A
- activate
- The action taken to change the state of a presentation so that users can access the presentation.
See also deactivate.
- agent cluster
- A group of computers, registered with MCS, on which MCS-compatible products are installed.
See also server cluster.
- AID keys
- Keys that send commands to the host, such as ATTN, ENTER, and SYS RQ. To make it possible for you to invoke these same host functions from a PC keyboard, the functions are assigned to PC keys or key combinations.
- application
-
In Presentation Builder, applications are a collection of forms created in Presentation Designer by navigating through an active host session, or by importing tasks or Web services.
See also presentation, Web service.
- Application Manager
- An MCS management component that displays a list of all of the applications that have been published to your MCS server. Using Application Manager, you can manage published applications — delete, rename, and copy them — and modify application properties.
- application server
- A program that manages operations between an organization’s back-end systems and a user’s computer. Typically used for transaction-based applications.
- attribute
- 1. In the markup languages XML and HTML, a name-value pair within a tagged element that modifies certain features of that element. 2. In screen displays, an element of additional information that controls such characteristics as the background and foreground colors of the character, underlining, and blinking. 3. In a database record, the name or structure of a field. For example, the files LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME, and PHONE would be attributes of each record in a PHONELIST database. The size of a field or the type of information it contains would also be attributes of a database record.
See also element, property.
B
- bean
- Reusable piece of Java code, also called a Java bean. Beans can be generated from tasks, and combined to create an application.
See also JavaBeans, task, task bean.
- bridge
- The client portion of a communication protocol encapsulation for invoking remote connectors, for example, HTTP Bridge, MQ Series Bridge, RMI Bridge, and so on. The remote application component may be an Attachmate connector or an external application that implements the required compatible interfaces.
See also listener.
- bridge listener
- See listener.
C
- cache
- 1. A special memory subsystem in which frequently used data values are duplicated for quick access. A disk cache refers to a portion of RAM that temporarily stores information read from disk. A memory cache stores the contents of frequently accessed RAM locations and the addresses where these data items are stored. 2. A reserved portion of a computer's RAM or hard disk set aside to temporarily hold information, for example, a Web browser cache.
See also Java caching.
- character attribute
- Formatting or characteristic of text that determines how characters look on the screen. For example, blinking and underline are character attributes.
- child
- 1. A process initiated by another process (the parent). The parent process often sleeps (is suspended) until the child process stops executing. 2. In a tree structure, child refers to the relationship of a node to its immediate predecessor.
- class
- In the Java programming language, a type that defines the implementation of a particular kind of object.
- class path
- An environment variable that tells Java-based applications where to find Java class libraries.
- client (adj)
- Pertaining to a networked computer. For example, a client application is an application that either runs directly on a client or is downloaded from a server to a client.
- client (n)
- 1. On a local area network or the Internet, a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer (called a server). 2. In object-oriented programming, a member of a class (group) that uses the services of another class to which it is not related. 3. A process, such as a program or task, that requests a service provided by another program — for example, a word processor that calls on a sort routine built into another program. The client process uses the requested service without having to "know" any working details about the other program or the service itself.
- cluster
- See agent cluster, server cluster.
- code page
- A table of numeric codes used to represent language-specific characters. Code pages are a way of providing support for character sets and keyboard layouts used in different countries. To display characters correctly, you must select the code page used by your host.
- COMMAREA
- An area of memory on the host used to transfer inputs and outputs between COBOL programs. A particular COBOL program may use only some of the fields in the COMMAREA. There can be a single COMMAREA used for both inputs and outputs, or there can be separate COMMAREAs for each.
- component
- A single application (such as EXTRA! X-treme) or a set of closely related applications (such as Presentation Builder or Smart Connectors) that is part of a larger system of applications considered together as a product. For example, EXTRA! Mainframe Server is a product that contains several components, one of which, the Smart Connector for 3270 & 5250, itself consists of several components: Task Builder for Screens, Runtime Service for 3270 & 5250, and Management & Control Service for Screens. A stand-alone application is considered a component when it is placed in the context of a larger system of applications.
See also product.
- configuration
- A set of parameters that define and control the behavior of sessions and applets, which may be for terminal emulation, host printer emulation, or file transfer.
- connection
- The communication link between a client and a host that allows users to interact with the host from the client computer.
- connection type
- The communication mechanism used by the client to establish a connection with a host.
- connector
- An Attachmate product or component that takes data from a data source, and converts it to task interface objects for more universal use. A connector can also accept task interface objects from another source and convert the data to a format that can be used in a host environment.
- context
- Information that adds meaning to something else. For example, a task's context could be the host connection or session with which it is associated. If the task's context is maintained, or preserved, the session remains connected after the task has completed, and the session is available to run the next task.
See also stateful task.
- copybook
- A file containing COBOL data declarations that was included when the COBOL program on the host was compiled. A particular copybook may be included in more than one COBOL program; a program can include several copybooks.
A COBOL copybook declares the names and data types of variables that associated COBOL programs use to exchange information in the COMMAREA. Typically, programs that exchange data in this way are compiled with the same copybook file.
See also COMMAREA.
- correlation ID
- An identifier assigned to an individual transaction, used in end-to-end tracing to track the transaction across multiple components.
D
- daemon
- A program that runs on a host to provide network services. A daemon in UNIX is very similar to a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program in DOS.
- data source
- A host, database, or other application or repository from which information is retrieved.
- deactivate
- The process of making a presentation unavailable to users.
- deploy
- 1. To install software onto multiple computers, either one-at-a-time or across a network. 2. To make software available on a network so that multiple users can access or install it. For example, in Presentation Designer, an application is published to an MCS server and then deployed so that it is available to users.
See also activate, publish.
- designer
- A component that runs within Designer Studio. Task Builders, Presentation Designer, and Presentation Integrator are all designers.
- Designer Studio
- The framework within which Attachmate designers, such as Task Builders, run.
- detail table
- A table made up of detail screens, which present very long records in more than one level. The first level of the table displays only the first level of fields for each record. When a record is selected, more fields can be shown in a separate screen.
See also table.
- discovery
- In peer-to-peer computing, a mechanism used by computers on a network to locate and interact with one another.
- download
- To transfer programs or data from a host or Web server to your local computer.
E
- element
- In an XML document, an element is made up of a start-tag, an end-tag, and data in between. The start- and end-tags describe the data within the tags, which is considered the value of the element. The element may contain text, comments, or other elements.
- environment
- A named set of configuration options used with Unisys ClearPath IX or 2200 Series hosts.
- export
- To extract data and make it available in another file or format.
See also deploy, publish.
- extended attribute bytes (EABs)
- Codes used by many mainframe applications to display highlighting, reverse image, blinking, and seven colors.
F
- failover
- A backup operation in which the functions of a primary resource (such as a server) are automatically assumed by a secondary resource, should the primary resource fail or be shut down. Used to make systems more fault-tolerant, failover is typically an integral part of mission-critical systems that must be constantly available.
Task failover in the Smart Connectors does not support stateful tasks.
- free ID
- An ID that has been assigned to a name but that has not yet been allocated to any client.
G
- global screen
- A screen sent by the host that is not the result of a user action, for example, a message sent by the host, but not a transient screen.
See also unrecognized screen.
H
- host code page
- See code page.
- host-initiated screen
- See global screen.
- HotGUI
- A terminal applet that is just like the regular terminal session, except that it uses a GUI-style interface, as opposed to the traditional "green screen" interface.
I
- IConnectorAccess
- The interface implemented in Attachmate Smart Connectors to pass data using XML.
- instance document
- An individual XML document that conforms to a particular schema.
See also XML Schema.
- interface object
- See task interface object.
- ITask
- The interface implemented in Attachmate Smart Connectors to pass data using task beans.
J
- Java bean
- See bean.
- JavaBeans
- A component architecture for the Java programming language developed initially by Sun Microsystems. JavaBeans components are called "beans."
JavaBeans allows developers to create reusable software components that can then be assembled together using visual application builder tools. A builder tool can analyze how a bean works, developers can customize the appearance and behavior of a bean, and customized beans can be stored and reused.
See also bean.
- Java caching
- The process of installing Java applets or other software on a client so that the files can be run locally rather than from the server. Java caching is controlled by settings on the server rather than by the browser’s cache settings. Clearing the browser’s cache (either the memory cache or the disk cache) does not remove files installed via Java caching. The location of the files and the procedure for removing them varies, depending on the browser and the applet. Netscape 6.x does not support Java caching.
- Javadocs
- API documentation in HTML format, generated from Java source code.
K
- keyboard map
- A file that defines the function that each key on a computer keyboard performs to communicate with a host. For example, the CTRL + e key combination might be mapped to perform the TRANSMIT function.
L
- layout
- An arrangement of session windows, their positions on the desktop, and their host connections.
- layout file
- A file that defines an arrangement of session windows, including all windows in their specified sizes and positions. By opening the file, you can restart all the sessions in the layout at a later time.
- listener
- The "server" side of a specific transport protocol that encapsulates connector invocation requests, waiting for those requests on a specific TCP/IP port or message queue, for example, HTTP Listener, MQSeries Listener, RMI Listener, and so on. The application that initiates the request may be a connector, another Attachmate component, or an external application.
See also bridge.
M
- Management & Control Service
- A component that runs within Management & Control Services (MCS) and performs administrative functions for a runtime service or other component. For example, the Management and Control Service for Screens performs administrative functions for the Runtime Service for 3270 & 5250.
See also manager.
- Management & Control Services (MCS)
- A Web-based application that can be used to centrally manage and configure compatible Attachmate components and products. MCS also makes resources available for other components and products to access.
- manager
- A component, specific to a particular product, that runs within MCS and is not part of base MCS.
See also Management & Control Service.
- metadata
- Describes the format of the inputs and outputs of each task in a Smart Connector task file, tying together information passed from one connector to another, or between a data source and a connector. An XML document that passes between two connectors must conform to both the output metadata of the first connector and the input metadata of the second.
These XML inputs and outputs are described using XML Schema. The XML Schema used by Smart Connector metadata is a subset of the full W3C Recommendation, based on the April 7, 2000 W3C Draft of XML Schema.
See also XML Schema.
- migrate
- To convert existing files for use with a newer version of an existing product or competitive product.
- myAccess Links page
- A Web page from which users access presentations, located at http://server_name:port_number/mcs/pbclient or https://server_name:port_number/mcs/pbclient.
See also presentation.
N
- navigation
- In Smart Connectors for Screens, the process of going from the current step to the desired step. The purpose of navigation is to automate keystrokes so that the Runtime Service will reproduce them when the task is run. This includes both entering data and moving between steps.
- NavMap
- A file that contains the navigation information required to access screens within a host application. This information can include screens, fields, keystrokes, and paths between screens.
- Native Access
- A generic representation of the host screen data provided through the Smart Connectors for Screens, which exposes all the data needed to describe the host screens.
- node
- 1. In tree structures, a location (set of information) on the tree that can have links to one or more nodes below it (child nodes). The topmost node is called the “root.” The root can have zero or more child nodes; the root is the parent node to its children. Each child node can in turn have zero or more children of its own. Every node in a tree has exactly one parent node (except for the root, which has none), and all nodes in the tree are descendants of the root node. 2. In an XML document that is modeled after a tree, each element in the tree is considered a node. An XML-based application can store data in all the different types of nodes and in all the fields of each node. XML states that there must be at least one element in each document: the root node. All nodes are one of four types: character, processing instruction (PI), comment, element. Character, PI, and comment nodes have no children, so they are always leaf nodes in an XML document tree.
O
- offline screen mode
- In Smart Connectors for Screens, a mode in which you use previously recorded screens to create tasks, without a live connection to the host.
P
- package
- 1. A group of related Java classes and interfaces that provides access protection and namespace management. Bundling groups of related Java classes and interfaces into a package builds in control access between classes (both inside and outside the package), and makes it possible to quickly determine the relationship between the classes and the interfaces. Also, by creating a new namespace, it prevents the names of classes from conflicting with those in other packages. 2. In MCS, an application or service that can be remotely installed on an MCS-managed server.
- parent
- 1. The first of two or more connected objects in a hierarchical data structure system, a parent structure invokes its child structure, which inherits the parent’s attributes. 2. A process from which a child process is started.
- parent/child
- 1. The relationship between processes in a multitasking environment in which the parent process calls the child process and most often suspends its own operation until the child process aborts or is completed.
2. The relationship between nodes in a tree data structure in which the parent is one step closer to the root (that is, one level higher) than the child.
See also child.
- preference
- A setting for an application or tool, typically set by users.
See also property.
- presentation
- An HTML document used to present your application through a Web browser. A presentation can be published to MCS directly through Presentation Designer, or expanded using Presentation Integrator. Presentations published through Presentation Integrator can contain up to four resources — applications, configurations, or Web documents (an intranet or Internet Web site, an EXTRA! X-treme session, or a WebPublish host class).
See also application.
- Presentation Designer
- A component of Presentation Builder with which you can connect to the host and record the navigation steps required to access the data and functionality that you want to expose through your custom application. Each host screen is converted to a customizable form automatically.
- Presentation Integrator
- An optional component of Presentation Builder and Terminal Viewers with which you can customize the way presentations are displayed on users' computers. Presentations customized with Presentation Integrator can contain up to four resources.
See also resource.
- Presentation Manager
- A component of EXTRA! X-treme, Presentation Builder, and Terminal Viewers that runs within Management & Control Services (MCS). Using Presentation Manager, you can assign presentations to users or groups, activate presentations, and configure user authentication.
See also presentation.
- Presentations page
-
See myAccess Links page.
- primary server
- Within each server cluster, there is one primary server and one or more secondary servers. All configuration changes take place through the cluster's primary server. Configuration data, event log files, and trace log files are dynamically replicated across all servers in the cluster, ensuring that all active servers have access to the latest data. Although you can access the MCS console from another server in the cluster just as you do from the primary server, the console request is automatically redirected to the primary server. If the primary server ever goes off-line, the server with next highest priority in the cluster takes over primary server responsibilities.
- product
- A single, stand-alone application sold separately (such as EXTRA! X-treme) or a single, stand-alone set of closely related applications (such as Smart Connectors) or a larger system of applications (EXTRA! Mainframe Server) that are sold and marketed together.
See also component.
- project
- In Smart Connectors for Screens, a collection of all of the files required to create, modify, and publish a task or set of tasks, including the NavMap, task steps, and task interface objects.
In Presentation Designer, a project contains everything necessary to create and publish an application.
- property
- 1. A characteristic of an object. Depending on the object, the user might set its properties. 2. In Windows, a characteristic or parameter of an object or device. Properties of a file, for example, include type, size, and creation date and can be identified by accessing the file's property sheet.
See also attribute, preference.
- protected field
- A field in which a user cannot enter, modify, or erase data.
- publish
- To send files or data to Management & Control Services (MCS), typically to make those items available for use in the development of applications or presentations.
Q
- QuickPad
- An onscreen keypad that provides a convenient way to send commands to the host.
R
- recipient
- A user, or group of users, on the system.
- recognition rule
- In Smart Connectors for Screens or Presentation Designer, a unique expression used to identify and match a step in a task with its corresponding location on a host screen.
- resource
- An item that has been published to or otherwise made available by Management & Control Services (MCS) for use in the development of applications or presentations. For Presentation Designer, resources include tasks and host application screens. For Presentation Integrator, resources include Presentation Designer applications, viewer configurations, and Web documents.
See also application, presentation, task.
- resource adapter
- A system-level software driver used by an application server or client to connect to an enterprise system. A resource adapter is typically specific to an enterprise system. It is available as a library and is used within the address space of the server or client using it.
A resource adapter plays a central role in the integration and connectivity between your enterprise system and an application server. It is the point of contact between application components, application servers, and enterprise information systems. The Attachmate J2EE Connector is a resource adapter.
See also application server.
- resource adapter module
- A package of information needed to deploy and run your task file from an application server.
See also application server, resource adapter.
- rule
- In Presentation Designer, a resource that, combined with themes, controls the look, feel, and actions of your application in relation to its host connection. Multiple rules can exist within a single theme, but only one theme can be applied to any application.
See also theme.
- runtime service
- A program that handles the transmission of information between a data source and a deployed application.
S
- screen bindings
- Associations between custom application forms and the data processed by your host application. For example, you could bind user input from a text field to specify where to send the data, or you could bind host output data to specify where to get the data to populate a control.
- Screen Native Access
- See Native Access.
- server
- 1. On a local area network (LAN), a computer running administrative software that controls access to the network and its resources, such as printers and disk drives, and provides resources to computers functioning as workstations on the network. 2. On the Internet or other network, a computer or program that responds to commands from a client. For example, a file server may contain an archive of data or program files; when a client submits a request for a file, the server transfers a copy of the file to the client.
See also client.
- server cluster
- Multiple instances of Management & Control Services, installed on multiple servers across your network. Use of server clusters provides server scalability and failover protection.
See also agent cluster.
- service
- A program, routine, or process that performs a specific function.
See also runtime service, Windows service.
- service bean
- A Java bean that includes multiple tasks in a single bean. Service beans have a method for each task. Task inputs and outputs are arguments to the method. Service beans can be used to create applications in any Java application development environment.
See also bean, task interface object, Web service.
- session
- 1. A configured communication connection with a host. A session can be in either a connected or a disconnected state. 2. The GUI representation of a connection to a host through which users interact with a host. The GUI components can include representations of host screens and file lists, as well as various tools such as toolbars, QuickPads, Macro Recorders/Editors, keyboard mappers, and so forth. Sessions can also be specific to host screens, file transfer, or printing.
- session file
- The file that contains the configuration information for a session.
- session pool
- In Smart Connector for Screens, a group of host sessions that share a common configuration.
- session template
- In EXTRA! X-treme, a session configuration on which you can base a new session.
- stateful task
- A task that maintains context, keeping track of your configuration settings and what you were doing the last time you ran an application. A stateful task can start where a previous task ended.
Compare stateless task. See also context task.
- stateless task
- A task that does not maintain context information about previous actions.
Compare stateful task.
- step
- See task step.
T
- table
- In Smart Connectors for Screens or Presentation Designer, a rectangular area of the host screen that contains one or more records. The records contained in a table may exist on multiple pages spanning multiple screens.
See also detail table.
- task
- A sequence of transactions that perform a particular job. A task can be a simple data transfer, such as updating a database record, or it can be more complex, such as logging onto a host application, navigating to a particular screen, and sending and retrieving data. It could even be a combination of tasks that make up a business application. A task consists of one or more transactions.
Tasks are created in Attachmate Designer Studio using Task Builders (for example, Task Builder for IMS) that are specific to the data source. Users create tasks by defining the inputs and outputs to the task, and the relationships between them. In more complex cases, users might define mappings between disparate data sources.
See also transaction.
- task bean
- A Java bean, generated by a Task Builder, that uses the Attachmate ITask interface. A separate bean is generated for each task.
See also bean.
- Task Builder
- A component used to create tasks from host application information for use in custom applications. For example, Task Builder for Screens is used to capture host screens and define task inputs and outputs. Tasks are generated as task interface objects, which are later combined to create custom applications.
- task file
- An XML document that maps tasks to systems. The content varies, depending on the connector used. A task file contains connectivity and systems information, such as the location of an application on the host, or statements to execute, and must contain the definition for the task specified by the task ID. It may also point to additional files it needs, such as bridges and transformation files, and may include its metadata, which describes the inputs and outputs required to perform specified tasks (for some connectors, the metadata is stored in a separate file).
- task ID
- A unique identifier for a task. In Attachmate connector products, a task ID cannot begin with a digit. In addition, if beans will be generated from tasks, Java naming conventions must be followed. Identifiers in Java cannot include characters other than letters, numbers, the underscore (_), and the dollar sign ($).
- task interface object
- The code generated by a Task Builder through which an application interacts with a task. For example, in Task Builder for Screens, the user can create one or more tasks and generate task interface objects as a task file, Java beans, or Web services. Later, an application that is created to run tasks makes use of the task interface objects to communicate with the runtime service.
See also bean, service bean, task bean, task file, Web service.
- task resource
- See resource.
- task step
- The screen and associated inputs and outputs that define the action to be performed at runtime at a particular point in a task, including instructions on how to proceed to the next step.
- Terminal Viewer
- See viewer.
- theme
- In Presentation Designer, a resource that, combined with rules, controls the look, feel, and actions of your application in relation to its host connection. Multiple rules can exist within a single theme, but only one theme can be applied to any application.
See also rule.
- transaction
- 1. The smallest unit that a task can be broken into. A task can include one or more transactions. 2. A unit of work that modifies data. For a transaction to be completed and changes to be made permanent, the transaction must be completed in its entirety. When it completes successfully, changes are committed; when it is interrupted and does not complete, changes are rolled back.
Compare task.
- transcoding
- A process that reformats a single source of Web content to suit the needs of different display devices, such as both hand-held and desktop displays. Transcoding eliminates the need to rewrite content to meet the requirements of each device separately.
- transient step
- One or more transitional screens sent by the host without the user sending an AID key to the host.
- translation table
- A file that modifies the data sent between the host and a client to ensure that the client can display characters that are not part of the U.S. English character set.
- tree
- A data structure containing zero or more nodes that are linked together in a hierarchical fashion. The topmost node is called the root. The root can have zero or more child nodes, connected by edges (links); the root is the parent node to its children. Each child node can in turn have zero or more children of its own. Nodes sharing the same parent are called siblings. Every node in a tree has exactly one parent node (except for the root, which has none), and all nodes in the tree are descendants of the root node. These relationships ensure that there is always one — and only one — path from the root node to any other node in the tree.
U
- unattended installation
- An installation performed without user interaction, in which installation dialog boxes are suppressed. Also known as a silent installation.
- unexpected screen
- A screen that does not match a destination screen for the current step in a task. An unexpected screen may be recorded in the NavMap but occurs out of the order expected.
- unrecognized screen
- The default global screen handler, or navigation aid, to use when an unexpected screen is encountered that does not match any of the recorded global screens. When this occurs, the Task Builder attempts to invoke the unrecognized screen's transition action before the task fails.
See also global screen, unexpected screen.
- unrecorded screen
- A screen that has not been recorded as part of the current task.
- upload
- To transfer programs or data from your local computer ("client" system) to a central host or Web server.
- user field
- An area of the host screen that you define as a field.
V
- viewer
- An applet or control that loads within a Web browser to provide host access capability.
W
- Web service
- Software that dynamically interacts with other software using Internet protocols and formats such as HTML, XML, TCP/IP, and SOAP, and handles the transmission of information between a data source and a deployed application.
See also task interface object.
- Windows service
- A program, routine, or process that typically begins running as soon as the computer starts. Windows services are started, stopped, and configured from Services in the Windows Control Panel.
X
- XML Schema
- A file that defines the structure, content, and semantics of XML documents. A single schema defines a class of XML documents. An individual XML document that conforms to a particular schema is called an "instance document."
The metadata files for Attachmate connector products are written using XML Schema format.
See also metadata.
Y
Z
