> # Glossary

> #### API

> Application Programmer Interface. An API is a published set of function calls and constants allowing different programmers to utilise a ready-written library of subroutines.

> #### Application

> An Application Program ("Application" or "App") is a program that applies the computer to solving some real-world problem. In ODBC terms, it is the program connecting to the datasource.

> #### Bitmask

> A value which, when written out in binary, has a meaning assigned to each digit, which can be 0 or 1. This is a very efficient way of storing a number of flags in a small amount of memory.
> When viewed in decimal it is a single number resulting from adding up the values of the individual bits. The bits are worth 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on.

> #### Client-Server

> The name given to the architecture whereby one process (the server) keeps track of global data, and another task (the client) is responsible for formatting and presenting the data. The client requests queries or actions be performed on the data by the server. Often these processes run on different hosts across a local-area network.

> #### Column

> The vertical dimension of a table. Columns are named and have a domain (or type). The term column might refer to only the definition of a column (i.e. its name and type), or to all the data in it.

> #### Connection String

> ODBC driver managers accept a connection string when a client connects. Ideally it contains all necessary attribute values to make the connection to a datasource, but provision is made for the driver to negotiate with the application or the user for any missing information.

> #### Datasource

> In the context of ODBC, a datasource is a database or other data repository coupled with an ODBC driver.

> #### DLL

> Dynamic Link Library. Windows' mechanism for shared object code. See also Shared Objects.

> #### to Download

> To retrieve data from a remote machine (or "the internet") to your local machine. Mechanisms for achieving this include FTP and the World Wide Web.

> #### Driver

> See ODBC driver.

> #### Driver Manager

> Software whose main function is to load ODBC drivers. ODBC applications connect to the Driver Manager and requests a DSN. The Driver Manager loads the driver specified in the DSN's configuration file. In Windows, the ODBC Data Source Administrator is used to set up the Driver Manager.

> #### DSN

> Data Source Name. This is quite simply a name associated with an ODBC data source. Driver Managers, such as unixODBC or the one that ships with Microsoft Windows, use the Data Source Name to cross-reference configuration information and load the required driver.

> #### Field

> A placeholder for a single datum in a record, for example you can have a Surname field in a Contact Details record. Called a cell in MS Access.

> #### Flags

> Single-bit values, representing `Yes' or `No'. When more than one flag is present, they are normally stored in a bitmask.

> #### Host

> A computer visible on the network.

> #### HTTP

> HyperText Transfer Protocol. The means of transferring web pages.

> #### HTTPAdmin

> An NT user name, valid on the machine the server is running on. This is the only user allowed to amend settings, or display certain items, through the HTTP Interface.

> #### HTTP Interface

> The OOB server under Windows runs a lightweight webserver which can be used to display and amend certain server statistics and parameters.

> #### Middleware

> Software that is placed between the client and the server to improve or expand functionality.

> #### ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity)

> A standard API for connecting application programs to relational database systems through a suitable driver. ODBC is now becoming available on a wide number of platforms, and Easysoft's ODBC-ODBC bridge allows the database and the application to reside on different machines across the network.

> #### ODBC driver

> Software that accesses a proprietary data source, providing a standardised view of the data to ODBC.

> #### Operating System

> Academics still haven't agreed on the actual definition of an operating system, but a working definition can be:
> A collection of software programs, APIs and working practices that control and integrate the execution of system functions on behalf of application programs.

> #### Platform

> The term platform normally covers the hardware and operating system as a unit. For example; a PC running Microsoft Windows, a PC running BSD Unix, and a Sun running Solaris are three different platforms.

> #### Server

> A computer, or host, on the network, designed for power and robustness rather than user-friendliness and convenience. Servers typically run round-the-clock and carry central corporate data.
> – OR –
> A process performing the centralised component of some task, for example extracting information from a corporate database. See client-server.

> #### Shared Object

> A piece of object code (i.e. a program fragment) for loading and executing by other programs.

> #### SQL (Structured Query Language)

> A standard language for interacting with relational database systems, based on Relational Theory.

> #### System Datasource

> In the context of ODBC under Microsoft Windows, a data source which can be accessed by any user on a given system. See also user data source.

> #### Table

> A data set in a relational database, composed of rows and columns. For example:

> software
> vendor | name
> `Easysoft` | `Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge`
> `MeSoft` | `My ODBC Client Application`

> This table has two columns; `vendor`, and `name`. It has two rows: one corresponding to Easysoft ODBC-DOBC Bridge, and the other corresponding to MeSoft's ODBC client software. The term table can also apply to just the definition of the table, without its data.

> #### User Data Source

> An ODBC Data Source with access limited to a specific user on a given system. Compare System Data Source.

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