# Glossary of WebSpeed Terms

### A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, click the # link.

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# A

ADM event procedure
  See event procedure

Agent
  See WebSpeed agent
Agent control program
  The SpeedScript procedure, web-disp.p, installed with WebSpeed. This procedure runs on every Agent. It responds to Web requests from the WebSpeed Messenger and services these requests by executing and managing your Web objects.

API function
  A pre-built user-defined function that enables Web objects to interact more easily and consistently with Web input and output.

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# B

block
  In SpeedScript, any executable section of code that maintains a separate context and that can also define other blocks that maintain their own separate contexts. Examples of blocks include SpeedScript procedure files, data-reading or iterative blocks (such as FOR EACH blocks), internal procedures, and user-defined functions.
browser-based tool
  A development-support tool that uses a platform-independent Web browser to access a server-centric development environment.

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# C

CGI
  Common Gateway Interface
CGI environment variables
  Standard values, maintained by the HTTP server (part of the Web server), in a named area of shared memory. CGI environment variables are accessible to other processes running on the Web Server, such as the WebSpeed Messenger, and are often used to pass parameters between the Web Server and other applications. The CGI specification defines standard CGI environment variables. In addition, Web servers often maintain their own particular environment variables.
client
  Any application or computer that accesses services on another computer over a computer network.

code section
  A section of code in a Web object or HTML file that is separately editable in the AppBuilder Section Editor. Code sections in all SpeedScript Web objects include the Definitions, Main Code Block, output-header, process-web-request sections, and a separate section for each additional event and method procedure or user-defined function defined internally to the Web object. For HTML files, including embedded SpeedScript Web objects, there is only one code section (Contents).
control handler
  A special class of procedures that execute in response to pseudo events in HTML-mapping Web objects, and that you can customize. These pseudo events include web.input and web.output. You can insert a control handler in your code using the New Section feature in the AppBuilder Section Editor.
current buffer
  A form buffer or record buffer that is in the scope of the current SpeedScript block.
custom lists
  WebSpeed provides six preprocessor references to store the names of different widgets. In your code you can reference the list of widgets indirectly by using the preprocessor reference.
custom tag
  A specially formatted HTML comment tag that you insert in an HTML file and register in the WebSpeed tagmap.dat file so that an HTML-mapping Web object can map input or output to it according to your specification. WebSpeed provides two default custom tags, <--WSMSG --> and <--WSTAG --> designed for generating messages and alternate HTML visualizations in a Web page.

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# D

data source
  A name that identifies a specific set of data and how to obtain it. The data source for a Web objects can be a database or a SmartDataObject.
database field
  The smallest unit of useful information in a database.
  A component of a database record that holds a data value of a single data type. Also called a column.
DataServer
  An OpenEdge software product that allows you to use SpeedScript to access other data sources, such as MS Access, DB2, DB2/400, ORACLE, Informix, MS SQL Server, and SYBASE.
detail frame
  A frame in the WebSpeed WebTools page that provides an index of links to the various WebTools.

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# E

E4GL
  An internal term for embedded SpeedScript
embedded SpeedScript
  SpeedScript code that is embedded in an HTML file within statement escape tags (such as <script> ... </script>) or within expression escape tags (such as backquote (`)).
embedded SpeedScript Web object
  A Web object created from an embedded SpeedScript file that generates a Web page from SpeedScript output sent directly to the Web stream. It handles the input from Web requests by directly accessing CGI input.
event procedure
  A default internal procedure of the web-utilities-hdl or your Web object that you can override in your Web object with a "local" version. The name of the default version always begins with "adm-", while the same name of the "local" version always begins with "local-".
external table
  A source of database information external to the current Web object.
extranet
  A system of connected Web sites.

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# F

file type
  A category used to distinguish certain groups of files, and that the AppBuilder uses to determine how you can access any file in a group. The file type is indicated by the file name extension. The following is a list of common file types, showing the matching file extension and description:

  4GL | .p | SpeedScript procedure file
  Web Object | .w | Web object file
  HTML (Mapped) | .html, .htm | Standard HTML file containing HTML tags or an HTML-mapping Web object. The .html and .htm file extensions could indicate either file type.
  Off | .off | HTML offset file generated by TagExtract
  Embedded SpeedScript | .i | Embedded SpeedScript or include file
  r-code | .r | SpeedScript r-code file

form
  An interface for capturing information from a user, using text entry fields, option buttons, selection lists, and graphics, etc.
form buffer
  An internal Web object buffer used as temporary data storage for field objects that is intermediate between Web input, Web output, and database record buffers. The data for each field object is stored in a widget that provides formatting and data verification capabilities. The current value of each widget is accessible through the SCREEN-VALUE widget attribute. All widgets in the form buffer are organized into one or more SpeedScript frames.
frame
  1) A SpeedScript container object (widget) used to contain the mapped field objects in an HTML-mapping Web object. Also a SpeedScript container object used to format Web output generated with the SpeedScript DISPLAY statement in all Web objects. A default frame is defined for each Web object that you create in the AppBuilder. See also form buffer.
  2) An HTML container that displays as a separate scrollable window within a defined frame set.
frame set
  A set of HTML frames displayed within a single Web browser window. Each frame in the frame set contains a separate HTML file that can be updated or navigated independently of the HTML files contained in the other frames.
function
  A block of code that you invoke by name and that returns a single value of a specified data type. Functions can also accept parameters, like procedures.

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# G

  (empty)

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# H

home page
  The World Wide Web site provided by an individual or corporation that presents what is available at or through the site and is considered the primary gateway to that site.
HTML
  HyperText Markup Language
  A standard text markup language that uses embedded HTML tags to format a file. HTML tags allow you to:

  - Provide Hypertext links to other documents

  - Display graphic images within a document

  - Specify typographical effects such as headlines, variable text size, and italics

HTML file
  A text file formatted with HTML tags.

HTML format attributes
  A set of attributes on the WEB-CONTEXT system handle that specify default HTML tags to format different parts of a SpeedScript frame. You can change these attributes for each Web request. Generally, you change them in pairs that specify a start and an end tag.
HTML-mapping Web object
  A Web object that generates a Web page by reading a static HTML file and writing the file to the Web after updating form fields and custom tags in the file with data values from corresponding (mapped) field objects. It handles the input from Web requests by accessing the same field objects as input, as well as by accessing the CGI input directly.
HTML tag
  A standard mark-up code in an HTML file that specifies how the Web browser should interpret the file contents. The tag starts with the less than character (<) and ends with the greater than character (>)
HTML tag parser
  A program or utility that parses (reads or analyzes) HTML files, locating and extracting information from HTML tags within the file. A Web browser acts as an HTML tag parser, using the information in the HTML tags within each file to determine how to display and format text and images on the screen.
HTTP
  HyperText Transfer Protocol.
hyperlink
  A navigational link to another document, resource, subject, or site embedded in a graphical or hypertext element.
hypertext
  Any text in an on-line document that provides a hyperlink to another document, resource, subject, or site.

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# I

include file
  A separate file that contains SpeedScript code that you can insert into a procedure at compile time by placing the file's name in braces within the procedure file. For example: {myincl.i}. Include files typically have the extension ".i" in their filenames. See also procedure file.
internal procedure
  A code block that you write and compile as part of a larger containing procedure. The block for an internal procedure is defined by the PROCEDURE statement within the containing procedure file.
I nternet
  An international network of interconnected computers structured to permit organizations and individuals to exchange messages and share information.
Internet Transaction Processing (ITP)
  An open framework for developing and deploying Web-based transaction processing applications.
Intranet
  A network of interconnected computers, structured to permit individuals within an organization to exchange messages and share information behind the company's firewall on a LAN or WAN. Traffic is not broadcast across the global Internet.

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# J

JAVA
  A popular programming language created by Sun Microsystems. JAVA programs called applets are stored on a Web server, then downloaded and executed by a client. JAVA applications can take advantage of resources on the client computer to create user interface components beyond the scope of HTML and to allow client-side processing of some user interaction.
JavaScript
  A scripting language created by Netscape Communications that can be embedded into an HTML file.
join
  A query operation that requests information from two database tables at a time. The output is a results list where each row contains a record from each joined table. A join can only occur when the two queried tables have a common field. See also, natural join.

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# K

  (empty)

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# L

link
  See hyperlink.

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# M

method procedure
  An internal procedure of the web-utilities-hdl or any other SpeedScript procedure or Web object that you can access from your Web object. Also, any internal procedure in your Web object that is provided for access by the Agent control program, especially process-web-request.

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# N

natural join
  A join that occurs when two queried tables have a common field with the same field name. For example, a natural join occurs between the Cust-Num fields of the Customer and Order tables because both tables contain the Cust-Num field.

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# O

offset file
  A file generated by TagExtract that maintains the location and type of each form field and custom tag in an HTML file. This file has the same name as the HTML file with a .off extension.

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# P

page component
  A SpeedScript element, such as a dynamically generated table, that can be inserted into another Web object. A page component does not generate its own HTTP header.
parent browser
  The Web browser containing the hyperlink from which the current Web browser was launched.
persistent object
  A Web object that resides in the memory of a locked WebSpeed agent (as a persistent procedure), available to service requests from a specific Web client (browser). See also persistent procedure, state-persistent application.
persistent procedure
  An external SpeedScript procedure that you execute with the PERSISTENT option of the RUN statement. After it returns, all data definitions, internal procedures, and user-defined functions contained in the persistent procedure remain available to other SpeedScript procedures and Web objects invoked for the current WebSpeed transaction until the persistent procedure is explicitly deleted.
preprocessor
  A program that converts user-defined language elements, including names and expressions, to the language elements recognized by the compiler. In WebSpeed, there are two preprocessors, the SpeedScript preprocessor and the embedded SpeedScript preprocessor. The embedded SpeedScript preprocessor converts HTML files (with or without embedded SpeedScript) to SpeedScript procedure files. The SpeedScript preprocessor converts SpeedScript preprocessor names and expressions in SpeedScript procedure files to pure SpeedScript at compilation.
primary record
  The database record that is in the record buffer and available to your application.
procedure
  Any block of SpeedScript code that can be invoked by name from another SpeedScript procedure using the RUN statement, possibly with run-time parameters.
procedure call
  Invocation of a procedure with the RUN statement.
procedure file
  A source file that contains SpeedScript code that can be compiled into WebSpeed executable r-code.
procedure type
  SpeedScript supports two basic types of procedure, external and internal. An external procedure is any independently compilable and executable SpeedScript file. An internal procedure is a SpeedScript block defined within a SpeedScript file using the PROCEDURE statement. External procedures can also be persistent or non-persistent.
ProPath
  A WebSpeed environment variable that conTranstains the list of directories a WebSpeed agent will search to locate the WebSpeed file it has been requested to run.

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# Q

query
  A request for data from a database.

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# R

r-code file
  An executable file that WebSpeed creates when compiling or running a SpeedScript procedure. R-code files have the extension".r".

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# S

schema
  A description of a database's structure: the tables it contains, the fields within the tables, the indices, and field attributes.

schema holder
  Contains information about the data definitions for one or more data sources.

scripting language
  An interpretive language that supports Web page generation and that generally requires no pre-compilation. Scripting languages are typically limited in scope and provide fewer logic and I/O management features than full programming languages, like SpeedScript.
server
  1) A process that services requests made by other processes.
  2) A process that accesses a database in response to client requests.
server-centric
  Primarily residing and executing on the server.
session
  Generally, the duration of interaction between a Web client (browser) and a WebSpeed Transaction Server. Outside of a state-persistent WebSpeed transaction, each client request can be serviced by a different agent. Inside of a WebSpeed transaction, all client requests are serviced by the same Agent. Thus, the duration of a session is really application dependent, but is no shorter than the duration of any WebSpeed transaction that occurs during the session.
SmartDataObject
  A nonvisual SMARTOBJECT written in SpeedScript that allows you to define and manage business logic and data verification. The SmartDataObject has at its back end a database query and at its front end an open interface to visual objects.
source code
  The original version of a procedure file containing SpeedScript code before it is compiled. Source code files usually have the extension .w or .p.
SpeedScript
  WebSpeed's native programming language. SpeedScript is an interpreted, block-structured, and statement-oriented 4GL programming language that provides native access to the OpenEdge RDBMS and DataServers, as well as to Web servers for Web page input and output.
SpeedScript function
  A function implemented in the WebSpeed core and provided as part of the SpeedScript language.
SpeedScript-generating Web object
  A Web object that generates a Web page from SpeedScript output sent directly to the Web stream. It handles the input from Web requests by directly accessing CGI input.
SQL
  Structured Query Language.
  A database language that consists of a set of facilities for defining, manipulating, and controlling data in a relational database. Also called Standard SQL.
state-aware Web object
  A Web object that locks an Agent in a state-persistent WebSpeed transaction for a specified time-out period. During this time the Web object runs as a persistent object. When the time-out period ends, the Web object has the option of continuing the WebSpeed transaction for an additional time-out period or terminating. When a state-aware Web object terminates, it is deleted from the Agent's context.
stateless application
  A WebSpeed application composed entirely of stateless Web objects and that passes no information between Web requests. See also state-passing application and state-persistent application.
stateless Web object
  A Web object that executes on a Transaction Agent to service a Web request, then terminates leaving the Agent available to service Web requests from the next connected Web client. If the Agent is unlocked when the stateless Web object executes, the Agent remains unlocked after the Web object terminates. If the Agent is already locked when the stateless Web object executes, the Agent remains locked after the Web object terminates (unless the WebSpeed transaction has timed out).
state-passing application
  A WebSpeed application composed entirely of stateless Web objects that passes information between Web requests using URL query strings, cookies, or hidden fields. See also, stateless application and state-persistent application.
state-persistent application
  An application that uses one or more WebSpeed transactions. See also, stateless application and state-passing application.

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# T

tag
  See HTML tag
TagExtract
  A component of the WebSpeed product that supports HTML-mapping Web objects. It is a generic HTML tag parser that parses HTML documents and identifies data-mappable tags. TagExtract is implemented as a DLL that is invoked at design-time and at run-time to determine data-mappable fields, offsets, field objects, and related utility procedures. An initialization file is used to specify what HTML tags the parser will consider data mappable, what field object types to map them to, and what utility procedures to use.
TCP/IP
  Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
  A suite of standard networking protocols that define how computers and applications exchange data over the Internet.
trigger
  A piece of code that WebSpeed executes on behalf of an application when a certain database action occurs or a certain user-interface event occurs.

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# U

URL
  Uniform Resource Locator.
  The address of a resource or site on the World Wide Web. The URL contains information about the method of access, the server to be accessed, and the path of any file to be accessed. The path for any WebSpeed Web object references the WebSpeed Transaction Messenger, either directly or indirectly, prior to a reference to the Web object.
user-defined function
  A function that you can define in SpeedScript using a block that begins with a FUNCTION statement and ends with an END statement.

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# V

VB Script
  A Web page scripting language based on Visual Basic.

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# W

web-utilities-hdl
  A procedure handle defined for all Web objects that references event procedures, method procedures, and API functions of the Web utility object, web-util.p.
Web browser
  The software that allows you to access information from a server and navigate information databases. Popular Web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
Web-centric
  Focusing on World Wide Web technology.

Web context ID
  See WSEU cookie.
Web object
  An external SpeedScript procedure that can be invoked by a URL or executed by another SpeedScript procedure and that generates and services Web pages. All Web objects are compiled with the WebSpeed include file, cgidefs.i, and are of three types, embedded SpeedScript, SpeedScript-generating, and HTML-mapping.
Web page
  An HTML document that is accessible on the Web.
W eb server
  Software resident on a machine on the Web to which a Web browser connects. The Web browser requests a file, which the Web server locates and sends to the Web browser.
Web Tools
  A collection of small applications and utilities that reside on the WebSpeed Agent and allow you to access the Agent. They are browser-based and provide a window into the operation of the WebSpeed agent.
WebSpeed
  Progress Software Corporation's development and deployment environment that provides the tools required to create high-performance, scaleable, complete Internet Transaction Processing solutions.
WebSpeed Agent
  The WebSpeed application process that executes Web objects, performs database transactions, and dynamically merges data into HTML format. A WebSpeed agent can be in only one of the following states at any one time:
  - AVAILABLE
    The WebSpeed agent is available to receive a Web request.
  - BUSY
    The WebSpeed agent is busy processing a Web request.
  - LIMBO (UNIX only)
    The WebSpeed agent is in limbo because the agent ID has been sent out as available for use.
  - LOCKED
    The WebSpeed agent is unavailable because it is currently locked to a particular Web browser.
  - STARTING
    The Broker has launched the Agent, but the Agent has not yet initialized.
  - NOT STARTED (NT only)
    The Agent is allocated to the pool, but the Broker has not started it.
WebSpeed Messenger
  The WebSpeed application process that handles the transfer of data between the Web server and the WebSpeed agent during a single Web transaction.
WebSpeed SESSION Attributes
  Attributes of the SpeedScript SESSION system handle. The SESSION handle attributes allow you to access a range of settings, some of which you can change at run time, that specify how a particular Agent runs.
WebSpeed transaction
  A managed connection between a single Agent and a single Web client (browser) that is started when a Web object makes itself state-aware and locks the Agent to the Web client. This connection is also state-persistent. The context of the Agent remains active and available to the connected Web client between Web requests. Thus, a WebSpeed transaction is often called a state-persistent WebSpeed transaction. A WebSpeed transaction ends when all state-aware Web objects running on the locked Agent terminate, unlocking the Agent and making the Agent available to service requests any Web client. See also, state-aware Web object.
WebSpeed Variables
  A set of variables and attributes that show the transaction state, URL components, and Web context ID of the most recent Web request.
WebSpeed WEB-CONTEXT Attributes
  Attributes of the SpeedScript WEB-CONTEXT system handle, showing the WSEU cookie and HTML format attributes for the most recent Web request.
WebSpeed Workshop
  A browser-based development tool used to create logic-based Web objects (application components) that handle input from and output to Web pages.
WebStream
  A named stream opened with output to the Web. All HTML output from Web objects and utility procedures should be put on this stream.
wildcards
  Special characters, such as asterisk (*) question mark (?), and period (.) used to search for files. In the Workshop Files view, the File Filter uses wild cards to select the files that are listed.
  To use wildcards, type the criteria in the File Filter text box. Use the "?" character to represent any single character. Use the " * "character to represent any number of any characters. Use the "." to specify a file extension. For example, to list all SpeedScript procedures (.w files), type *.w.
working directory
  The directory from which you started the WebSpeed Agent and Broker.

World Wide Web
  The fastest growing portion of the Internet, the Web uses the HTTP protocol to provide access to a vast array of hyperlinked resources, powerful search capabilities, and multimedia features, including graphics, sound, and video.
WSEU cookie
  The value of the EXCLUSIVE-ID attribute of the WEB-CONTEXT system handle. This is a name/value pair uniquely generated by the WebSpeed agent for each WebSpeed transaction. It contains the name "WSEU" set equal to a string concatenated from the host name and several integer values that uniquely identify the transaction.

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# X

  (empty)

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# Y

  (empty)

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# Z

  (empty)

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# #

3GL Programming Language
  A general-use programming language such as COBOL, FORTRAN, or BASIC that allows the programmer to control a computer at a low level while using English-like syntax that makes the program code understandable.
4GL Programming Language
  An application development language that makes programming much easier because it allows the programmer to use statements that perform the work of multiple 3GL statements and provide intuitive default behavior while using readable English-like syntax.

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