Access Control Database. A central database that stores all of the user’s authorization and authentication information, such as user name and password credentials, digital certificates, and access permissions to the system components. The ACDB structures data in the form of a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)–compliant directory and is stored on the Adaptive Server, unless you have specifically configured a third-party database to store user information.
A component that provides an interface between an internal application and external applications or messaging systems. An adapter detects events and validates event contents.
An acronym for application programming interface. A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications that enables programs to communicate with each other.
A small program in an HTML-based program built with Java that a browser temporarily downloads to, and runs from, a user’s hard drive. Java applets can be downloaded and run by any Java-interpreting Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Java applets can be used to add multimedia effects, such as background music, real-time video displays, animations, and interactivity, such as calculators and games, to Web pages without having to send a user request back to the server.
Usually, a solution designed for a specific industry that allows multiple programs to work together seamlessly. This is an approach that provides application logic and data to the application server via proxy components. During design, components are defined using metadata (sp_catalogs, COBOL copy books, IDL repositories) that associates the logic and data with a component name. Code generation and deployment into the application server are features of application integrators. When the component is available in the application server, any developer can use it without understanding the specifics of how it works.
Third-party companies that manage and distribute software-based services and solutions across a wide-area network from a central data center.
Active Server Pages. An open, compile-free application environment in which Web developers can combine HTML, scripts, and reusable Active Server components. ASP technology enables server-side scripting for IIS with native support for both Visual Basic Scripting Edition and JScript.
Any object within the enterprise’s computer systems, including but not limited to a document, database information, another computer system, an application, and so on.
A method to provide individual accountability for users performing operational and administrative tasks. User actions are recorded in an audit log so the system administrator can see who is doing what while the user is logged in to the networked system.
The process of verifying the identity of the person trying to enter a network system.
The term used to describe the process of assigning permissions to users or groups of users to access system assets.
An acronym for business-to-business. The ability of companies to deliver products, services, support, and information over the Internet to other companies with whom they do business.
An acronym for business-to-business integration. B2Bi enables a business to integrate its computer systems with those of its business partners (suppliers, vendors, customers), eliminating redundant data entry, and speeding up order turnaround times.
A type of middleware that connects clients and servers. An example is an Object Request Broker.
An application-level component you can use in unpredictable combinations. A business object is independent of any single application.
Business objects provide a natural way to describe application-independent concepts such as customer, order, competition, money, payment, car, and patient. They encourage a view of software that transcends tools, applications, databases, and other system concepts.
Entities that validate identities and issue digital certificates. They can be either independent third parties or organizations running their own certificate-issuing server software. The certificate issued by the CA binds a particular public key to the name of the entity the certificate identifies.
As part of the SSL handshake, the client and server agree upon a common cipher suite. The cipher suite includes SSL/TLS support options, algorithms used for key exchange, and digital signatures.
In object-oriented programming, a category of objects. For example, there might be a class called shape that contains objects that are circles, rectangles, and triangles. The class defines all the common properties of the different objects that belong to it.
A network architecture in which one or more computers (servers) accept requests for services from one or more workstations (clients).
This may also refer to a back-end application (server) that accepts requests for information from a front-end application (client).
Software that provides inter-application connectivity based on communication styles such as message queuing, ORBs, and publish/subscribe.
A formally defined system for controlling the exchange of information over a network or communications channel.
In programming and engineering disciplines, a component is an identifiable part of a larger program or construction. Usually, a component provides a particular function or group of related functions.
In object-oriented programming and distributed object technology, a component is a reusable program building block that can be combined with other components in the same or other computers in a distributed network to form an application. Examples of a component include a single button in a graphical user interface, a small interest calculator, and an interface to a database manager.
Components can be deployed on different servers in a network and communicate with each other for needed services. A component runs in a context called a container. Examples of containers include pages on a Web site, Web browsers, and word processors.
Connection pooling is a performance optimization based on using collections of preallocated resources, such as objects or database connections. Pooling results in more efficient resource allocation.
Communications that do not require a dedicated connection or session between applications.
The ability of a computer to stay up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Continuous availability requires that solutions are both highly reliable and quickly recoverable in the event of failure. See also high availability.
Special assets in a domain that control access to the other security objects in the domain. There are seven controlling assets in each domain, one for each security object type: asset, domain, group, organization, role, and user, and one that controls access to custom AccessType and AssetType objects.
Common Object Request Broker Architecture. CORBA is a distributed-objects standard developed and defined by the Object Management Group (OMG). CORBA provides the mechanisms by which objects transparently make requests and receive responses, as defined by OMG’s Object Request Broker (ORB). The CORBA ORB is an application framework in which objects can communicate with each other, even if they are written in different programming languages, are running on different platforms, reside at different locations, or were developed by different vendors.
User name and passwords pairs used for user authentication when logging in to a networked system.
The process by which a data source is linked to a Web page. You can present, manipulate, and update data on the client by linking data to HTML tags. Data binding is based on a component architecture consisting of three major pieces: DSO data consumers, the binding agent, and the table repetition agent. The DSO provides the data to the page, data-consuming HTML elements display the data, and the binding and table repetition agents ensure that both the provider and the consumer are synchronized. Data binding, combined with HTML 4.0 and the Document Object Model, is one of the contributing technologies to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Because the data binding is done on the client side, the data displayed on the Web page is kept separate from the HTML that displays the data. Data binding does this by treating HTML in a Web page as a template for data supplied by a data source object. Then, using the Dynamic HTML support, the data supplied by data objects is merged with the HTML template on the client, producing a complete HTML page.
One or more databases designed to help managers make strategic decisions about their businesses. A data mart usually focuses on a particular subject or department rather than on an enterprise-wide application.
A collection of data designed to help managers make strategic decisions about their business. A data warehouse contains a wide variety of data that presents a coherent picture of business conditions at a single point in time. Unlike a data mart, a data warehouse usually refers to a set of databases that are integrated across an entire enterprise.
Database actions that change database states, that can be captured and re-created, and that cannot occur (or be recorded) simultaneously. These can include begins, rollbacks, or commits; inserts, updates, or deletes; blobs (Java object, image, or text); or stored procedure invocations that result in a change in the source database.
Allows clients to invoke SQL-based services across multivendor databases. Database middleware is defined by de facto standards such as ODBC, DRDA, RDA, and so on.
Distributed Computing Environment. From the Open Software Foundation, DCE provides key distributed technologies such as RPC, distributed naming service, time synchronization service, distributed file system, and network security.
Distributed COM. A protocol that enables software components to communicate directly over a network in a reliable, secure, and efficient manner. Based on the Open Software Foundation’s DCE-RPC specification, DCOM deploys across heterogeneous platforms and works with both Java applets and ActiveX components.
The process of unencoding information. Encryption and decryption allow communicating systems to disguise information they send.
An electronic document used to identify an individual, a server, a company, or some other entity and associate that identification with a public key. See PKI.
Digital signatures are created with a mathematical algorithm that generates a unique, fixed-length string of numbers from a text message; the result is called a hash or message digest. Digital signatures are used for tamper detection and nonrepudiation.
A way for clients to locate services. Usually contained in a single system image of available servers.
A name that uniquely identifies an entity. The distinguished name (DN) is embedded in a digital certificate. Enterprise Security identifies an entity by its DN for authentication to the system.
A computing system that contains a number of autonomous database management systems that are interconnected by a network and that cooperate with each other when performing data access and data capture tasks.
Document Object Model. The specification for how objects in a Web page (text, images, headers, links, and so on) are represented. The DOM defines what attributes are associated with each object, and how the objects and attributes can be manipulated. Dynamic HTML (DHTML) relies on the DOM to dynamically change the appearance of Web pages after they have been downloaded to a user’s browser.
A user who has the domain security officer role, and therefore has access to all the security objects in the security domain.
A document type definition is a specific definition that follows the rules of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). A DTD accompanies a document and identifies what the codes (or markup) are that separate paragraphs, identify topic headings, and so on, and how each is to be processed. When a DTD is mailed with a document, any location that has a DTD “reader” (or “SGML compiler”) can process the document and display or print it as intended.
Enterprise archive file. Used to distribute a J2EE application. A standard JAR file with a “.ear” extension that may contain JAR and WAR files.
Electronic data interchange. The electronic communication of business transactions, such as orders, confirmations, and invoices between organizations.
Enterprise JavaBeans is an architecture for setting up program components, written in Java, that run in the server parts of a client/server. EJBs are specific Java components that meet the Java specifications for thread management, container support, and so on.
A process wherein a cryptographic algorithm is used to encode information to safeguard it from anyone except the intended recipient. Encryption and decryption allow communicating systems to disguise information they send.
A reference to all aspects of a large business organization—from manufacturing to finance, marketing to human resources. This term can also refer to an organization plus its partners, vendors, suppliers, and customers.
An acronym for Enterprise Portal. Enterprise Portal integrates all aspects of an organization’s IT infrastructure and offers customers, partners, vendors, and employees a broad array of resources and services, including personalized information, online purchasing, e-mail, forums, search engines, and product support.
An event is a notification that occurs in response to some action. It can be a change in state or as a result of the user clicking or moving the mouse, pressing a keyboard key, or other actions that are focus-related, element-specific, or object-specific. Programmers write code that respond to these actions. An event can also be an object that is imported, passed between processors, and exported to an external database.
A network that allows partial access to authorized outsiders via valid user names and passwords.
A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.
Also called a message digest, the hash is a unique, fixed-length string of numbers generated by a mathematical algorithm from a text message. The result is call a digital signature.
The ability of a computer to stay up and running most of the time. Also, the ability to perform most administration tasks with users still connected and working with the data in the database. See also continuous availability.
HyperText Transport (or Transfer) Protocol is the set of rules that governs the exchange of text, graphic, sound, and video files on the World Wide Web.
An interface definition language allows a program or object written in one language to communicate with another program written in an unknown language. For example, an Object Request Broker (ORB) uses an interface definition language to broker communication between two object programs.
Internet-Interoperable-ORB-Protocol is an object-oriented protocol that allows distributed programs written in different programming languages to communicate over the Internet. IIOP is the transport protocol for CORBA.
An acronym for Internet service provider, which is a company that provides access to the Internet to companies or individual users for a monthly fee.
Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is an object-oriented programming language, similar to C++. Java-based applications, or applets, can be quickly downloaded from a Web site and run using a Java-compatible Web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Java applets are the most widespread use of Java on the Web. Java programs or source code files (.java) are compiled into a format known as bytecode files (.class). These files, once complied, can be executed by a Java interpreter. Most operating systems, including Linux, Macintosh, UNIX, and Windows have Java interpreters and runtime environments known as Java virtual machines.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. LDAP is a software protocol that allows anyone to locate organizations, individuals, and other resources (files, devices, and so on) on the Internet or on a corporate intranet.
The even distribution of processing and communications activity across a computer network so no single device is overwhelmed.
Sybase product that enables you to create transformations that transform XML documents based on one vocabulary into XML documents based on a different XML vocabulary.
Data marshalling converts native datatypes into an intermediate data stream that can pass safely between process boundaries. Unmarshalling converts it from the intermediate data stream to a datatype required at the other end of a communication.
A string of bytes that has meaning to the applications that use it. Messages are used for transferring information from one application to another between components in a single application. The applications can be running on the same platform or on different platforms.
An intelligent intermediary that directs the flow of messages between applications. Message brokers provide a flexible communications backbone and provide such services as data transformation, message routing and message warehousing.
Also called a hash; a unique, fixed-length string of numbers generated by a mathematical algorithm from a text message. The result is a digital signature.
A form of communication between programs. Application data is combined with a header (information about the data) to form a message. Messages are stored in queues, which can be buffered or persistent (see buffered queue and persistent queue). Message queueing is an asynchronous communications style and provides a loosely coupled exchange across multiple operating systems.
A process that routes messages to applications based on business rules. A particular message may be directed based on its subject or actual content.
A central repository for temporarily storing messages for analysis or transmission.
Data that describes other data. Any file or database that holds information about another database's structure, attributes, processing, or changes.
In object-oriented programming, a procedure that is executed when an object receives a message. A method is really the same as a procedure, function, or routine in procedural programming languages. The only difference is that in object-oriented programming, a method is always associated with a class.
Software that facilitates the communication between two applications. Middleware provides an API through which applications invoke services and it controls the transmission of the data exchange over the network. There are three basic types: communications middleware, database middleware, and systems middleware.
When referring to data, migration describes the process of translating data from one format to another. When referring to a computing environment, migration describes the process of moving from one type of hardware or software to another.
Digital signatures provide nonrepudiation, that is, senders cannot deny, or repudiate, that they sent a message, because their private key encrypted the message.
Allows clients to invoke methods or objects that reside on a remote server. This middleware revolves around OMG’s CORBA and Microsoft’s DCOM.
Open Database Connectivity. ODBC is a Windows standard API that is used for SQL communication to connect applications to a variety of data sources. Access is generally provided through the Control Panel, where data source names (DSNs) can be assigned to use specific ODBC drivers.
Object Request Broker. Software that allows objects to dynamically discover each other and interact across machines, operating systems, and networks.
A message queue that resides on a permanent device, such as a disk, and can be recovered in case of system failure.
A public-key infrastructure allows users of an insecure public network, such as the Internet, to securely exchange data and money using a public and a private cryptographic key pair obtained and shared through a trusted authority.
A Web site that offers users access to a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and online shopping malls.
Part of the larger public-key infrastructure, a private key is kept secret and the public key is published. Typically, you use the private key to encrypt data before sending it over the Internet, and the recipient decrypts data with your public key.
A user who has the PortalSecOfficer role, and therefore has access to all security objects in the default security domain.
Part of the larger public-key infrastructure, a public key is published, and the corresponding private key is kept secret. Typically, the public key is used to decrypt information that is encrypted with a private key before being sent over the Internet. See PKI.
Public-key cryptography consists of encryption and decryption, digital signatures, keys, and digital certificates. It is part of the larger public key infrastructure. See PKI.
Make an event available to an external application by placing it on the external application’s queue.
A style of interapplication communications. Publishers can broadcast data to a community of information users or subscribers, which have issued the type of information they want to receive (normally defining topics or subjects of interest). An application or user can be both a publisher and subscriber.
A list constructed and maintained so that the next data element to be retrieved is the one stored first.
For example, one application can put a message on a queue, and another application can retrieve the message from the same queue.
The immediate processing of input, such as the ability of a computer to respond or process information immediately with no interruption.
The process of copying data to remote locations. The copied (replicated) data is then kept synchronized with the primary data. Data replication is distinct from data distribution. Replicated data is stored copies of data at particular sites throughout a system and is not necessarily distributed data.
Remote Method Invocation is a set of protocols being developed by Sun’s Java Software division that enables Java objects to communicate remotely with other Java objects. RMI is a relatively simple protocol, but unlike more complex protocols such as CORBA and DCOM, it works only with Java objects. CORBA and DCOM are designed to support objects created in any language.
Remote procedure call. A form of application-to-application communication that hides the intricacies of the network by using an ordinary procedure call mechanism.
The ability of an information system to provide high performance as greater demands are placed upon it, through the addition of extra computing power.
The Security Officer role is predefined in the Access Control Database. The Security Officer manages Enterprise Portal and EAServer security using the Enterprise Security Manager, a graphics-based administration tool.The default PSO role has all permissions and is assigned to a default login. You can use this to initially log in and create user name and password combinations for security officers, administrator, and grant the appropriate roles. You can then invalidate or delete the default login to secure the product against intruders who possess the default login information.
A computer or software package that provides specific capabilities to client software running on other computers.
A servlet is a small, persistent, low-level program that runs on a server. The term was coined in the context of the Java applet, a small program that is sent as a separate file along with a Web (HTML) page.
Some programs that access databases based on user input must be on the server. These programs are most often implemented using a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) application. However, if a Java virtual machine is running in the server, servlets can be implemented in Java. A Java servlet can execute more quickly than a CGI application. Instead of creating a separate program process, each user request is invoked as a thread in a single daemon process, so the system overhead for each request is slight.
Simple Network Management Protocol governs network management and how network devices and their functions are monitored. It is not necessarily limited to TCP/IP networks.
Simple Object Access Protocol. SOAP provides a way for applications to communicate with each other over the Internet, independent of platform. Remote objects can give a program almost unlimited power over the Internet, but most firewalls block non-HTTP requests. SOAP, an XML-based protocol, gets around this limitation to provide intraprocess communication across machines.
In Enterprise Portal, the implementation of SOAP allows businesses to expose corporate software functionality to their customers with minimal firewall constraints, platform dependencies or complex development implementations involving DCOM or CORBA.
SOAP was developed by Microsoft, DevelopMentor, and Userland Software and has been proposed to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a standard.
Service Provider Interface, the programming interface for developing Windows drivers to provide common access to services. An application (query, word processor, e-mail program, and so on) is written to a particular interface, such as ODBC or MAPI, and the developer of the service software (database manager, document manager, print spooler, and so on) writes to the SPI for that class of service
Structured Query Language. The language used to process data in a relational database; supported by all major database management systems.
Secure Sockets Layer. A set of rules that govern server authentication, client authentication, and encrypted communication between servers and clients. SSL is widely used on the Internet, especially for interactions that involve exchanging confidential information.
A series of I/O round trips between a server and a client to negotiate and agree upon a secure encrypted session.
An acronym for single sign-on. Single sign-on features allow a client to request access to protected assets within a portal without having to resubmit credentials or certificates for authentication.
A program that creates a named collection of SQL or other procedural statements and logic that is compiled, verified, and stored in a server database.
Software that provides value-add services as well as interprogram communications. An example is transaction processing monitors which are required to control local resources and also cooperate with other resource managers to access nonlocal resources.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol—the network protocol for the Internet that runs on virtually every operating system. IP is the network layer and TCP is the transport layer. TCP/IP is the primary transport protocol used in client/server computing, and is the protocol that governs the transmission of data over the Internet.
Thin client refers to the net PC or the network computer, personal computers for businesses that are centrally-managed, configured with only essential equipment, and do not have CD players, diskette drives, or expansion. Since the idea is to limit such computers to essential applications, they tend to remain “thin” in terms of the client applications they include.
Business relationship between two trading partners in which EDI and XML documents are exchanged.
Organization with which you trade (for example, a supplier or customer). Trading partners send and receive EDI and XML documents.
Process in which you convert a source document based on one XML vocabulary into a target document based on another XML vocabulary.
A security protocol from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is a merger of SSL and other protocols. TLS is backward compatible with SSL and uses Triple DES encryption.
Uniform Resource Identifier. A URI is compact string of characters for identifying an abstract or physical resource and provides a simple and extensible means for identifying resources. An example of a URI is a URL.
Uniform Resource Locator. A subset of a URI, a URL is like a networked extension of the standard file name concept: you can point to a file in a directory, but that file and directory can exist on any machine on the network. They can also be served by any of several different methods. URLs can also point to queries, documents stored deep within databases, and so on.
Web application archive file. Used to distribute Web applications; it includes a deployment descriptor and Web components, and may contain server-side utility classes, HTML, image and sound files, applets, and client-side utility classes.
Software used to automatically route events or work-items from one user or program to another. Workflow is synonymous with process flow, although traditionally has been used in the context of person-to-person information flows.
eXtensible Markup Language—a simplified subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) provides a file format for representing data, a method for describing data structure, and a mechanism for extending and annotating HTML with semantic information.
As a universal data format, XML provides a standard for the server-to-server transfer of different types of structured data so that the information can be decoded, manipulated, and displayed consistently and correctly. In addition, it enables the development of three-tier Web applications, acting as the data transfer format between the middle-tier Web server and the client.
