Select a letter and/or scroll to the item you want. Use Ctrl+Home
to return here.
The section headed "!" contains entries beginning with digits,
punctuation marks, and other special characters. However, file-name
extensions, although shown with their preceding periods (for example,
.int), appear under their initial letters.
- Callable File Handler
- The Callable File Handler is a module in the COBOL system that
processes index, sequential and relative files. As a defined API is
available to this module, it is called the Callable File Handler as it
can be called directly from any program (not only those written in
COBOL).
- CallBack
- An object of class CallBack stores a reference to an object and the
name of a method implemented by that object. When the CallBack object is
sent the "invoke" message, it executes the named method in the
object it has stored.
- call prototype
- A definition of the syntax of a CALL statement using placeholders
instead of real parameters. Call prototypes are used in header and
copyfiles to enable the Compiler to check that CALL statements in your
code conform to the specified syntax, and to raise an error message if
they do not.
- cascading style-sheet
- An addition the HTML standard which enables presentation information
to be separated from structure in an HTML document. Styles can be
attached to HTML elements, through a STYLE attribute on an individual
element, a <STYLE>...</STYLE> block which names element
types in the head of an HTML document, or through separate .css
files. Styles can also be defined as classes in a .css file or <STYLE>...</STYLE>
block, and attached to elements through the CLASS attribute.
Stylesheets cascade through a system of precedence, whereby styles
in .css files have the lowest precedence, and those declared
in a STYLE attribute have the highest.
- Cbllink
- A simplified linking utility with a command-line interface. You can
use Cbllink to compile and link in one step.
- Cblnames
- A linking utility that you must run before you use the
Linker. Cblnames extracts all public symbols from
a list of .obj files passed to it and
creates another file (cbllds.obj) which must then be linked with
your .obj files.
- CCITCP2
- The CCITCP2 process is a registration program which is needed in
order to make CCITCP connections. The process runs in background mode.
Only a single CCITCP2 process needs to be active on a network in order
for CCITCP to work.
- character graphics
- When creating a topic in an
on-line help file, pictures can be
created from the standard characters available. These are called
character graphics. In order to maintain the vertical alignment of these
graphics the lines are blocked together using the :cgraphic and
:ecgraphic tags. The access and display programs
ensure that the vertical alignment is maintained when a character
graphic block is displayed, by specifying a monospaced font for those
lines.
- CharacterArray
- An instance of the class CharacterArray. A CharacterArray is an
object which contains a string of any length. CharacterArrays are a
convenient way of passing strings as parameters when sending messages or
making CALLs.
See also messages.
- check box
- A square box with associated text that represents a choice. When
selected, it is marked with a checkmark. You deselect it by repeating
the action that selected it, for example, by clicking on it again. Check
boxes are used for a set of choices that are not mutually exclusive.
- check phase
- The first phase of compilation, which checks the syntax of your COBOL
source program and produces intermediate code.
See also intermediate code.
- Checker
- The two phases of compilation are sometimes treated as if they were
two separate compilers. The first phase of compilation is thus sometimes
called the Checker.
See also check phase.
- checkmark
- A character used to indicate that a checkmark choice is turned on.
Absence of the checkmark means the option is off.
See also toggle and checkmark
choice.
- checkmark choice
- A choice in a menu which has two states, on or off. Clicking on the
option turns the checkmark on and off, toggling between the two states.
- child
- A run unit created by another run unit.
- child window
- A window whose parent is another window, not the desktop. In
Microsoft Windows, child windows are restricted in their properties and
attributes.
- choice
- Graphics or text that a user can select to modify or manipulate an
object. Choices appear on menus (also called menu items) and buttons.
- chord
- Pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously.
- class
- An Object COBOL program which contains the code and data descriptions
for a class object and its instance objects. It is also known as the
class program. A class consists of nested COBOL programs, which
correspond to class object and instance object methods. Each class
starts with an identifier naming the class and the class from which it
inherits. When a class is loaded at run-time, the OO run-time system
creates the class object.
- Class-Control paragraph
- Lists all the classes the program is going to use. The Class-Control
paragraph is part of the Object Section, in the Environment Division.
Each entry links a class name to the filename of the class executable
file. The class-names are the object references which the program uses
for sending messages to the class object at run-time.
If the program itself is an Object COBOL class, the Class-Control
paragraph also lists its superclass, and the class itself.
See also: class, class
object, object reference, and
superclass.
- class object
- An object which is a template for the creation of instance objects of
the same type. For example, the the OrderedCollection class object
creates instances of OrderedCollection. The class object itself does not
have the same behavior and methods as the instance objects which it
creates.
By analogy, a biscuit cutter is a template for creating biscuits;
however, you can't eat a biscuit cutter and you can't stamp a biscuit
from another biscuit. In Object COBOL, all the methods and data for a
class object and the instance objects which it creates are represented
by a class program.
The class object is created at run-time when a class is loaded.
See also class.
- class library
- The set of classes supplied with Object COBOL. The root class of the
Class Library, Base, implements basic behavior for all classes, and
provides a superclass for your own classes. There are also classes to
implement collections, exception handlers, CallBacks, and GUI
interfaces.
- class program
- See class.
- click
- To press and release a mouse button (from the noise that this action
makes).
- click and drag
- To press and hold a mouse button and move the mouse pointer in the
desired direction and then release the button.
- client area
- The part of a window that constitutes the available workspace for an
application.
- client window
- A secondary window opened by an application.
- clipboard
- A storage area used to hold data (text or graphics) temporarily
during cut and paste operations.
See cut and paste.
- cloning
- The process of copying a project and its source files to a different
directory (using a different name if required) whilst keeping all the
dependencies and build settings intact. Useful for creating a working
version of an existing project whilst keeping the original intact.
- COBDIR
- An environment variable that contains a list of the paths of the
COBOL system directories. Each path is separated from the next by a
semicolon (;).
- COBOL system directories
- A set of directories which are automatically searched by the COBOL
run-time system to locate programs. They are identified by the COBDIR
environment variable. The files of the COBOL system should be kept in
the COBOL system directories.
- collection
- A type of object used for storing a group of elements. Collections
are analogous to tables in COBOL, but unlike a table, a collection is
not necessarily fixed to an initial size, but can grow as more elements
are added. The elements in a collection are usually objects,
although you can also store certain types of string and numeric data.
The Object COBOL Class Library provides many different types of
collection, which organize data in different ways.
- COM
- Component Object Model. An alternative name for Microsoft\rquote s
OLE technology.
See OLE.
- combination box
- Also known as combo box or selection list box.
See selection list box.
- Common Communications Interface (CCI)
- The Common Communications Interface (CCI) is an application
programming interface (API) which enables application designers to build
platform and protocol independent communications into their
applications.
- Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
- Common Gateway Interface - a standard for external gateway programs
to interface with information servers such as HTTP servers. CGI programs
are usually run when an end-user enters some information into an HTML or
ActiveX layout form displayed on a Web browser, and clicks a Submit
button. The CGI program receives the information from the form, and
sends back a result for display on the Web browser.
CGI and CGI program are terms often used to describe any kind of
server-side program. which runs on a Web
server. Net Express tools create CGI programs, which you can convert
to other Web server APIs (ISAPI or NSAPI) by recompiling and
rebuilding.
- Compiler
- The component that checks the syntax of your COBOL source program,
and converts it to native code.
- Compiler phases
- The Compiler operates in two phases. The first phase is called the
check phase; during this phase, the compiler checks the syntax, and
creates intermediate code from your
source code. The second phase is the generate phase; during this phase,
the Compiler generates object code or
generated code as required.
- component
- An object which can send and receive signals. Any object can be made
into a component by sending it the "makeComponent" message.
Components operate in a way analogous to microchips; they define a set
of inputs and outputs. A component can send output signals regardless of
whether or not there is another component receiving those signals,
without causing a run-time error.
See also object, signal.
- Component Object Model
- An alternative name for Microsoft\rquote s OLE technology.
See OLE..
- compression routine
- A routine that you call from your program to carry out data
compression or key compression on a file. Micro Focus supplies a
compression routine and you can provide your own compression routines.
See also Micro Focus compression routine
and user-supplied compression routine.
- context menu
- See popup menu.
- context number
- Every topic in an on-line
help file has a unique context number that is used to reference
that topic. The context number is used as an index into a look-up table
held in the file which defines the address of each topic in the file.
You can choose the context number and define it using a .define
tag. The numbers are purely arbitrary and do not
reflect the structure of the file. The sequence of the topics in the
source files is the only structure recognized.
More than one context number can point to the same topic.
- control
- An object that enables you to select choices or type information.
Examples are entry fields, list boxes, and buttons such as check boxes,
pushbuttons, radio buttons and spin buttons.
See also button.
- cookie
- A token consisting of a name and value, passed to a Web browser by a
server-side programs. Cookies are used by
server-side programs to maintain application state. For example, you
could store a user id in a cookie, and use it to access an indexed file
containing information about the selections a user had made in an online
shopping application.
- copyfile
- A file containing text, which the Compiler inserts into the main body
of a COBOL program when it processes a COPY statement in that program.
- CORBA
- Common Object Request Broker Architecture: a standard
specified by the Object Management Group (OMG) that defines an open,
interoperable middleware standard. It specifies how an Object Request
Broker (ORB) is used to establish client/server relationships between
components written in different languages in a language transparent
manner. CORBA is part of the OMG\rquotes Object Management Architecture
(OMA).
- coru
- A set of run units consisting of a parent run unit and all the run
units created from it.
- critical section
- An area of code in a multi-threading
program that accesses shared data. Critical sections can be protected by
various synchronization primitives.
- cross-reference list
- A special sort of fixed-lines
topic in an on-line
help file where each line contains a cross-reference to another
topic. Such a topic is defined using the .list tag.
It must not contain any formatting tags. When displayed, a full width
cursor appears. This can be used to select a line to which you want to
refer.
The first word on the line is used as the cross-reference name
unless it is defined as a hotspot, in which
case the hotspot cross-reference is used.
- CSS
- See cascading style-sheet.
- current directory
- The directory that the operating system, when looking for a file,
will search first if no path is specified.
- current record pointer
- The current record pointer (CRP) is used to determine which record
will be returned by a sequential read operation. The CRP is set by OPEN,
READ and START.
- current statement
- When debugging, the statement currently being executed or, if none is
currently being executed, the statement to be executed next.
- cursor
- A graphical image that shows you where text will appear on the screen
when you press keys, or where you can make a selection.
- cut
- An editing operation to delete text from a file and move it to the
clipboard, prior to pasting it back in a different location.
See also paste.
- icon
- A small picture representing an object or a selection choice (for
example a window, project, tool, program, document, set of data,
container). Windows can be minimized (reduced to icons) to save space on
the desktop.
- identifier
- See resource identifier.
- IDL
- Interface Definition Language: part of the CORBA standard
specified by the Object Management Group (OMG). It is used to define an
abstract definition of an interface to a distributed server component.
An IDL compiler is used to generate specific language bindings for the
language that a component (client or server) is written in. IDL is a key
component within CORBA and enables it to be a language transparent
standard. This means that each individual component within a distributed
application can be written without any knowledge of the language that
any other component is written in.
- .idy file
- See dictionary file.
- implicit call
- A call made from a program in which only the basename (that is the,
filename without the file extension) of the called program is specified;
for example:
call "myprog"
For implicit calls, the run-time system searches for files in a
particular order (for example, first by seing if there is a file of
filename.gnt, then filename.int, and
so on).
Compare with explicit call.
- implicit filename
- A filename called from a program in which only the basename, (that is
the, filename without the file extension) is specified; for example:
call "myprog"
The run-time system searches for implicit filenames in a particular
order (for example, first by seeing if there is a file of filename.gnt,
then filename.int, and so on).
Compare with explicit filename.
- in-place activation
- An OLE server started inside the OLE container window. When in-place
activation occurs, the server can add its own menus and toolbars to the
container.
See also OLE container, OLE
server.
- inactive window
- An open window that is not receiving input from the keyboard.
Distinguished from the active window by a dimmed border.
- includefile
- A file containing text, which the Compiler inserts into the main body
of a COBOL program when it processes an INCLUDE statement in that
program.
See also copyfile.
- inheritance
- The mechanism by which a subclass has access to the functionality in
its superclass. A subclass always inherits all the methods of its
superclass, which it can override if necessary. A subclass can also
inherit the data of its superclass, although this depends on the
settings in the CLASS-ID header of both the subclass and the superclass.
By identifying different types of objects which have common
functionality, you can implement the common methods for that
functionality in a single class and inherit it in any number of
subclasses.
Each class inherits all the methods of its superclass, so a class
ultimately inherits all methods all the way up to a root class. A
class object inherits the class methods of its superclass, and an
instance object inherits the instance methods of its superclass. In
this Object COBOL implementation, a class has only one immediate
superclass. The superclass is named in the INHERITS clause of the
CLASS-ID header.
See also subclass, superclass.
- input focus
- A state of the system that indicates which window receives keyboard
events. A window has the focus if keyboard and mouse events are sent to
it.
- input socket
- Defines a set of signals which a component can receive. A single
component can have many input sockets, and use each each socket to
connect to a different component.
See also component, signal
.
- instance
- The instructions and data that result from a single call of a
recursive routine.
- instance
- See Instance Object.
- instance object
- A single occurrence of an object of a particular class. Instance
objects are created by sending an appropriate message (usually "new")
to a class object. For example, to create a window for display on the
desktop, you send the "new" message to the Window class
object. The methods and data for instance objects are defined in the
object program, which is nested within the class program. The object
program starts with the header OBJECT and finishes with END OBJECT.
- instantiate
- To run a program by making a single call to the program. The
instructions that are executed together with the set of data produced by
the unique call to the program are called an instance of the program.
- intermediate code
- Code produced when a source program is syntax-checked. Intermediate
code is executable code in a Micro Focus
proprietary format.
- intermediate code file
- An executable file containing intermediate
code. An intermediate code file has the filename extension .int,
and is often referred to an .int file.
- .int file
- See intermediate code file.
- intrinsic class
- A class corresponding to a COBOL intrinsic data type. These classes
are used as templates so that you can send messages to COBOL intrinsic
data using the INVOKE ... AS... construct.
- introspection
- The process by which a Java Bean class is read in order to create a
representation of the Java Bean's API. It is carried out by the
Introspector class, which is part of the Java Core Reflection API.
- invoke
- Send a message to an object. Object COBOL defines a new verb, INVOKE,
to enable you to send messages.
- sample programs
- The programs supplied with the COBOL system as examples to
demonstrate use of the system. Some are referred to by tutorials in the
help.
- scroll bar
- A graphical device used to change your view of the contents of a
window. A scroll bar contains a scroll area, a slider and scroll arrows.
The position of the slider in the scroll bar indicates approximately the
position in the file containing the data. The window contents can be
moved by:
- clicking on an arrow to move one line at a time in the indicated
direction.
- clicking above or below the slider (on a vertical scroll bar) or
to the left or right of the slider (on a horizontal scroll bar) to
move a window of data (a page) in the indicated direction.
- dragging the slider in the required direction to move to the
required position in the data.
- secondary window
- A window that is not directly on the desktop, that is, that is the
child of another window.
See also primary window.
- selection list box
- A text box combining an entry field and a simple list box.
- selection cursor
- A dotted-outline box that moves as you indicate your choice. It
identifies the object that you can select.
- SELF
- Reserved variable which contains the object handle of the object in
which it occurs. Used to enable objects to send messages to themselves.
If you send a message to SELF from object A, object A is the
receiver of the message; if you send a message to self from object C,
object C is the receiver of the message. SELF always refers to the
object currently executing, even if the method is one whi ch is being
inherited.
For example, imagine two objects, A' and B', instances of classes A
and B where B inherits from A. A implements instance method, "calculateValue".
The "calculateValue" method sends the message "getObjectConstant"
to self. If B' gets sent the "calculateValue" message, the
method is inherited from class A. When "calculateValue"
sends a message "getObjectConstant", the message actually
gets sent to B'. If A' were to be sent the "calculateValue"
message, then the send to SELF would send the message to A'.
You can use SELF exactly like any data item of type Object
Reference, so you can also pass it as a parameter to other methods.
See also Inheritance, message,
Object Reference, SELFCLASS,
SUPER.
- SELFCLASS
- Reserved variable which contains an object handle for the class
object for this current object. Enables an instance to send a message to
the class object which created it.
You can use SELF exactly like any data item of type Object
Reference, so you can also pass it as a parameter to other methods.
See also Inheritance, message,
Object Reference, SELF,
SUPER.
- semaphore
- A synchronization primitive that
is used to lock critical sections so that
the section is used exclusively by the thread that locked it.
- server-side program
- The part of an application which runs on a server machine. For
Internet applications, this is the program which runs on a Web server
and processes end-user input from a form. The terms CGI
and CGI program are often used synonymously with the term server-side
program. Although CGI is only one of several APIs for creating
server-side programs for Web servers, it is the most widely used.
- Setup
- The installation program supplied with this COBOL system.
- shared run-time system
- Applications linked to use the shared run-time system do not have the
run-time support code contained in the executable files. Instead, code
is included to call the run-time modules contained in the shared
run-time system.
See also static linked run-time system.
- shortcut key
- A keystroke (such as Ctrl+F4) which you can use to perform a
specified function.
- signal
- The way components communicate. When a component sends a signal, it
is received by all components connected to the sender. The receiving
component only acts on the signal if it has an input socket and method
defined for that signal. A component which sends a signal event when
there are no components connected does not cause a run-time error.
Contrast with a message, which is sent to a single specific object.
if the object does not understand the message it raises a run-time
exception.
See also component, message,
input socket.
- simple list box
- A text box that contains a list of objects or settings from which you
make selections.
See also selection list box.
- single-click
- See click.
- sizable border
- The border surrounding a window that can be used to change the height
or width of a window.
- slider
- The part of the scroll bar that shows the position of the contents of
the current window in the file. Moving the slider changes the content of
the current window.
- socket
- See input socket.
- source code
- The COBOL code that makes up the program. This can consist of one or
more text files.
- special operation code
- An operation code identified by the hexadecimal code x"00"
in the most significant byte, followed by two characters which specify
the exact operation.
See operation code.
- spin button
- An object used to display a sequence of mutually exclusive choices.
You change the value by spinning through the range of choices.
- standalone executable
- An executable file that can be shipped and run without any additional
files, such subprograms or run-time support modules. It is a statically
linked executable that uses the static-linked run-time; therefore all
the subprograms and run-time support modules are actually contained
within the executable file.
- standard operating code
- An operation code identified by the hexadecimal code x"FA"
in the most significant byte, followed by two characters which specify
the exact operation.
See operation code.
- static linking
- Linking a subprogram so that it is loaded into memory at the same
time as the program that calls it. Usually, this means that all programs
needed by the application are included in one executable file.
See also dynamic linking.
- static linked run-time system
- The run-time system that, when used for creating applications,
produces executable files containing all the run-time support they need
without the need for other files.
See also shared run-time system.
- status bar
- A control consisting of a number of recessed static text fields that
are used to display status information, such as whether the Caps Lock
key is pressed, or the current position of the cursor in a file. The
status bar is usually displayed along the bottom of a window or dialog
box.
- stored procedure
- A block of code that is stored in an SQL database and can be called
by applications. In some systems the code is written in an extended SQL
dialect, in others it is written in a standard programming language and
contains Embedded SQL. Stored procedures are used for one or more of the
following reasons: to improve performance; to provide greater security;
or to improve managability.
- stride
- The length of a single element in a table or array.
- subclass
- A class descended from another one, inheriting its methods and data.
In the Class Library supplied with Object COBOL all class are ultimately
subclasses of Base.
- substitution marker
- A text literal which is replaced by the contents of a data item at
run-time. For example, EHTML uses substitution markers in the format
dataname to insert data into HTML pages output by COBOL
programs.
- SUPER
- Reserved word which behaves like an object reference when used in an
INVOKE statement. Like SELF, it enables an object to send a message to
itself, but the search for a matching method starts in the code of the
method's superclass.
If used from an instance, the OO RTS searches for a method beginning
with the instance code of the superclass, and works its way up through
the instance methods of all the superclasses until it finds a method
matching the message. If used from a class method, the OO RTS searches
for a class method beginning with the class object code of the
superclass and works its way up through the class methods of all the
superclasses until it finds a method matching the message.
Unlike SELF, and SELFCLASS, SUPER is not a data item containing an
object handle; you can't pass SUPER as a parameter to a method.
See also Inheritance, message,
Object Reference, SELF,
SELFCLASS.
- superclass
- The parent of a class. Every class has a single superclass
immediately above it in the inheritance hierarchy, with the exception of
those at the top of the hierarchy. In the supplied Class Library there
is only one root class, Base, from which all other classes are
descended.
- switch
- A parameter you can pass to the run-time
system to control the behavior of your program at run time. There
are two types of switch: run-time and
programmable.
- symbolic name
- An identifier that you can use in your code as a label to enable the
development system to identify a specific data item, graphical object,
or entry point. Symbolic names are cross-referenced to numbers; it is
the number that is actually used by the development system. The name
exists solely for the programmer's convenience. Symbolic names are
sometimes referred to as symbols.
- synchronization primitives
- Methods by which the threads in a multi-threaded
application can be synchronized. You can synchronize threads using a
mutex, monitor,
semaphore or event.
- SymbolTable
- An object which enables you to store objects against symbols. Used
for sending data with signals as a SymbolTable
enables the sender of a signal to package up several different data
items into one object, which can then be unpackaged by the receivers of
the signal. For example, the sender of an "open-file" signal
could include the name of the file, and the filepath in a SymbolTable,
against symbols z"filename" and z"filepath". Symbols
are null-terminated strings, up to 32
characters long.
- system executable code
- Executable code in an industry
standard native code format. It is used for the main or trigger program
of an application. You create it by linking an .obj
file. System executable code is stored in a
system executable file.
- system executable file
- A file containing system executable code.
You create it by linking an .obj file. A
system executable file has the extension .exe, and is often referred to
as an .exe file.
- system menu
- The operating system menu, which appears on a primary window when you
push the system menu button in the top left corner of the Title bar.
Typically contains choices for restoring, moving, sizing, minimizing,
maximizing and closing the window.
- system menu button
- A button labeled with a bitmap, appearing at the top left corner of
the window. Pushing the button drops down the system menu.