Glossary

ACID

An acronym coined for the atomic, consistent, isolated, and durable properties of a transaction.

activation type

An activation category for a serviced component application that indicates whether the application runs in or out of its client's process space (a library or a server application).

ad hoc query

A set of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements that are executed immediately.

application domain

Application domains provide a secure and versatile unit of processing that the common language runtime (CLR) can use to provide isolation between applications.

asynchronous call

A call to a method that does not block the calling code while waiting for results.

authentication

The process of determining a user's identity from the supplied credentials.

authorization

The process of determining what types of access rights are available to an authenticated user or a process.

binding policy

The rules that specify how the CLR locates and binds to the assemblies that make up an application. The CLR's default binding policy can be configured using the configuration files.

channel

A channel is an object that transports messages between client and server applications across the process boundary.

code access security

Security based on permission requests made by running code.

code group

A group of modules that share a common security policy.

COM+ application

A primary unit of administration and security for COM+ Component Services. Generally, a COM+ application is a group of components that perform related functions. These components further consist of interfaces and methods.

COM+ catalog

A COM+ repository that maintains the configuration information for the components.

COM interface

A collection of related public methods that provide access to a COM object. The set of interfaces on a COM object composes a contract that specifies how programs and other objects can interact with the COM object.

context

A set of runtime properties that define the environment associated with a COM+ object.

DataSet

An in-memory relational store that abstracts away many of the differences between database implementations .

DataSet schema

Describes the types and structure of the data that the DataSet contains; it is the metadata for the DataSet.

debugging

The process of locating logical or runtime errors in an application. Debugging involves finding the causes of the errors and fixing them.

declarative security

Security that is based on attributes that declare the desired permissions.

delay signing

A technique that enables you to place a shared assembly in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) by simply signing the assembly with the public key. This allows the assembly to be signed with the private key at a later stage, when the development process is complete and the component or assembly is ready for deployment. This process enables developers to work with shared assemblies as if they were strongly named, yet also secure the private key from being accessed at different stages of development.

deployment

The process by which an application or component is distributed in the form of installation package files for installation on other computers.

deserialization

The process of converting an XML message to one or more objects.

DiffGram

An XML message that contains information for updating the information in a DataSet object or a SQL Server database.

Disco

A Microsoft standard for Web Services Discovery. Also known as Discovery of Web Services.

DOM (Document Object Model)

A W3C standard for representing an XML document's content as a set of nodes arranged in a hierarchy.

DTC ( Distributed Transaction Coordinator)

A Windows service that manages transactions and transaction-related communications that are distributed across two or more resource managers on one or more systems, to ensure ACID properties.

DTD (Document Type Definition)

A standard for describing the information that can be contained in an HTML or XML document. DTD has been superceded for most purposes by XML Schema.

GAC (Global Assembly Cache)

A machinewide code cache that stores shared assemblies.

Identity column

A column whose value is automatically assigned by the server when a new row is entered.

imperative security

Security based on instantiated classes.

impersonation

The process of specifying the credentials that a process should present in place of the authenticated user's credentials.

just-in-time ( JIT ) activation

The capability of a COM+ object to be activated only as needed for executing its client's requests. Objects can be deactivated even while clients hold references to them, thereby allowing otherwise idle server resources to be used more productively.

key

A unique identifier for a piece of information.

managed code

Code that is written in one of the .NET languages and is executed by the CLR.

marshaling

Packaging and sending interface method calls across thread or process boundaries via serialization and deserialization.

merge module

A type of project that enables you to create reuseable setup components that help in deploying shared components. Merge modules cannot be installed directly; instead, they must be merged with installers of applications that use the shared component packaged as a merge module.

metadata

Data about data. For example, a DataSet schema contains the metadata for a DataSet object.

native compilation

The process of precompiling assemblies in processor-specific machine code. Native compilation can be done with the help of the Native Image Generator tool (ngen.exe).

native image cache

A cache that contains precompiled assemblies.

nested relationship

A relationship in an XML file in which one element contains another element; for example, <pets><dog name ="unix"/></pets>.

object pooling

A performance optimization that is based on using collections of already created objects. Pooling results in more efficient resource allocation.

ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)

A specification for an Application Programming Interface (API) that defines a standard set of routines for accessing any compatible data source.

OLE DB

A set of COM interfaces that provides applications with uniform access to data stored in diverse information sources, regardless of their location or type.

one-to-many relationship

A relationship in an XML file that ties together two separate elements.

OSQL

A SQL Server command-line tool for executing queries.

parameter

A piece of information passed between the stored procedure and the application that calls the stored procedures.

permission

In .NET, a permission controls access to a resource.

permission set

A set of one or more permissions that can be granted or denied as a unit.

Platform Invoke

The feature of the .NET Framework that enables you to call the Windows API and other Dynamic Link Library (DLL) procedures from managed code.

private assembly

An assembly that is deployed for use by only a single application. A private assembly is stored in the same directory structure as the application that uses it.

proxy

An interface-specific object that packages parameters for that interface in preparation for a remote method call. A proxy runs in the sender's address space and communicates with a corresponding stub in the receiver's address space.

publisher policy

A set of rules that enables vendors to redirect assembly references from one version to another. The publisher policy is used to deploy service packs , such as assembly updates. The publisher policy is stored inside an XML configuration file, which is compiled into an assembly and placed in the GAC.

queued components

A COM+ service that provides an easy way to invoke and execute components asynchronously. Message processing can occur without regard to the availability of either the sender or the receiver.

RCW (runtime callable wrapper)

A proxy that enables .NET code to make use of COM classes and members .

remoting

The .NET remoting system is an architecture designed to simplify communication between objects living in different application domains, whether or not they are on the same computer.

role-based security

Security based on the current user's identity.

runtime host

The environment in which CLR is started and managed. When you install the .NET Framework, you get three runtime hosts that are already configured: the Windows shell, ASP.NET, and Internet Explorer. The Runtime hosts create application domains, which run the managed code on the user's behalf .

SCM (Service Control Manager)

A part of the Windows operating system that manages Windows services. SCM also manages the Windows service database (which is stored in the Windows Registry) and provides a mechanism through which other programs can interact with the Windows service database and the Windows service in execution.

serialization

The process of converting objects to their XML representations.

shared assembly

An assembly that can be referenced by more than one application. A shared assembly must have an associated strong name and must be placed in the GAC.

side-by-side execution

The capability to run multiple versions of the same assembly simultaneously .

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)

A simple XML-based protocol for exchanging structured information between programs over a network.

SOAP Extension

A class that is invoked during the serialization or deserialization of SOAP messages.

SOAP Request

A SOAP message sent from client to server to invoke a Web method.

SOAP Response

A SOAP message sent from server to client with the results of a Web method.

SQL-92

The official American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification for the Structured Query Language.

SQL Query Analyzer

A SQL Server graphical tool for executing queries.

stored procedure

A set of SQL statements stored on the server for later execution.

strong name

A name that identifies an assembly by its simple text name, its version number, its culture information (if provided), and a public key token.

strongly typed DataSet

A DataSet based on an XML Schema file, which enables table and column names to be used with an early-bound syntax.

synchronous call

A method call that does not allow the execution of further instructions in the calling process until the method returns.

testing

The process of executing programs and determining whether they worked as expected. Testing is the process of revealing errors by executing programs with various test cases and test data.

tracing

The process of displaying informative messages in an application at the time of execution. Tracing messages can be helpful for checking a program's health or finding errors even though the program is already in production.

Transact -SQL

Also called T-SQL, the SQL-92 dialect used in Microsoft SQL Server.

transaction

A unit of work that is performed as an atomic operation[md]that is, the operation succeeds or fails as a whole.

UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration)

A standard for discovering details of Web services and other business services available via the Internet.

unmanaged code

Code written in a non-.NET environment that does not benefit from the services of the CLR.

valid XML document

An XML document is valid if it conforms to the schema in a Document Type Definition (DTD) or XML Schema Definition (XSD) file.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)

The standards body that maintains the standards for HTML and XML.

Web method

A method of a Web service that client applications can invoke.

Web reference

Information in a Visual Studio .NET project that enables you to use objects that are supplied by a Web service. A Web reference is essentially a Web service proxy.

See also [Web service proxy]