1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

action: The smallest unit of work in a workflow system. An action can contain one or more tasks that define work that actors need to do. Actions are deployed and registered in the workflow system to be activated by protocol client users.

ActionParameter: A type of MetadataObject that defines how to parameterize the URL of an Action with specific data about an EntityInstance. ActionParameters are contained by Actions.

certificate: A certificate is a collection of attributes and extensions that can be stored persistently. The set of attributes in a certificate can vary depending on the intended usage of the certificate. A certificate securely binds a public key to the entity that holds the corresponding private key. A certificate is commonly used for authentication and secure exchange of information on open networks, such as the Internet, extranets, and intranets. Certificates are digitally signed by the issuing certification authority (CA) and can be issued for a user, a computer, or a service. The most widely accepted format for certificates is defined by the ITU-T X.509 version 3 international standards. For more information about attributes and extensions, see [RFC3280] and [X509] sections 7 and 8.

creator: The user who creates protected content.

curly braced GUID string: The string representation of a 128-bit globally unique identifier (GUID) using the form {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}, where X denotes a hexadecimal digit. The string representation between the enclosing braces is the standard representation of a GUID as described in [RFC4122] section 3. Unlike a GUIDString, a curly braced GUID string includes enclosing braces.

deployment package: A collection of files that can be used to deploy and manage customizations, such as add-ins, to a computer. It consists of an application manifest, a deployment manifest, and related package files.

external content type: A type of DataClass object that is stored in a line-of-business (LOB) system and whose instances have a persistent EntityInstanceId. Also referred to as Entity.

external list: A container that is within a SharePoint site and that references a set of EntityInstances that are sourced from a line-of-business (LOB) system. It has a customizable schema that is composed of one or more Fields.

farm: A group of computers that work together as a single system to help ensure that applications and resources are available. Also referred to as server farm.

file: A single, discrete unit of content.

folder: A file system construct. File systems organize a volume's data by providing a hierarchy of objects, which are referred to as folders or directories, that contain files and can also contain other folders.

form: A document with a set of controls into which users can enter information. Controls on a form can be bound to elements in the data source of the form, such as fields and groups. See also bind.

form template: A file or set of files that defines the data structure, appearance, and behavior of a form.

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

GUIDString: A GUID in the form of an ASCII or Unicode string, consisting of one group of 8 hexadecimal digits, followed by three groups of 4 hexadecimal digits each, followed by one group of 12 hexadecimal digits. It is the standard representation of a GUID, as described in [RFC4122] section 3. For example, "6B29FC40-CA47-1067-B31D-00DD010662DA". Unlike a curly braced GUID string, a GUIDString is not enclosed in braces.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): An application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS): An extension of HTTP that securely encrypts and decrypts web page requests. In some older protocols, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer" is still used (Secure Sockets Layer has been deprecated). For more information, see [SSL3] and [RFC5246].

identifier: A string value that is used to uniquely identify a component of the CSDL and that is of type SimpleIdentifier.

LobSystem: A type of MetadataObject that represents a specific version of a line-of business (LOB) system. An LOB system can be a database or a web service.

MetadataObject: An abstract data structure that consists of a set of attributes that represent a LobSystem, LobSystemInstance, DataClass, Entity, Method, MethodInstance, Parameter, TypeDescriptor, Identifier, FilterDescriptor, Action, ActionParameter, or Association.

profile page: An ASP.NET webpage that includes Web Part controls that display data from a line-of-business (LOB) system. By default, it contains a single Web Part that displays the details of a single, primary EntityInstance. If the primary Entity has associated Entities and is the source of an Association, the profile page also contains a related Web Part for each associated Entity, and each related Web Part displays EntityInstances that are associated with the primary EntityInstance.

site: A group of related pages and data within a SharePoint site collection. The structure and content of a site is based on a site definition. Also referred to as SharePoint site and web site.

SOAP: A lightweight protocol for exchanging structured information in a decentralized, distributed environment. SOAP uses XML technologies to define an extensible messaging framework, which provides a message construct that can be exchanged over a variety of underlying protocols. The framework has been designed to be independent of any particular programming model and other implementation-specific semantics. SOAP 1.2 supersedes SOAP 1.1. See [SOAP1.2-1/2003].

SOAP action: The HTTP request header field used to indicate the intent of the SOAP request, using a URI value. See [SOAP1.1] section 6.1.1 for more information.

SOAP body: A container for the payload data being delivered by a SOAP message to its recipient. See [SOAP1.2-1/2007] section 5.3 for more information.

SOAP fault: A container for error and status information within a SOAP message. See [SOAP1.2-1/2007] section 5.4 for more information.

solution package: A compressed file that can be deployed to a server farm or a site. It can contain assemblies, resource files, site and feature definitions, templates, code access security policies, and Web Parts. Solution packages have a .wsp file name extension.

Updater: A type of MethodInstance that can be called to update an EntityInstance identified by a specified EntityInstanceId. The set of Fields that is required to update the EntityInstance is referred to as the Updater View.

view: See form view (Microsoft InfoPath), list view (SharePoint Products and Technologies), or View (Microsoft Business Connectivity Services).

Web Part Page: An ASP.NET webpage that includes Web Part controls that enable users to customize the page, such as specifying which information to display. Referred to as Web Parts Page in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010.

web service: A unit of application logic that provides data and services to other applications and can be called by using standard Internet transport protocols such as HTTP, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), or File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Web services can perform functions that range from simple requests to complicated business processes.

Web Services Description Language (WSDL): An XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints that operate on messages that contain either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information. The operations and messages are described abstractly and are bound to a concrete network protocol and message format in order to define an endpoint. Related concrete endpoints are combined into abstract endpoints, which describe a network service. WSDL is extensible, which allows the description of endpoints and their messages regardless of the message formats or network protocols that are used.

WSDL message: An abstract, typed definition of the data that is communicated during a WSDL operation [WSDL]. Also, an element that describes the data being exchanged between web service providers and clients.

WSDL operation: A single action or function of a web service. The execution of a WSDL operation typically requires the exchange of messages between the service requestor and the service provider.

XML namespace: A collection of names that is used to identify elements, types, and attributes in XML documents identified in a URI reference [RFC3986]. A combination of XML namespace and local name allows XML documents to use elements, types, and attributes that have the same names but come from different sources. For more information, see [XMLNS-2ED].

XML namespace prefix: An abbreviated form of an XML namespace, as described in [XML].

XML schema: A description of a type of XML document that is typically expressed in terms of constraints on the structure and content of documents of that type, in addition to the basic syntax constraints that are imposed by XML itself. An XML schema provides a view of a document type at a relatively high level of abstraction.

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.