682
Glossary
Administration Queue A que ue that is used to ho ld system-generated ac kno wledgement messages, whic h indic ate whether o r no t an applicatio n me ssage reac hed
its destinatio n.
Aggregate The pro c ess o f c o mbining the values o f a single c o lumn ac ro ss a set o f
ro ws. Typic al aggregatio n func tio ns are: Count, Max , Min , and Sum .
Alias An alternate name fo r a c o lumn o r table that exists o nly fo r the duratio n o f a
query.
ANSI SQL A standard fo r the SQL language fro m the Americ an Natio nal Standards
Institute (ANSI). The c urrent versio n o f the standard is referred to as SQL-92.
Apartment Model Threading A metho d that ensures that o bjec ts c reated in Visual
Basic c an be used by multithre ade d applicatio ns. As eac h o bjec t is c reated, it is
assigned to a single thread. All c alls fro m c o de o n different threads will need to be
marshale d to ac c ess the o bjec t.
API See Applicatio n Pro gramming Inte rface .
Application A c o llec tio n o f pro grams and database s that allo ws a use r to so lve a
pro blem.
Application Log A file c o ntaining SQL Server status info rmatio n in a Windo ws
2000/ NT system.
Application Message A message generated by an applic atio n and sent using COM+
Que ue d Co mpo ne nts. This is different fro m a syste m me ssage , whic h is generated by
the COM+ queued c o mpo nents, whic h sto res c o pies o f applic atio n messages after
they are pro c essed.
Application Programming Interface (API) A well-defined set o f rules and c alling
c o nventio ns that desc ribes ho w a pro grammer c an invo ke the servic es o f ano ther
applic atio n o r the o perating system.
Application Queue A public o r private que ue that is used to send and rec eive
applic atio n-spec ific messages.
Application Server A c o mputer dedic ated to running the busine ss rule s o f an
o rganizatio n. These rules are o ften implemented using transactio ns running under
the c o ntro l o f a transactio n se rve r.
Asynchronous Processing The type o f pro c essing that o c c urs when a pro gram
c alls ano ther pro gram o r c o mpo nent to perfo rm a task and bo th pro grams c o ntinue
to o perate independently. See also Synchro no us Pro ce ssing.
Glossary
Atomic A o bjec t that c an’t be subdivided. See Ato mic Fie ld. Also part o f the ACID
test fo r transactio ns when it refers to the c o nc ept that either all o f the pro c essing in
a transac tio n must c o mplete suc c essfully o r no t if it c o mpletes. It ensures that
there is no suc h thing as a partially-c o mpleted transac tio n.
Atomic Field A field who se c o ntents c an’t be bro ken do wn any mo re. (Fo r example,
a date is no t ato mic sinc e it c an be bro ken do wn into day, mo nth, and year, while a
mo nth is ato mic sinc e it c an’t be bro ken into smaller piec es.)
Authentication The pro c ess o f establishing a use r’s identity. This usually invo lves
pro viding a user name and a sec ret passwo rd to the o perating system o r to a
database se rve r to pro ve that yo u have ac c ess to the func tio ns asso c iated with
the user name.
Authenticated User A perso n who has passed the authe nticatio n test.
Authorization The pro c ess o f determining the ac c ess rights to func tio ns and data
that an authe nticate d use r is allo wed to perfo rm.
Axis One dimensio n o f an OLAP cube .
Backup A c o py o f the info rmatio n in a database taken at a given po int in time. It
c an be used to re co ve r the info rmatio n in the database.
Base Table A real table in the database that is referenc ed in a view.
Batch Job A pro c ess where a no n-interac tive pro gram is exec uted, typic ally at a
time when no o ne is aro und to c o ntro l its exec utio n.
Binary Large Object (BLOB) A co lumn c o ntaining info rmatio n suc h as an image that
c an exc eed the size o f a no rmal binary c o lumn. It o ften requires spec ial handling
when c o mpared to a no rmal c o lumn.
Binding The pro c ess o f lo c ating an o bjec t and asso c iating with yo ur pro gram. See
also e arly binding and late binding.
BLOB See Binary Large Obje ct.
BMP An image file fo rmat develo ped by Mic ro so ft. It suppo rts many different image
fo rmats (8-bit c o lo r, 24-bit c o lo r, and so o n), but files are usually larger than with
o ther image fo rmats, suc h as GIF and JPEG.
Browser A pro gram that is designed to translate HTML tags into a visible do c ument.
683
684
Glossary
Business Logic The set o f busine ss rule s used to o perate a business o r o ther o rganizatio n. The rules desc ribe what an applic atio n pro gram is suppo sed to do in a given
situatio n. Fo r example, a business rule may require a pro gram to plac e an o rder fo r
an item in invento ry when its quantity o n hand falls belo w a c ertain level.
Business Rule A set o f instruc tio ns that implements a business pro c edure. Fo r
example, the steps that are taken to purc hase a bo o k by a business are c o nsidered
a business rule. Business rules are o ften implemented as part o f a pro gram o r set o f
pro grams that runs o n a c o mputer.
By Reference A type o f parameter passing in whic h the address o f a variable is
passed to a ro utine. This allo ws the ro utine to direc tly c hange the c o ntents o f the
variable. See also By Value .
By Value A type o f parameter passing in whic h a c o py o f the variable is passed to
the ro utine. If the ro utine c hanges the value o f this parameter, the o riginal variable
remains unc hanged. See also By Re fe re nce .
Cache A b uffer that is used to ho ld freq uently-used info rmatio n. In a datab ase
system, a c ac he typic ally resides in the c o mputer’s memo ry and ho lds info rmatio n fro m the datab ase’s disk sto rage.
Calculated Member A me mbe r o f a cube that is c o mputed o n the fly based o n data
that already exists in the c ube.
Cell The intersec tio n o f a ro w and a co lumn in a table , c o ntaining a single value. In
an OLAP cube , a c ell represents the intersec tio n o f all o f the dime nsio ns.
Child A me mbe r in the next lo wer le ve l in a hie rarchy . This member represents a
subset o f the info rmatio n o f its pare nt.
Class Module A template fro m whic h an o bjec t is c reated. This template allo ws yo u
to define pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts, whic h c an be used by o ther parts o f yo ur
applic atio n. A COM c o mpo nent is built fro m o ne o r mo re c lass mo dules in an
Active X DLL o r Active X EXE.
Client The user side o f a multi-c o mputer applic atio n. Fo r example, Query Analyzer,
Exc el, and MapPo int c an all be c lient pro grams fo r an SQL Server database.
Client/ Server A pro gramming tec hnique where a clie nt pro gram makes requests o f
a se rve r pro gram. In the c ase o f a database se rve r, the clie nt pro gram running o n the
user’s c o mputer generates requests fo r info rmatio n o r supplies c o mmands to the
database server, whic h pro c esses them and returns the results bac k to the c alling
applic atio n.
Glossary
CLSID The c lass identifier fo r an o bjec t. All o bjec ts are assigned a CLSID, whic h is
used as a key in the Windo ws Re gistry to lo c ate the o bjec t’s c o de. A CLSID is sto red
as a GUID, so that it will always be unique.
Clustered Index A spec ial type o f index that is used to determine the o rder o f the
ro ws in a table. A table c an c o ntain o nly o ne c lustered index.
Codify A tec hnique that replac es a field in a database with an enc o ded value that is
used as a key to ano ther table where the o riginal field is extrac ted. This is typic ally
used when dealing with “standard” text fields. Fo r example, the text field Jo bTitle
c an be c o dified into an integer field c alled Jo bTitleCo de. Using Jo bTitleCo de in yo ur
database ensures that all emplo yees have the same value fo r their jo b title. Sinc e
Jo bTitleCo de is muc h smaller than Jo bTitle, yo u’ll also save spac e in the database.
Column An attribute o f a table that c o ntains info rmatio n. The c o nc ept o f a c o lumn
is similar to a fie ld in a re co rd. Also referred to as data e le me nts.
COM See Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l.
COM+ The next versio n o f COM that inc ludes many new servic es, so me o f whic h
were previo usly independent o f COM. These servic es inc lude the COM+ Transactio n
Se rve r (fo rmerly kno wn as the Micro so ft Transactio n Se rve r) and COM+ Que ue d
Co mpo ne nts.
COM+ Application The primary unit o f management by the Co mpo ne nt Se rvice s
to o l. It c o nsists o f a single DLL o r EXE file that c o ntains a set o f o ne o r mo re COM
c o mpo nents.
COM+ Queued Components An easy to inc o rpo rate me ssage que ue s with COM+
c o mpo nents. This feature allo ws yo u to issue a metho d o r ac c ess a pro perty in an
async hro no us fashio n.
COM+ Transaction Server A so ftware pac kage that manages the exec utio n o f transactio ns under Windo ws 2000 Se rve r. See also Transactio n se rve r.
Commit The ac t o f saving a set o f c hanges in a database. The c hanges c an be abando ned by perfo rming a Ro ll Back.
Compile-Time Refers to ac tivities perfo rmed and events that o c c ur while c o mpiling
a pro gram.
Component An o bjec t that c o ntains a set o f pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts. It is
implemented in Visual Basic using a class mo dule and represents a type that c an be
asso c iated with a variable.
685
686
Glossary
Component Object Model (COM) A tec hno lo gy used to c reate and ac c ess o bje cts
fro m a Windo ws pro gram.
Component Services A utility inc luded with Windo ws 2000 Se rve r that is used to
manage the COM+ Transactio n Se rve r.
Composite Field A field that c an be bro ken into smaller parts. A date is an example
o f a c o mpo site field, sinc e it c an be bro ken into year, mo nth, and day.
Composite Index An index that uses multiple c o lumns as the key value.
Composite Key A ke y c o ntaining mo re than o ne co lumn.
Concatenation The pro c ess o f c o mbining multiple strings into a single string by
appending o ne string to the end o f ano ther.
Concurrency Oc c urs when multiple users share a reso urc e; o ften requires lo cks to
ensure that the sharing is do ne in an o rderly fashio n.
Connection A link between the c lient pro gram and the database se rve r.
Connection String A string c o ntaining the parameters nec essary to c o nnec t to the
database se rve r. Typic ally used by ADO and RDO o bjec t mo dels.
Consistent Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transactio n. It ensures that the wo rk
do ne by a transactio n leaves the applic atio n in a c o nsistent state.
Constituent Controls The set o f c o ntro ls that are used in an Active X Use rCo ntro l
o bjec t.
Constraint A restric tio n plac ed o n a co lumn o r a set o f c o lumns that any value
entered into the c o lumn must meet. So me examples o f c o nstraints are fo re ign ke y ,
primary ke y , and unique .
Container A c o ntro l that c an c o ntain o ther c o ntro ls.
Control An o bje ct that c an be plac ed o n a Visual Basic fo rm o r repo rt to pro vide a
spec ific func tio n o r to interac t with the user. So me examples o f c o ntro ls are text
bo xes, where the user c an enter and edit text strings, labels that display text values,
and butto ns that c an be pushed by the user.
Cookie A set o f data that is maintained b y a user’s bro wse r and is availab le fo r
pro c essing b y Web server b ased applic atio ns.
Cross-tabulation Report A repo rt that aggregates every c o mbinatio n o f two o r
mo re data fields.
Glossary
Crosstab Report See Cro ss-tabulatio n Re po rt.
Cube A set o f data o rganized by dime nsio ns and c o ntaining me asure s. The data
is generally extrac ted fro m a data ware ho use and is analyzed by to o ls like Exc el
Pivo tTable s.
Cube Browser A to o l inc luded in the OLAP Manager that allo ws yo u to view the
data in a c ube.
Cube Editor A to o l inc luded with the OLAP Manager that allo ws yo u to view and
c hange the struc ture o f a c ube.
Current Record The single ro w po inted to by the curso r. The c urrent rec o rd c an be
c hanged by mo ving the c urso r to a different ro w.
Cursor Used by an applic atio n pro gram to po int to a spec ific ro w in a table o r
re co rdse t. This ro w is then c o nsidered the curre nt re co rd.
DAO See Data Acce ss Obje cts.
Data Access Objects (DAO) An o bso lete way to ac c ess a database fro m Visual
Basic . Active X Data Obje cts have replac ed this tec hno lo gy.
Data Bound Controls A way o f linking a co ntro l in a Visual Basic pro gram to a co lumn in a re co rdse t. Whenever the value in the c o lumn c hanges, it will auto matic ally
be updated in the c o ntro l. Changing the value in the c o ntro l will c hange the value in
the database .
Data Consumer Rec eives data fro m a data so urce in the ADO o bjec t mo del.
Data Control A Visual Basic co ntro l that links o ther c o ntro ls o n a fo rm to a
database . This c o ntro l suppo rts sc ro lling thro ugh a re co rdse t o ne rec o rd at a time
and displaying the c o ntents o f the rec o rdset o n the bo und co ntro ls. Yo u c an also use
the data c o ntro l to insert new rec o rds, update existing rec o rds, o r delete existing
rec o rds.
Data Dictionary A repo sito ry that c o ntains detailed info rmatio n abo ut every field,
table, and view in a database and ho w they are related to eac h o ther.
Data Element Ano ther name fo r co lumn.
Data Environment A to o l in Visual Basic that simplifies database pro gramming. It
allo ws yo u to define and design yo ur ac c ess metho ds to the database .
687
688
Glossary
Data Mart A c o nc ept identic al to a data wareho use, but smaller in sc o pe. Rather
than enc o mpassing all o f the data in an o rganizatio n, a data mart may o nly c o ntain
info rmatio n abo ut a single department o r applic atio n.
Data Scrubbing The pro c ess o f analyzing data fo r c o nsistenc y befo re data is
lo aded into a data wareho use.
Data Source The so urc e o f the data that is to be lo aded into a dime nsio n o r me mbe r o f a c ube. A data so urc e is also the so urc e o f data in the ADO mo del. It pro vides
data to data co nsume rs fo r pro c essing.
Data Transformation Services (DTS) A to o l in SQL Server that allo ws yo u to mo ve
and transfo rm data fro m o ne database to ano ther. This to o l is extremely useful
when yo u are extrac ting data fro m yo ur pro duc tio n database to yo ur data wareho use.
Data Type Defines the sto rage mec hanism fo r a co lumn. It also determines the set o f
basic o peratio ns that c an be against the c o lumn. So me c o mmo n data types inc lude
CHAR, whic h ho ld strings o f c harac ters, and INT, whic h ho ld numeric values.
Data Warehouse A c entral repo sito ry c o ntaining data that is made available to
satisfy unstruc tured requests fo r info rmatio n by end users. The data is generally
extrac ted fro m pro duc tio n applic atio ns and summarized to minimize the amo unt
o f wo rk needed to satisfy the request.
Database A c o llec tio n o f table s, inde xe s, and o ther database o bje cts that are used
by o ne o r mo re applicatio ns sto red inside a database se rve r.
Database Administrator (DBA) A database administrato r is the perso n respo nsible
fo r the design and maintenanc e o f a database. Besides c reating and c hanging
databases, this perso n is also respo nsible fo r suc h tasks as database bac kup and
database rec o very.
Database Client The c o mputer that is used to ac c ess a database se rve r. Typic ally,
this c o mputer will run either a to o l suc h as Query Analyzer to perfo rm que ry o peratio ns against the database o r a c usto m applic atio n that allo ws the user to add,
delete, and mo dify info rmatio n in the database.
Database Diagram A graphic al representatio n o f a subset o f the database o bje cts
c o ntained in a database.
Database Management System (DBMS) A highly spec ialized piec e o f so ftware that
is used to sto re and retrieve data quic kly and sec urely. It exists independently o f an
applic atio n pro gram and allo ws c o nc urrent ac c ess to the data it c o ntains. See also
Database .
Glossary
Database Object A table , co lumn, inde x , trigge r, vie w , co nstraint, rule , sto re d pro ce dure , o r ke y in a database.
Database Owner (DBO) The use r name o f the individual who is respo nsible fo r the
database . This individual is also kno wn as the database administrato r.
Database Query See Que ry .
Database Replication The pro c ess whereby the c o ntents o f o ne database are sync hro nized with ano ther database.
Database Server The c o mputer that c o ntains the set o f database s and the so ftware
that servic es requests fro m database clie nts.
Database Structure See Database Obje ct.
DBA See Database Administrato r.
DBMS See Database Manage me nt Syste m.
DBO See Database Owne r.
DCE See Distribute d Co mputing Enviro nme nt.
DCOM See Distribute d Co mpo ne nt Obje ct Mo de l.
DCOM Configuration Utility (DCOMCNGF) A utility pro gram available in Windo ws
that is used to maintain the additio nal info rmatio n nec essary to find COM co mpo ne nts in a distributed enviro nment.
Dead-Letter Queue A syste m que ue that is used to ho ld applicatio n me ssage s that
c an’t be delivered.
Decision Support System An applic atio n designed to help peo ple make b etter
b usiness dec isio ns. Typic ally, a dec isio n suppo rt system uses a data wareho use
as the so urc e o f the data to b e analyzed.
Delegation The imperso natio n o f c lients o ver a netwo rk when using DCOM o r
COM+. See also Impe rso natio n.
Design-Time Refers to ac tivities perfo rmed and events that o c c ur while writing a
pro gram.
689
690
Glossary
Dimension A part o f the cube that is used to o rganize the me mbe rs in the c ube. A
dimensio n may have o ne o r mo re le ve ls, whic h are used to gro up data values. Fo r
instanc e, a time dimensio n has the All level at the to p, fo llo wed by a Years level
c o ntaining the set o f years, and a Mo nths level c o ntaining the mo nths in a partic ular year.
Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) A superset o f the Co mpo ne nt Obje ct
Mo de l (COM) that allo ws the distributio n o f o bjec ts o ver a lo c al area and wide area
netwo rk.
Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) The Open So ftware Fo undatio n standards fo r distributed applic atio n servic es. These servic es inc lude a distribute file
system, a distributed sec urity system, and re mo te pro ce dure calls.
Dimension Table A table in a data ware ho use that is used to index the values in a
fac t table.
DLL See Dynamic Link Library .
Drill Down The ac t o f expanding the info rmatio n displayed fro m a cube to see the
next level o f detail.
Domain A c o llec tio n o f c o mputers in a Windo ws enviro nment that share a c o mmo n
sec urity database.
DTS See Data Transfo rmatio n Se rvice s.
Dump See Backup .
Durable Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transac tio n. It ensures that o nc e a transac tio n has been c o mpleted, the o perating system c an always rec o ver the wo rk do ne
by the transac tio n after a system failure.
Dynamic Link Library (DLL) A file c o ntaining c o mpiled c o de that c an be shared by
multiple pro grams at runtime .
Early Binding Oc c urs when Visual Basic is able to determine the type o f o bjec t yo u
wish to ac c ess at develo pment-time. To implement early binding, yo u must dec lare
yo ur variable as a spec ific o bjec t type, suc h as Recordset rather than Object. Early
binding makes yo ur pro gram mo re effic ient bec ause less wo rk is needed at runtime
to determine the o bjec t’s type. See also Late Binding.
Endpoints Represents eac h end o f a TCP/ IP c o nnec tio n. A spec ific TCP po rt number c harac terizes eac h endpo int.
Glossary
English Query A to o l inc luded in Mic ro so ft SQL Server 7 that allo ws yo u to enter
queries using English-like questio ns and sentenc es.
Equijoin A jo in o peratio n with two o r mo re tables, where o ne field in o ne table
must be equal to ano ther field in the o ther table.
Event An external subro utine c alled by an o bje ct when a spec ific situatio n is
enc o untered. This allo ws the pro gram using the o bjec t to supply additio nal info rmatio n to the o bjec t, o r take a spec ific ac tio n based o n info rmatio n supplied by
the o bjec t.
Excel 2000 A part o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite o f pro grams that is used to analyze tabular data using wo rksheets and multi-dimensio nal data using Pivo tTables.
EXE See Exe cutable File .
Executable File (EXE) Co ntains a c o mpiled versio n o f a pro gram that c an be
lo aded into memo ry and exec uted.
Export The pro c ess o f mo ving data fro m a database to a file.
Expression An algebraic fo rmula that c an invo lve c o nstants, c o lumns, func tio ns,
and arithmetic o perato rs. Often used in SQL statements.
External Transaction A transactio n that inc ludes units o f wo rk fro m mo re than o ne
re so urce manage r.
Fact Table A c entral table in a data wareho use who se primary key values link bac k
to dimensio n tables. The remaining values typic ally desc ribe a transac tio n within
an o rganizatio n suc h as a purc hase. So metimes these values are summarized
ac c o rding to the dimensio ns inc luded in the table to reduc e the amo unt o f data
sto red.
Field An alternate name fo r co lumn o r data e le me nt.
Filter An expressio n that is used to identify a series o f rec o rds in a query.
Friend Property A pro pe rty that appears to be part o f the public inte rface to a COM
o bjec t, but c an be ac c essed o nly by the o ther ro utines in the same pro jec t. Thus,
yo u define a frie nd pro pe rty in o ne class mo dule and ac c ess it in ano ther c lass mo dule, just as if yo u had dec lared it as public . Friend pro perties c an be used o nly in
Active X EXEs, Active X DLLs, and Active X Co ntro ls.
Foreign Key A co lumn o r set o f c o lumns who se value must matc h the primary ke y
o f ano ther table .
691
692
Glossary
Full Backup A c o mplete backup o f a database. Can be used to resto re the entire
c o ntents o f a database witho ut using any o ther bac kups.
Full-Text Query A que ry that searc hes fo r o ne o r mo re wo rds o r phrases in a co lumn.
Function A ro utine that returns a value based o n zero o r mo re parameters.
Func tio ns are typic ally used as part o f an expressio n.
GIF See Graphics Inte rchange Fo rmat.
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) A file fo rmat (whic h uses tec hno lo gy o wned
by Unisys Co rpo ratio n) that is c o mmo nly used to sto re graphic image s typic ally
with 256 c o lo rs o r fewer. Users who se applicatio ns use GIF images may have to pay
a ro yalty fee to Unisys in o rder to use the tec hno lo gy.
Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) A 128-bit (16-byte) value that is generated by an
algo rithm that guarantees that the value will be unique. The algo rithm that generates this value c an be used at the rate o f o ne new GUID per sec o nd fo r several c enturies and never duplic ate a value o n yo ur lo c al c o mputer o r any o ther c o mputer.
GUID See Glo bally Unique Ide ntifie r.
Hierarchy An arrangement o f the me mbe rs in a dime nsio n into le ve ls based o n pare nt child relatio nships. Fo r example, a time dimensio n is bro ken into years, years
are bro ken into mo nths, and so o n.
Hierarchical Recordset A re co rdse t in whic h a co lumn in a partic ular ro w c an
c o ntain ano ther rec o rdset.
HOPAP See Hybrid OLAP Database .
HTML See Hype rte xt Markup Language .
HTTP See Hype rte xt Transpo rt Pro to co l.
HTTP User Agent A unique string that identifies the name and versio n o f a Web
bro wser. Fro m this value, yo u c an deduc e its c apabilities.
Hybrid OLAP Database (HOLAP) A Hybrid OLAP database uses tec hniques fro m
bo th a MOLAP database and a ROLAP database to pro vide better perfo rmanc e than
either appro ac h.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) A simple language used to c reate a hypertext
do c ument c o nsisting o f tags to define fo rmatting o ptio ns and hypertext links.
Glossary
Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) A stateless o bjec t-o riented pro to c o l used
by Web c lients and servers to c o mmunic ate.
I/ O See Input/Output.
Identifier A string o f c harac ters that is used to uniquely desc ribe a database
o bjec t, suc h as a co lumn o r table .
Identity Column A c o lumn in a table that c o ntains a system-generated,
mo no to nic ally-inc reasing value that is guaranteed to be unique within the table.
IID See Inte rface Ide ntifie r.
IIS See Inte rne t Info rmatio n Se rve r.
Image A digital pic ture that c an be sto red o n a c o mputer. Many different image
fo rmats are available, suc h as BMP, GIF, and JPEG.
Import The pro c ess o f c o pying data fro m a file to a database . This is the o ppo site
o f e xpo rt.
Impersonation The ability to perfo rm a task using the sec urity permissio n o f o ne
user, while exec uting under the sec urity permissio ns o f ano ther. See also
De le gatio n.
In-process Object A COM o bjec t that is lo aded into the same address spac e as
the c alling pro gram. It is implemented in Visual Basic as an Active X Co ntro l o r an
Active X DLL.
Incremental Update The pro c ess whereby ro ws are added to a table, rather than
replac ing all o f the ro ws in the table.
Index A database fac ility that sto res details abo ut the lo c atio n o f ro ws c o ntaining a
spec ified ke y value. This database o bje ct allo ws the database se rve r to retrieve ro ws
fro m a table faster than witho ut the index. Indexes are usually c reated based o n typic al searc hes perfo rmed by users to inc rease perfo rmanc e.
Input/ Output (I/ O) An o peratio n whereby the c o mputer either reads data fro m a
devic e o r writes data to a devic e. So me typic al devic es inc lude disk drives, printers,
keybo ards, and mo dems.
Instance An o bjec t that has been allo c ated memo ry to ho ld info rmatio n based o n a
template fo und in an Active X DLL, Active X Co ntro l, o r Active X EXE.
Integrity Constraint See Rule .
693
694
Glossary
Interactive User Refers to the user name asso c iated with the keybo ard and display
o n a Windo ws c o mputer. While there is always an interac tive user o n a Windo ws
98/95 c o mputer, there may no t always be an interac tive user o n a Windo ws 2000/NT
mac hine. This is espec ially true o f Windo ws 2000/NT Se rve r.
Interface A way to ac c ess the servic es supplied by an o bje ct. A COM based o bjec t
c an c o ntain zero o r mo re pro pe rtie s, zero o r mo re me tho ds, o r zero o r mo re e ve nts.
Standard interfac es are tho se defined by Mic ro so ft. All COM o bjec ts are expec ted to
implement IUnkno wn. IDispatc h is required when yo u want to suppo rt late binding.
Interface Identifier (IID) The GUID that uniquely identifies an inte rface .
Internal Transaction A transactio n where the COM+ Que ue d Co mpo ne nts feature
supplies the o nly reso urc e manager.
Internet An internatio nal netwo rk that permits c o mputers to c o mmunic ate amo ng
o ne ano ther using the TCP/ IP suite o f pro to c o ls.
Internet Information Server (IIS) Mic ro so ft’s high-perfo rmanc e Web server that
runs o n a Windo ws 2000/NT Se rve r system.
Intranet An internal netwo rk fo r an o rganizatio n that is based o n the to o ls and pro to c o ls used by the Internet.
Intrinsic Controls Co ntro ls available in Visual Basic that are inc luded with the runtime library. They are usually limited to perfo rming relatively simple func tio ns.
Isolation Part o f the ACID definitio n o f a transactio n. It pro vides the viewpo int that
eac h transac tio n o perates independently o f o ther transac tio ns.
Job See Batch Jo b .
Journal Queue A syste m que ue that is used to ho ld messages that have been pro c essed and remo ved fro m a transactio n que ue .
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) An image file fo rmat o ptimized fo r
24-bit c o lo r images. It uses a c o mpressio n sc heme where data that may no t be
no tic ed by the user is thro wn away and results in very small images.
JPEG See Jo int Pho to graphic Expe rts Gro up .
Junction Table The table in the middle o f a many-to -many re latio nship .
Key A co lumn o r set o f c o lumns who se c o ntents are used to identify o ne o r mo re
ro ws. See also Primary Ke y , Fo re ign Ke y , and Inde x .
Glossary
Late Binding Oc c urs when Visual Basic is unable to determine the type o f o bjec t
yo u wish to ac c ess at develo pment time. This happens when yo u dec lare yo ur
o bjec t variable as a general type, suc h as Object o r Variant. Late binding slo ws
yo ur pro gram at runtime bec ause Visual Basic must determine the o bjec t’s type
eac h time it is ac c essed. See also Early Binding.
Level Desc ribes the amo unt o f detail displayed in a dimensio n. The lo wer the level,
the mo re detail will be displayed.
License Key A way to prevent so meo ne fro m redistributing an Active X Co ntro l yo u
develo p witho ut yo ur permissio n. The lice nse ke y must be present either in the
Windo ws Re gistry o f the c o mputer using the c o ntro l o r in the pro gram using the
c o ntro l. Only c o ntro ls who se lic ense key is in the Registry c an be used in the
Visual Basic develo pment enviro nment.
Load Balancing The ac t o f assigning new wo rk o r shifting existing wo rk to the
least-busy server in a defined gro up o f c o mputers. This helps to impro ve netwo rk
perfo rmanc e by ensuring that all o f the servers in the gro up o f c o mputers are
equally busy.
Locking A pro c ess where a user is granted exc lusive ac c ess to a partic ular database
o bje ct. This prevents o ther users fro m c hanging the o bjec t until the first user has finished and released the lo c k.
Logical I/ O An I/O request fro m the database se rve r that may o r may no t be satisfied by info rmatio n already in memo ry.
Login An identifier that gives an individual ac c ess to a database se rve r. A lo gin is
mapped to a partic ular use r name when ac c essing a spec ific database .
Many-to-Many Relationship A relatio nship between two data e le me nts where a partic ular value fo r o ne field implies that the o ther field c an have a partic ular range o f
values, while that field implies that the first field may also have a range o f values.
Fo r example, an autho r may write many bo o ks, while a bo o k may be written by
many autho rs.
MapPoint 2000 An applic atio n that is a member o f the Mic ro so ft Offic e 2000 suite
that is used to analyze geo graphic data.
MAPI See Me ssaging Applicatio n Pro gramming Inte rface .
Marshaling The tec hniq ue o f sending interfac e message c alls to an o b jec t o n a
different thread in the same address spac e o r in a different address spac e.
Master Database The database used by the database se rve r to manage all the o ther
databases under its c o ntro l.
695
696
Glossary
MDX See Multi-dime nsio nal Expre ssio ns.
Measure A numeric c o lumn that is inc luded in a fact table . Typic ally c o ntains info rmatio n that c an be analyzed.
Member An item in a dime nsio n that represents o ne o r mo re o c c urrenc es o f data.
The c o mbinatio n o f a member and its parent values must be unique.
Message Info rmatio n that is generated by an applic atio n o r by the system and
sto red in a me ssage que ue .
Message Queue An applic atio n-generated queue that c o ntains applic atio n-generated messages. Also used to refer to Micro so ft Me ssage Que ue s.
Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) An interfac e develo ped by
Mic ro so ft to pro vide func tio ns that develo pers c o uld use to c reate e-mail enabled
applic atio ns.
Metadata A c o llec tio n o f attributes that desc ribes yo ur database inc luding, the
data type o f eac h c o lumn, the fo rmat that sho uld be used to present the data, a
desc riptio n o f the data, plus any o ther info rmatio n that is useful in understanding
ho w the data is c reated and ho w it sho uld be used.
Method A way to ac c ess a subro utine o r func tio n to perfo rm a spec ific task within
an o bje ct.
Microsoft Message Queues (MSMQ) A feature that allo ws yo u to send async hro no us
messages fro m o ne applic atio n pro gram to ano ther.
Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) A server that manages distribute applic atio n
o bje cts. MTS has been superc eded o n Windo ws 2000 systems by COM+ Transac tio n
Server.
Middle Tier The middle level o f pro c essing in an n-tier applic atio n system.
Typic ally this tier c o nsists o f a transactio n se rve r suc h as the COM+ Transactio n
Se rve r.
Model Database A database that c o ntains all the default table s and suppo rting
info rmatio n that must exist in an empty database.
Module-Level Variable A variable defined at the start o f a mo dule. This variable
c an be ac c essed by any ro utine in the mo dule, even if it is dec lared private. If it is
dec lared public , it may be referenc ed by c o de o utside the mo dule. A public variable
in a class mo dule is treated as an o bjec t’s pro perty.
MTS See Micro so ft Transactio n Se rve r.
Glossary
Multi-dimensional Expressions (MDX) A language that is used fo r building queries
that ac c ess a c ube.
Multi-dimensional Database A multi-dimensio nal database sto res info rmatio n in a
c o llec tio n o f large multi-dimensio nal arrays. This makes it easy to lo c ate a spec ific
piec e o f info rmatio n quic kly. Ho wever, this struc ture is extremely time c o nsuming
to lo ad.
Multiprocessor A c o mputer system with mo re than o ne CPU that is under Windo w’s
direc t c o ntro l. This allo ws two o r mo re thre ads to be running at the same time.
Multithreaded A pro c ess that c an have two o r mo re ac tive thre ads running at the
same time.
N-Tier Application Indic ates the number o f c o mputers where pro c essing is perfo rmed as part o f an applic atio n. A stand-alo ne c o mputer is o ne-tier, and c lient/server
c o mputing is two -tier. DCOM and COM+ allo w yo u to perfo rm three-tier pro c essing by
adding ano ther c o mputer in between the c lient and server c o mputers.
Nested Query A Select statement that c o ntains o ne o r mo re subque rie s.
Nontransactional Message A me ssage generated by an applic atio n that is no t part
o f a transactio n.
Nontransactional Queue A que ue that is used to rec eive no ntransactio nal me ssage s.
Normalization The pro c ess o f designing a database ac c o rding to a set o f welldefined rules that minimize duplic atio n o f info rmatio n.
Null A c o nditio n that exists when a co lumn do esn’t have a value. This sho uld no t
be c o nfused with an empty string, who se value is a string o f c harac ters with a
length o f zero .
Object A so ftware c o mpo nent that c o ntains o ne o r mo re inte rface s that c an be
used to request info rmatio n o r perfo rm func tio ns.
Object Browser A func tio n o f the Visual Basic IDE that allo ws yo u to see the definitio ns o f the pro pe rtie s, me tho ds, and e ve nts o f an o bjec t available to yo ur pro gram.
Object Code A c o llec tio n o f mac hine instruc tio ns and data that is lo aded into memo ry fo r exec utio n.
Object Pooling A fac ility in COM+ that allo ws yo u to c reate a set o f o bjec t instanc es
that c an be shared by the transactio ns running in the COM+ Transactio n Se rve r.
697
698
Glossary
ObjectContext The o bjec t used to trac k the status o f a transac tio n under COM+. It
is c reated at the beginning o f a transactio n. At the end o f the transac tio n, yo u c an
mark the transac tio n as suc c essfully c o mpleted o r abo rt all o f the ac tivities asso c iated with the transac tio n.
OCX File A file that c o ntains o ne o r mo re Active X Co ntro ls. It is similar in struc ture
to an Active X DLL file, but it must inc lude extra inte rface s that pro vide the graphic al
interfac e.
ODBC See Ope n Database Co nne ctivity .
OLAP See Online Analytical Pro ce ssing.
OLAP Manager A utility that allo ws yo u to manage an OLAP Server and c o ntains
to o ls that allo w yo u to design and po pulate OLAP c ubes.
OLAP Server A type o f se rve r that is designed to sto re multi-dime nsio nal database s
and to pro c ess queries against the data.
OLAP Services A fac ility in Mic ro so ft SQL Server that inc ludes to o ls like the OLAP
Manage r and a spec ial server c alled OLAP Server that respo nds to requests to Multidime nsio nal OLAP database s.
OLE DB An o bjec t-o riented pro gramming interfac e to ac c ess a database o r o ther
data so urc e that suppo rts Mic ro so ft’s COM tec hno lo gy.
OLE DB Consumer A pro gram that requests info rmatio n fro m a data so urc e using
OLE DB pro vide r.
OLE DB Provider A pro gram that respo nds to requests fo r info rmatio n fro m an
OLE DB co nsume r.
One-to-Many Relationships A relatio nship b etween two data e le me nts where a
partic ular value fo r o ne fie ld implies that the o ther field c an have a partic ular
range o f values, while that field implies that the first field c an have o nly o ne
value. Fo r example, there is a o ne-to -many relatio nship b etween a b io lo gic al
mo ther and her c hildren. A mo ther may have many c hildren, while a c hild has
o nly o ne b io lo gic al mo ther.
One-to-One Relationship A relatio nship between two data e le me nts where a partic ular value fo r o ne fie ld implies that the o ther field will have a partic ular value and
vic e versa. Fo r example, there is a o ne-to -o ne relatio nship between a perso n and
that perso n’s so c ial sec urity number.
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) A database tec hno lo gy that allo ws yo u to
view multi-dimensio nal struc tures fo r data analysis.
Glossary
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) A tec hno lo gy develo ped by Mic ro so ft that
permits Windo ws pro grams to ac c ess different database systems. This tec hno lo gy
has been superc eded by OLE DB.
Operator A symbo l that is used to perfo rm c o mputatio ns, c o mpariso ns, and o ther
tasks within an e xpre ssio n.
Out-of-Process Object A COM o bjec t that is lo aded into its o wn address spac e. It is
implemented in Visual Basic as an Active X EXE file.
Package The c o llec tio n o f info rmatio n defined to Data Transfo rmatio n Servic es
that is used to impo rt o r e xpo rt data fro m yo ur database.
Page The fundamental unit o f physic al database sto rage. All table s, inde xe s, and
o ther database info rmatio n are mapped o nto o ne o r mo re pages, whic h are transferred as needed between disk and memo ry. In SQL Server 7.0, o ne page equals 8K
bytes wo rth o f data. 128 pages equals 1 megabyte o f data.
Parameter A value o r expressio n that is passed to a func tio n.
Parent A me mbe r in the next higher le ve l in a hie rarchy . The parent represents the
aggregatio n o f the values o f all o f its child members.
Partition A sto rage c o ntainer fo r data and aggregatio ns o f a c ube. Every c ube has
at least o ne partitio n. No te that multiple partitio ns are o nly with so me editio ns o f
SQL Server.
Partial Backup An inc o mplete backup o f yo ur database. A partial bac kup rec o rds
the c hanges made sinc e ano ther bac kup was taken. Its primary advantage is that it
runs muc h faster than a full backup . To c o mpletely rec o ver yo ur database, yo u will
need a full bac kup and any o ther partial bac kups that were taken after the full
bac kup was taken.
Pass-Through Query A query that is passed thro ugh the c urrent server unto uc hed
o nto ano ther server fo r exec utio n.
Pathname The fully qualified name o f a queue. It is sto red using the fo rmat mac hinename\queuename, where mac hinename is the name o f the c o mputer c o ntaining
the queue and the queuename is the name o f the queue.
Permission The ability to perfo rm a spec ific func tio n inside a database . Eac h user
must have the pro per autho riz atio n in o rder to use the reso urc e spec ified by the
permissio n.
699
700
Glossary
Persistence The ability to save the info rmatio n inside an o bjec t befo re it is
destro yed and resto re it after the o bjec t is rec reated. An example o f persistenc e is
when Visual Basic saves the pro perty values asso c iated with an Active X Co ntro l
fro m o ne develo pment sessio n to the next.
Personal Web Server (PWS) A lightweight Web server designed fo r use with
Windo ws 98/95, Windo ws 2000 Pro fe ssio nal, and Windo ws NT Wo rkstatio n.
Physical I/ O An I/O o r o utput request that results in a physic al transfer o f data
fro m o r to a disk drive o r o ther hardware devic e. This differs fro m a lo gical I/O ,
where the info rmatio n may be buffered in memo ry and no physic al transfer o c c urs.
Pivot The pro c ess o f exc hanging o ne dimensio n fo r ano ther in a cube o r Pivo tTable .
PivotTable A fac ility in Exce l that allo ws yo u to analyze multi-dimensio nal data.
The data c an be extrac ted lo c ally fro m a wo rkshe e t o r remo tely fro m a database
se rve r o r an OLAP Se rve r.
PivotTable Service A to o l o n a clie nt c o mputer that c o mmunic ates with an OLAP
Se rve r to pro vide data fo r a clie nt applicatio n suc h as Exce l.
Precalculate The pro c ess o f perfo rming aggre gatio ns o n multi-dime nsio nal data in
antic ipatio n o f future queries.
Primary Key The co lumn o r c o lumns in a table that will uniquely identify a ro w .
Private Dimension A dime nsio n that is used o nly by a single cube , as o ppo sed to a
share d dime nsio n, whic h is c o mmo n to multiple c ubes.
Private Message A message that has been enc rypted befo re being sent to a que ue .
Private Queue A me ssage que ue that is registered o nly o n the lo c al mac hine. This
queue is no t published in the Active Dire cto ry , making it harder to find.
Private Variable A variable who se sc o pe is limited to the ro utine o r mo dule in whic h
it was dec lared. If the variable is dec lared inside a ro utine, it may no t be ac c essible
fro m o utside the ro utine. If it was dec lared as a mo dule -le ve l variable , it c anno t be
ac c essed fro m o utside the mo dule.
Process The c o llec tio n o f an addre ss space , thre ads, and o ther info rmatio n that is
asso c iated with the running o f a single pro gram. See also Re fre sh.
Processing Pro c essing is the ac t o f lo ading data into a c ube. This must be do ne
eac h time a c ube is c reated, when its struc ture has been c hanged, o r when the data
in the data wareho use has c hanged.
Glossary
Production Application An applic atio n that implements busine ss lo gic to help an
o rganizatio n perfo rm its primary go als.
Property A way to ac c ess a data attribute sto red inside an o bje ct. A pro perty may
be read/ write, read-o nly, o r write-o nly.
Property Bag An o bjec t asso c iated with a Visual Basic class mo dule that is used to
pro vide persistent sto rage. Befo re the o bjec t is destro yed, yo u are allo wed to save
info rmatio n in the pro pe rty bag. When the o bjec t is c reated, yo u c an resto re this
info rmatio n fro m the pro perty bag.
Property Page A COM o bjec t that allo ws a user to ac c ess the pro perties asso c iated
with an Active X co ntro l as design-time.
Protocol A set o f rules that define ho w two o r mo re c o mputers c o mmunic ate with
eac h o ther.
Public Queue A que ue registered in the active dire cto ry , whic h makes it easier to
find.
Public Variable A variab le that c an b e ac c essed fro m any mo dule in yo ur applic atio n pro gram. If it is inc luded as part o f a COM o b jec t, it b ec o mes a pro pe rty
availab le fo r any ro utine to read o r write.
Publisher The so urc e o f data in the replic atio n mo del.
PWS See Pe rso nal We b Se rve r.
Query A request to retrieve, insert, update, o r delete info rmatio n in a database .
Query Optimizer A part o f the database se rve r that analyzes a database que ry to
determine the mo st effic ient way to exec ute the query.
Queue An o bjec t to ho ld messages between applic atio ns. Implemented by
Micro so ft Me ssage Que ue s.
Queue Name The name o f a que ue . It may c o ntain up to 124 c harac ters, exc ept fo r
the bac kslash ( \), semic o lo n ( ; ), and do llar sign ( $ ).
Rapid Application Development Tool A to o l that allo ws yo u to build applic atio ns
quic kly, at the c o st o f exec utio n effic ienc y.
RDBMS See Re latio nal Database Manage me nt Syste m .
RDO See Re mo te Data Obje cts.
701
702
Glossary
Record A c o llec tio n o f fields c o ntaining related info rmatio n that is treated as a
single entity. Also kno wn as a ro w in a table .
Recordset A c o llec tio n o f rec o rds retrieved fro m a database and made available to
a Visual Basic pro gram thro ugh a COM o bjec t. Rec o rdsets are o bjec ts present in the
ADO , DAO , and RDO o bjec t mo dels.
Recovery The pro c ess o f rebuilding a database based o n database backups and
transactio n lo gs.
Referential Integrity A way to ensure that the info rmatio n in the database is valid
by o nly permitting values to be entered into a table if the value in the fo re ign ke y is
fo und in the primary ke y o f ano ther table.
Registry The area in Windo ws that ho lds c o nfiguratio n info rmatio n abo ut the o perating system and applic atio n pro grams.
Refresh The set o f o peratio ns that deletes the data fro m a c ube and lo ads the c ube
with a fresh set o f data fro m the data wareho use. See also Pro ce ss.
Relational Database A database that appears to the user as a simple c o llec tio n o f
table s, where eac h table c o nsists o f a series o f co lumns o r fie lds ac ro ss the to p and
a series o f ro ws o r rec o rds do wn the side. The underlying data struc tures used to
ho ld the data are to tally invisible to the user.
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) A c o llec tio n o f re latio nal
database s o n a single database se rve r.
Relational OLAP Database (ROLAP) A Relatio nal OLAP database sto res its info rmatio n in a relatio nal database. This has the advantage o f being easy to lo ad, but
c an be time-c o nsuming to searc h.
Relationship A situatio n whereby a fo re ign ke y in a table is linked to a primary ke y
in ano ther table. A relatio nship may be a o ne -to -o ne re latio nship , a o ne -to -many re latio nship o r a many-to -many re latio nship .
Remote Data Objects (RDO) A tec hno lo gy that allo ws a pro gram running o n
Windo ws to ac c ess a database using ODBC tec hno lo gy. This tec hno lo gy is muc h
mo re effic ient than Data Acce ss Obje cts fo r ac c essing large databases. It has sinc e
been superc eded by Active X Data Obje cts.
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) A tec hnique used to allo w a pro gram o n o ne c o mputer to c all a subro utine o n ano ther c o mputer that is attac hed o ver a netwo rk.
Glossary
Repeating Group A variable that c o ntains multiple o c c urrenc es o f info rmatio n.
This is similar to an array with dynamic ally-defined bo unds. An example o f a repeating gro up wo uld be bo o k autho rs, where bo o k autho rs might have o ne, two , three
o r mo re autho rs depending o n the partic ular bo o k.
Replication A way o f keeping two database s with the same info rmatio n in sync .
Replication Model See Database Re plicatio n.
Report Queue A que ue used to trac k the pro gress o f me ssage s as they mo ve to the
De stinatio n Que ue .
Repository See Data Dictio nary .
Response Message An applic atio n-generated message that is returned to a
re spo nse que ue spec ified by the sending applic atio n.
Response Queue A que ue used to rec eive a re spo nse me ssage fro m the applic atio n
that rec eived a message.
ROLAP See Re latio nal OLAP Database .
Role A predefined set o f pe rmissio ns in the database . When a lo gin id is assigned to
a ro le, it inherits all the permissio ns asso c iated with the ro le.
Roll Back The pro c ess o f undo ing a set o f c hanges to the database that have no t
yet been c o mmitted.
Row A c o llec tio n o f co lumns that are sto red in a table .
RPC See Re mo te Pro ce dure Call.
Rule A way to verify a value entered in a co lumn. A rule is c reated by adding an
Inte g