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Inside Macintosh: OpenDoc Programmer's Guide /


Glossary

abstract class A class used only to derive other classes. An abstract class is never instantiated. Compare concrete class.

action data Information stored in the undo object's action history that allows a part to reverse the effects of an undoable action.

action history The cumulative set of reversible actions available at any one time, maintained by the undo object.

action subhistory A subset of action data added to the undo object's action history by a part in a modal state. The part can then remove the subhistory from the action history without affecting earlier actions.

action type A constant that defines whether an undoable action is a single-stage action (such as a cut) or part of a multistage action (such as a drag-move).

activate (1) For a part, to acquire the selection focus; a part activates itself when a mouse-up event occurs within its frame. (2) For a Mac OS window, to bring it to the front.

active frame The frame that has the selection focus. Editing takes place in the active frame; it displays the selection or insertion point. The active frame usually has the keystroke and menu foci also.

active part The part displayed in the active frame. The active part controls the part-specific palettes and menus, and its content contains the selection or insertion point. The active part can be displayed in one or more frames, only one of which is the active frame.

active shape A shape that describes the portion of a facet within which a part expects to receive geometry-based user events. If, for example, an embedded part's used shape and active shape are identical, the containing part both draws and accepts events within the unused areas of the embedded part's frame.

ancestor See superclass.

annotation A property in a part's storage unit that is separate from the part's contents.

Apple event The platform-specific message that underlies a semantic event on the Mac OS platform.

Apple event handler See semantic-event handler.

Apple Event Manager The component of Mac OS system software that manages the construction, sending, and processing of Apple events.

application See conventional application.

Application menu A standard menu on the Mac OS platform through which the user can activate any of the currently open OpenDoc documents or conventional applications.

arbitrator An OpenDoc object that manages negotiation among parts about ownership of shared resources. Examples of such resources are the menu focus, the selection focus, the keystroke focus, and the serial ports.

automatic updating The updating of a link whenever the source content changes. Compare manual updating.

auxiliary storage unit An extra storage unit that a part uses to store its contents. Compare main storage unit.

base class See superclass.

base draft The original draft of a document.
Every OpenDoc document has a base draft, from which all subsequent drafts are ultimately derived. See also current draft.

base frame An existing embedded frame, associated with a newly created embedded frame, that defines certain characteristics of the new frame.

base menu bar The menu bar that contains the menus shared by all parts in a document. The document shell installs the base menu bar; parts copy it and add their own menus and items.

base object The object whose interface is extended by an extension object.

beginning action An action type that specifies the beginning of a multistage undo transaction. Compare ending action.

Bento A compound-document storage technology that underlies OpenDoc storage on the Mac OS and some other platforms.

Bento container suite A container suite for OpenDoc that is based on Bento.

bias transform A transform that is applied to measurements in a part's coordinate system to change them into platform-normal coordinates.

binding (1) The process of selecting an executable code module based on type information. (2) In SOM, a file that allows a compiler to match a method implementa-
tion with its declaration. Also called a header file.

border See frame border.

bundled frame A frame whose contents do not respond to user events. A mouse click within a bundled frame selects the frame's part but does not activate it.

CALib See container application library.

canvas The platform-specific drawing environment on which frames are laid out. Each window or printing device has one drawing canvas. See also static canvas and dynamic canvas.

canvas coordinate space The coordinate space of the canvas upon which a part's content is drawn. It may or may not be equal to window coordinate space.

category See part category.

CFM See Code Fragment Manager.

child class See subclass.

CI Labs See Component Integration Laboratories.

circular link A configuration of links in which changes to a link's destination indirectly affect its source.

class A programming entity comprising data structures and methods, from which objects that are instances of the class are created.

class hierarchy The structure by which classes are related through inheritance.

clean Unchanged since last saved to persistent storage. Compare dirty.

clipboard A system-maintained buffer that provides a facility for transferring data within and across documents.

clipboard focus A designation of owner-
ship of access to the clipboard. The part with the clipboard focus can read from and write to the clipboard.

clip shape A shape that defines the limits of drawing within a facet.

clone To copy an object and all its referenced objects. When you clone an object, that object plus all other objects to which there is a strong persistent reference in the cloned object are copied.

close For a frame, to remove from memory but not from storage. A closed frame is not permanently removed from its document. Compare remove.

Code Fragment Manager (CFM) On the Mac OS platform, the portion of system software that manages the runtime loading and dynamic linking of code modules.

coercion handler In the Open Scripting Architecture, a function that converts data from one descriptor type into another.

command ID A position-independent identifier for a menu command. See also synthetic command ID.

Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) A standard promulgated by the Object Management Group industry consortium for defining interactions among objects.

component A software product that functions in the OpenDoc environment. Part editors and part viewers are examples of OpenDoc components.

Component Integration Laboratories (CI Labs) A consortium of platform and application vendors that oversees the development and distribution of OpenDoc technology.

compound document A single document containing multiple heterogeneous data types, each presented and edited by its own software. A compound document is made up of parts.

concrete class A class designed to be instantiated. Compare abstract class.

connect or reconnect For a frame object, to reestablish its connection to the part its displays. Reconnecting a frame may involve recreating it from storage.

container (1) A holder of persistent data (documents), part of an OpenDoc container suite. (2) See container part, container application.

container application An application program that has been modified to support embedding of OpenDoc parts. A container application functions as both document shell and part editor for the root part. Same as embedding application.

container application library (CALib) A library that facilitates the creation of container applications.

container part A part that can embed other parts within its content. Compare noncontainer part. See also container application.

container property A visual or behavioral characteristic of a containing part, such as its text font, that it makes available for embedded parts to adopt. Embedded parts can adopt the container properties of their containing parts, thus giving a more uniform appearance to a set of parts. Compare property, Info property.

container suite A document storage architecture, built on top of a platform's native file system, that allows for the creation, storage, and retrieval of compound documents. A container suite is implemented as a set of OpenDoc classes: containers, documents, drafts, and storage units. See also Bento.

containing frame The display frame of an embedded frame's containing part. Each embedded frame has one containing frame; each containing frame has one or more embedded frames.

containing part A part in which a frame is embedded. Each embedded frame has one containing part; each containing part has one or more embedded frames.

content See part content.

content area The potentially visible area of a part as viewed in a frame or window. If the content area is greater than the area of the frame or window, only a portion of the part can be viewed at a time.

content coordinate space The coordinate space defined by applying the internal transform of a frame to a point in frame coordinate space.

content element A user-visible data item presented by a part's content model. Content elements can be manipulated through the graphic or scripting interface to a part.

content extent The vertical dimension of the content area of a part in a frame. Content extent is used to calculate bias transforms.

content model The specification of a part's contents (the data types of its content elements) and its content operations (the actions that can be performed on it and the interactions among its content elements).

content object A content element that can be represented as an object and thus accessed and manipulated through semantic events.

content operation A user action that manipulates a content element.

content storage unit The storage unit of a data-transfer object (clipboard, drag-and-
drop, link-source, or link) that holds the data being transferred.

content transform The composite trans-
form that converts from a part's content coordinates to its canvas coordinates.

content view type See frame view type.

context The outermost object in the object hierarchy defined by the direct parameter of an Apple event. It is the OpenDoc equivalent of the Apple event object model's default container.

conventional application An application that directly handles events, opens documents, and takes full responsibility for manipulating, storing, and retrieving all of the data in its documents. Compare component.

coordinate bias The difference between a given coordinate system and platform- normal coordinates. Coordinate bias typically involves both a change in axis polarity and an offset.

copy A data-transfer operation in which the transferred data remains in its original source location while a copy of it is inserted at the destination. Compare move.

CORBA See Common Object Request Broker Architecture.

Core suite The set of Apple events that any scriptable part is expected to support on the Mac OS platform.

current draft The most recent draft of an OpenDoc document. Only the current draft can be edited.

current frame During drawing, the frame that is being drawn or within which editing is occurring.

customizable A level of scripting support of a part. A customizable part defines content objects and operations for interface elements such as menus and buttons; it allows the user to change its behavior during virtually any user action. Compare scriptable, recordable.

default editor for category A user-
specified choice of part editor to use with parts whose preferred editor and default editor for kind are both not present.

default editor for kind A user-specified choice of part editor to use with parts whose preferred editor is not present.

default object accessors Object accessors provided by OpenDoc that can be used to resolve content objects or properties of parts that do not themselves support scripting. Default accessors can return tokens representing an embedded frame, a standard Info property of a part, or a context switch (swap token).

delegation A relationship between objects in which the objects cooperate to perform a task but do not necessarily have related types or methods. Compare inheritance.

derived class See subclass.

descendant See subclass.

destination content The content at the destination of a link. It is a copy of the source content.

destination part For a link, the part that displays the information copied from the source of the link. Compare source part.

dirty Changed since last saved to persistent storage. Compare clean.

dispatcher The OpenDoc object that directs user events and semantic events to the correct part.

dispatch module An OpenDoc object used by the dispatcher to dispatch events of a certain type to part editors.

display form See view type.

display frame A frame in which a part is displayed. A part's display frames are created by and embedded in its containing part. Compare embedded frame.

document In OpenDoc, a user-organized collection of parts, all stored together.

document part See part.

document process A thread of execution that runs the document shell program. The document process provides the interface between the operating system and part editors: it accepts events from the operating system, provides the address space into which parts are read, and provides access to the window system and other features.

document shell A shared library that provides an environment for all the parts in a document. The shell maintains the major document global structures: storage, window state, arbitrator, and dispatcher. This code also provides basic document behavior, such as document creation, opening, saving, printing, and closing. OpenDoc provides a document shell for each platform.

document window A window that displays an OpenDoc document. The edges of the content area of the window represent the frame border of the document's root part. The OpenDoc document shell manages the opening and closing of document windows. Compare part window.

draft A configuration of a document, defined at a certain point in time by the user. A document is made up of a set
of drafts.

draft key A number that identifies a specific cloning transaction.

draft permissions A specification of the class of read/write access that a part editor has to a draft.

drag and drop A facility of OpenDoc that allows users to move or copy data through direct manipulation.

drag-copy A drag-and-drop operation in which the dragged data remains at the source, and a copy is inserted at the destination.

drag-move A drag-and-drop operation in which the dragged data is deleted from the source and inserted at the destination.

drawing canvas See canvas.

DSOM Distributed System Object Model, a version of System Object Model (SOM) that works transparently over a network. See system object model.

dynamic canvas A drawing canvas that can potentially be changed, such as a window that can be scrolled or paged to display different portions of a part's data. Compare static canvas.

edit-in-place See in-place editing.

editor See part editor.

editor ID The SOM class ID of a part editor.

editor of last resort The part editor that displays any part for which there is no available part editor on the system. The editor of last resort typically displays a gray rectangle representing the part's frame.

editor preferences A dialog box, accessed through the Edit menu, in which the user can view and change preferences for the part editor of the currently active part.

embed To display one part in a frame within another part. The embedded part retains its identity as a separate part from the containing part. Compare incorporate.

embedded content Content displayed in an embedded frame. A containing part editor does not directly manipulate embedded content. Compare intrinsic content.

embedded frame A frame that displays an embedded part. The embedded frame itself is considered intrinsic content of the containing part; the part displayed within the frame is not.

embedded-frames list A containing part's private list of all the frames embedded in it.

embedded part A part displayed in an embedded frame. The data for an embedded part is stored within the same draft as its containing part. An embedded part is copied during a duplication of its containing part. An embedded part may itself be a containing part, unless it is a noncontainer part.

embedding application See container application.

embedding part See container part.

ending action An action type that specifies the completion of a multistage undo transaction. Compare beginning action.

environment parameter A parameter used by all methods of System Object Model (SOM) objects to pass exceptions.

event See user event. Compare semantic event.

event handler (1) A routine that executes in response to receiving a user event. (2) See semantic-event handler.

event-info structure A data structure that carries information about an OpenDoc user event in addition to that provided by the event structure.

event structure A platform-specific data structure that carries information about an OpenDoc user event. On the Mac OS platform, it is a Mac OS event record.

exception An execution error or abnormal condition detected by the runtime facilities of the system.

exclusive focus A focus that can be owned by only one frame at a time. The selection focus, for example, is exclusive; the user can edit within only one frame at a time. Compare nonexclusive focus.

extension An OpenDoc object that extends the programming interface of another OpenDoc object. Part editors, for example, can provide additional interfaces through extensions.

externalize See write.

external transform A transform that is applied to a facet to position, scale, or otherwise transform the facet and the image drawn within it. The external transform locates the facet in the coordinate space of its frame's containing part. Compare internal transform.

extracted draft A draft that is extracted from a document into a new document.

facet An object that describes where a frame is displayed on a canvas.

factoring Separating the code that controls a part editor's user interface from the code that performs the part editor's basic functions. Factoring facilitates making parts recordable.

factory method A method in one class that creates an instance of another class.

fidelity The faithfulness of translation attained (or attainable) between data of different part kinds. For a given part kind, other part kinds are ranked in fidelity by the level at which their editors can translate its data without loss.

focus A designation of ownership of a shared resource such as menus, selection, keystrokes, and serial ports. The part that owns a focus has use of that shared resource.

focus context The scope of data access that results from focusing a storage unit. The focus context can be the entire storage unit, the entire contents of a particular property, or just a particular value of a particular property.

FocusLib An OpenDoc utility library that helps a part to set up a QuickDraw graphics port properly for drawing.

focus module An OpenDoc object used by the arbitrator to assign an owner or owners to a given focus type.

focus set A group of foci requested as
a unit.

frame A bounded portion of the content area of a part, defining the location of an embedded part. The edge of a frame marks the boundary between intrinsic content and embedded content. A frame can be a rectangle or any other, even irregular, shape.

frame border A visual indication of the boundary of a frame. The appearance of the frame border indicates the state of the frame (active, inactive, or selected). The frame border is drawn and manipulated by the containing part or by OpenDoc, not by the part within the frame.

frame coordinate space The coordinate space in which a part's frame shape, used shape, active shape, and clip shape are defined. Compare content coordinate space. See also window coordinate space, canvas coordinate space.

frame group A set of embedded frames that a containing part designates as related, for purposes such as flowing content in sequence from one frame to another. Each frame group has its own group ID; frames within a frame group have a frame sequence.

frame negotiation The process of adjusting the size and shape of an embedded frame. Embedded parts can request changes to their frames, but the containing parts control the changes that occur.

frame sequence The order of frames in a frame group.

frame shape A shape that defines a frame and its border, expressed in terms of the frame's local coordinate space.

frame transform The composite transform that converts from a part's frame coordinates to its canvas coordinates.

frame view type A view type in which all or a portion of a part's content is displayed in a frame, the border of which is visible when the part is active or selected. Other possible view types for displaying a part include large icon, small icon, and thumb-
nail. Frame view type is sometimes called content view type.

fulfill To replace a promise written to a data-transfer object with the actual data
it represents.

fully scriptable Characteristic of a scriptable part in which semantic events can invoke any action a user might be able to perform.

graphics system A specific drawing architecture. Some graphics systems (such as Display PostScript) are available on more than one platform; some platforms support more than one graphics system (such as QuickDraw and QuickDraw GX on the Mac OS).

group ID A number that identifies a frame group, assigned by the group's containing part.

Guide menu A standard Mac OS menu through which the user can access Apple Guide or other kinds of help files.

Help menu See Guide menu.

hot part A part, such as a control, that performs an action (such as running a script) rather than activating itself when it receives a mouse click.

icon A small, type-specific picture with a name. Three of the possible view types for a part consist of icons: large icon, small icon, and thumbnail.

identity transform A transform that has no effect on points to which it is applied.

implementation binding See private header file.

inactive frame A frame that does not have the selection focus.

inactive part A part that has no active display frames.

incorporate To merge the data from one part into the contents of another part so that the merged data retains no separate identity as a part. Compare embed.

Info property One of a set of user-
accessible characteristics of a part or its frame. The user can modify some Info properties, such as the name of a part; the user cannot modify some other Info properties, such as part category. Most standard Info properties defined by OpenDoc are stored as distinct properties in the storage unit of the part or its frame. Part developers can assign additional, custom Info properties to their own parts or to embedded parts. Also compare container property.

inheritance A relationship between classes wherein one class (the subclass) shares the type and methods of another class (the superclass).

in-limbo flag A flag, maintained by every frame object, that specifies whether any part currently owns the frame.

in-place editing User manipulation of data in an embedded part without leaving the context of the document in which the part is displayed--without, for example, opening a new window for the part.

inside-out activation A mode of user interaction in which a mouse click anywhere in a document activates the smallest possible enclosing frame and performs the appropriate selection action on the content element at the click location. OpenDoc uses inside-out selection. Compare outside-in activation.

instance See object.

instantiate To create an object of a class in memory at runtime.

Interface Definition Language (IDL) A syntax created by IBM to describe the interface of classes that can be compiled by the System Object Model (SOM) compiler.

internalize See read.

internal transform A transform that positions, scales, or otherwise transforms the image of a part drawn within a frame. Compare external transform.

interoperability Access to an OpenDoc part or document from different platforms or with different software systems.

intrinsic content The content elements native to a particular part, as opposed to the content of parts embedded within it. Compare embedded content.

invalidate To mark an area of a canvas (or facet, or frame) as in need of redrawing.

invalid shape The area of a frame, facet, or canvas that needs redrawing. Update events cause redrawing of the invalid area.

invariant An aspect of the internal state of an object that must be maintained for the object to behave properly according to its design.

ISO string A null-terminated 7-bit ASCII string.

iterator A class or object that provides sequential access to a collection of objects of another class. A part's embedded-frames iterator, for example, provides access to all of the part's embedded frames.

keystroke focus A designation of ownership of keystroke events. The part whose frame has the keystroke focus receives keystroke events. See also
selection focus.

keystroke focus frame The frame to which keystroke events are to be sent.

kind See part kind.

large icon view type A view type in which a part is represented by a 32-by-32-pixel bitmap image. Other possible view types for displaying a part include small icon, thumbnail, and frame.

layout The process of arranging frames and content elements in a document for drawing.

lazy internalization The process of creating objects (such as embedded frames) in memory only when they are needed for display, such as when the user scrolls them into view. Lazy internalization can help minimize the memory requirements of
your parts.

leaf part See noncontainer part.

link (1) A persistent reference to a part or to a set of content elements of a part. (2) An OpenDoc object that represents a link destination.

link destination The portion of a part's content area that represents the destination of a link.

link key A number that identifies a specific transaction to access a link object
or link-source object.

link manager An OpenDoc object that coordinates cross-document links.

link source The portion of a part's content area that represents the source of a link.

link specification An object, placed on the clipboard or in a drag-and-drop object, from which the source part (the part that placed the data) can construct a link if necessary.

link status The link-related state (in a link source, in a link destination, or not in a link) of a frame.

lock To acquire exclusive access to. A part must lock a link source object or link object before accessing its data.

main storage unit The storage unit that holds the contents property (kODPropContents) of a part. A part's main storage unit, plus possibly other auxiliary storage units referenced from it, holds all of a part's content.

manual updating The updating of a link only on explicit request by the user. Compare automatic updating.

member function See method.

message See semantic event.

message interface An OpenDoc object that provides an interface to allow parts to send messages (semantic events) to other parts, in the same document or in other documents.

method An function that manipulates the data of a particular class of objects.

modal focus A designation of ownership of the right to display modal dialog boxes. A part displaying a modal dialog box must first acquire the modal focus, so that other parts cannot do the same until the first part has finished.

monitor A dispatch module that is installed in order to be notified of events, without necessarily dispatching them.

monolithic application See conventional application.

monolithic part See noncontainer part.

mouse region An area (by default a size of 1 pixel square) within which the user can move the mouse pointer without triggering an event.

move A data-transfer operation in which the transferred data is deleted from the source location and inserted at the destination. Compare copy.

name-mapping resource A Mac OS resource, of type 'nmap', that contains information used for part binding.

name resolver An OpenDoc object that determines the proper recipient of a semantic event. The name resolver can resolve object specifiers, permitting semantic events to be sent to individual objects within a part.

name space An object consisting of a set of text strings used to identify kinds of objects or classes of behavior, for registration purposes. For example, OpenDoc uses name spaces to identify part kinds and categories for binding.

name-space manager An OpenDoc object that creates and deletes name spaces.

noncontainer part A part that cannot itself contain embedded parts. Compare container part.

nonembedding part See noncontainer part.

nonexclusive focus A focus that can be owned by more than one frame at a time. OpenDoc supports the use of nonexclusive foci. Compare exclusive focus.

nonpersistent frame A frame that exists as an object in memory but has no storage unit and is not stored persistently.

normalize For a frame shape, to strip relative-positioning information from it. The origin of a normalized shape is at (0, 0).

object A programming entity, existing in memory at runtime, that is an individual specimen of a particular class.

object accessor A function called by the name resolver to resolve semantic-event object specifiers.

object-callback function A function called by the name resolver to allow your part to provide extra information needed for semantic-event object resolution.

Object Management Group (OMG) An industry consortium that promulgates standards for object programming.

object model A feature of Apple events that allows a part to define a hierarchical arrangement of content objects to represent the elements of the part's content.

object resolution The process of converting object specifiers into tokens that represent objects manipulated by a part's semantic-event handlers.

object specifier A designation of a content object within a part, used to determine the target of a semantic event. Object specifiers can be names ("blue rectangle") or logical designations ("word 1 of line 2 of embedded frame 3").

offscreen canvas A canvas used for offscreen drawing.

OLE Object Linking and Embedding, Microsoft Corporation's compound document architecture.

OLE interoperability A technology that enables seamless interoperability between OpenDoc and Microsoft Corporation's Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology for interapplication communication. This technology allows OLE objects to function automatically as parts in OpenDoc documents, and OpenDoc parts to function automatically as OLE objects in OLE containers.

OpenDoc A multiplatform technology, implemented as a set of shared libraries, that uses component software to facilitate the construction and sharing of compound documents.

OpenDoc Development Framework (ODF) A part-editor framework that facilitates creation of OpenDoc parts and permits simultaneous development for both the Mac OS and Windows platforms.

Open Scripting Architecture (OSA) An architecture of messages (semantic events) and handlers that allows users to control parts by means of scripts. Any scripting language that supports the OSA can be used with OpenDoc parts.

outside-in activation A mode of user interaction in which a mouse click anywhere in a document activates the largest possible enclosing frame that is not already active. Compare inside-out activation.

overlaid frame An embedded frame that floats above the content (including other embedded frames) of its containing part and thus need not engage in frame negotiation with the containing part.

override To replace a method belonging to a superclass with a method of the same name in a subclass, in order to modify
its behavior.

owner For a canvas, the part that created the canvas and attached it to a facet. The owner is responsible for transferring the results of drawing on the canvas to its parent canvas.

parent canvas The canvas closest above a canvas in the facet hierarchy. If, for example, there is a single offscreen canvas attached to an embedded facet in a window, the window canvas (attached to the root facet) is the parent of the offscreen canvas.

parent class See superclass.

part A portion of a compound document; it consists of document content, plus--at runtime--a part editor that manipulates that content. The content is data of a given structure or type, such as text, graphics, or video; the code is a part editor. In programming terms, a part is an object, an instantiation of a subclass of the class ODPart. To a user, a part is a single set of information displayed and manipulated in one or more frames or windows. Same as document part.

part category A general classification of the format of data handled by a part editor. Categories are broad classes of data format, meaningful to end users, such as "text", "graphics", or "table". Compare part kind.

part content The portion of a part that describes its data. In programming terms, the part content is represented by the instance variables of the part object; it is the state of the part, the portion of it that is stored persistently. See also intrinsic content, embedded content. Compare part editor, part.

part editor An OpenDoc component that can display and change the data of a part. It is the executable code that provides the behavior for the part. Compare part viewer.

part ID An identifier that uniquely names a part within the context of a document. This ID represents a storage unit ID within a particular draft of a document.

part info (1) Part-specific data, of any type or size, used by a part editor to identify what should be displayed in a particular frame or facet and how it should be displayed. (2) User-visible information about a given part, displayed in the Part Info dialog box.

part kind A specific classification of the format of data handled by a part editor. A kind specifies the specific data format handled by a part editor. Kinds are meaningful to end users, and have designations such as such as "MacWrite 2.0" or "QuickTime 1.0". Compare part category.

part viewer A part editor that can display and print, but not change, the data of a part. Compare part editor.

part window A window that displays an embedded part by itself, for easier viewing or editing. Any part that is embedded in another part can be opened in its own part window. The part window is separate from the document window displaying the entire document in which the part is embedded.

part-wrapper object A private OpenDoc object that is used to reference a part.

persistence The quality of an object that allows it to span separate document launches and be transported to different computers. For example, a part written to persistent storage is typically written to a hard disk.

persistent object An object (of a subclass of ODPersistentObject) whose data can be stored persistently.

persistent object ID A persistent identifying value for a part or frame, used only for script access.

persistent reference A number, stored somewhere within a storage unit, that refers to another storage unit in the same document. Persistent references permit complex runtime object relationships to be stored externally, and later reconstructed.

platform A hardware/software operating environment. For example, OpenDoc is implemented on the Mac OS, Windows, and OS/2 platforms.

platform-normal coordinates The native coordinate system for a particular platform. OpenDoc performs all layout and drawing in platform-normal coordinates; to convert from another coordinate system to platform-
normal coordinates requires application of a bias transform.

plug-in See shell plug-in.

position code A parameter (to a storage unit's Focus method) with which you specify the desired property or value
to access.

predispatch handler In the Open Scripting Architecture, a function that has the opportunity to handle any semantic event sent to a document, before the event is dispatched to its target part.

Preferences dialog box A dialog box that displays information specific to a particular part editor.

preferred editor The part editor that last edited a part, or for whom the part's data was just translated. If a part's preferred editor is not present, OpenDoc attempts to bind the part to the user's default editor for kind or default editor for category.

preferred kind The part kind that a part specifies as its highest-fidelity, preferred format for editing. It is the part kind stored as the first value in the contents property of the part's storage unit, unless the storage unit also contains a property of type kODPropPreferredKind specifying another value as the preferred kind.

presentation A particular style of display for a part's contents--for example, outline or expanded for text, or wireframe or solid for graphic objects. A part can have multiple presentations, each with its own rendering, layout, and user-interface behavior. Compare view type.

private header file A generated file containing macros that provide access to instance variables and invoke superclass methods of a System Object Model (SOM) class.

promise A specification of data to be transferred at a future time. If a data transfer involves a very large amount of data, the source part can choose to write a promise instead of actually writing the data to a storage unit.

property In the OpenDoc storage system, an element of a storage unit. A property defines a kind of information (such as "name" or "contents") and contains one or more data streams, called values, that consist of information of that kind. Properties in a stored part are accessible without the assistance of a part editor. Compare container property, Info property.

property name An ISO string that identifies a particular property in a
storage unit. Compare value type.

protocol The programming interface through which a specific task or set of related tasks is performed. The drag-and-
drop protocol, for example, is the set of calls that a part editor makes (and responds to) to support the dragging of items into or out of its content.

proxy content Data, associated with a single embedded frame written to the clipboard (or drag-and-drop object or link-
source object), that the frame's original containing part wanted associated with the frame, such as a drop shadow or other visual adornment. Proxy content is absent if intrinsic content as well as an embedded frame was written.

public header file A generated file containing the client interface of a System Object Model (SOM) class.

purge To free noncritical memory, usually by writing or releasing cached data. In low-memory situations, OpenDoc can ask a part editor or other objects to purge memory.

read For a part or other OpenDoc object, to transform its persistent form in a storage unit into an appropriate in-memory representation. Same as internalize; compare write.

recordable A level of scripting support of a part. A recordable part allows the user to automatically convert user actions into scripts attached to the part. Compare scriptable, customizable.

recursive link A configuration of links contained within links, in which changes to a link's destination directly affect its source.

reference A pointer to (or other representation of) an object, used to gain access to the object when needed.

reference count The number of references to an object. Objects that are reference-
counted, such as windows and parts, cannot be deleted from memory unless their reference counts are zero.

reference-counted object An object that maintains a reference count. All classes descended from ODRefCntObject are reference-counted.

release To delete a reference to an object. For a reference-counted object, releasing it decrements its reference count.

remove To delete an object (such as a frame) permanently from its draft, as well as from memory. Compare close.

resolve See object resolution.

revert To return a draft to the state it had just after its last save.

root facet The facet that displays the root frame in a document window.

root frame The frame in which the root part of a window is displayed. The root frame shape is the same as the content area of the window.

root part The part that forms the base of a document and establishes its basic editing, embedding, and printing behavior. A document has only one root part, which
can contain content elements and perhaps other, embedded parts. Any part can be a root part.

root storage unit See content storage unit.

root window See document window.

save To write all the data of all parts of a document (draft) to persistent storage.

scope The range of a cloning operation, limiting which objects are to be copied. Scope is expressed in terms of a frame object or its storage unit.

script A sequence of written instructions that, when executed by a script interpreter, are converted to semantic events that manipulate parts.

scriptable A level of scripting support of a part. A scriptable part is able to accept semantic events for its publicly published content objects and operations. Compare customizable, recordable.

select To designate as the locus of subsequent editing operations. If the user selects an embedded part, that part's frame border takes on an appearance that designates it as selected. The embedded part itself is not activated at this stage.

selection focus A designation of ownership of editing activity. The part whose frame has the selection focus is the active part and has the selection or insertion point. See also keystroke focus.

semantic event A message sent to a part or one of its content elements. Semantic events pertain directly to the part's content model and can have meaning independent of the part's display context. For example, semantic events could direct a part to get, set, or delete data. Compare user event. See also Open Scripting Architecture.

semantic-event handler A routine that executes in response to receiving a specific semantic event.

semantic interface A set of OpenDoc objects that provides an interface to allow parts to receive messages (semantic events) from other parts, in the same document or in other documents.

sequence number A number that defines the position of a frame in its frame group.

service An OpenDoc component that, unlike a part editor, is not primarily concerned with editing and displaying parts. Instead, it provides a service to parts or documents, using the OpenDoc extension mechanism. Spelling checkers or database-
access tools, for example, can be imple-
mented as services.

Settings dialog box A dialog box, accessible through the Part Info dialog box, that displays part-specific, custom Info properties.

settings extension An OpenDoc extension class that you can use to implement a Settings dialog box.

shape A description of a geometric area of a drawing canvas.

shared resource A facility used by multiple parts. Examples of shared resources are the menu bar, keystrokes, serial ports, and selection focus. See also arbitrator.

shell plug-in A shared library that modifies or extends the functions of the document shell.

sibling A frame or facet at the same level of embedding as another frame or facet within the same containing frame or facet. Sibling frames and facets are z-ordered to allow for overlapping.

signature (1) A Mac OS resource defined by a four-character sequence (such as 'odtm') that identifies an application to the Finder. (2) The aspect of a method defined by its return type and parameter list.

small icon view type A view type in which a part is represented by a 16-by-
16-pixel bitmap image. Other possible view types for displaying a part include large icon, thumbnail, and frame.

SOM See System Object Model.

SOM class ID An ISO string of a parti-
cular format that identifies a System Object Model (SOM) object, such as a part editor.

SOM object An object or class created according to the System Object Model.

source content The content at the source of a link. It is copied into the link and then into the destination content.

source frame (1) An embedded frame whose part has been opened up into its own part window. (2) The frame to which other synchronized frames are attached.

source part (1) In data transfer, the part that provides the data that is transferred.
(2) For a link, the part that contains the original information that is copied and displayed at the destination of the link. Compare destination part.

split-frame view A display technique for windows or frames, in which two or more facets of a frame display different scrolled portions of a part's content.

static canvas A drawing canvas that cannot be changed once it has been rendered, such as a printer page. Compare dynamic canvas.

stationery A part that opens by copying itself and opening the copy into a window, leaving the original stationery part unchanged.

storage system The OpenDoc mechanism for providing persistent storage for documents and parts. The storage system object must provide unique identifiers for parts as well as cross-document links. It stores parts as a set of standard properties plus type-specific content data.

storage unit In the OpenDoc storage system, an object that represents the basic unit of persistent storage. Each storage unit has a list of properties, and each property contains one or more data streams called values.

storage-unit cursor A preset storage unit/property/value designation, created to allow swift focusing on frequently accessed data.

storage-unit ID A unique runtime identifier of a storage unit within a draft.

storage-unit view A storage unit prefocused on a given property and value. A storage-unit view provides thread-safe access to a storage unit.

strong persistent reference A persistent reference that, when the storage unit containing the reference is cloned, causes the referenced storage unit to be copied also. Compare weak persistent reference.

subclass A class derived from another class (its superclass), from which it inherits type and behavior. Also called derived class or descendant.

subframe A frame that is both an embedded frame in, and a display frame of, a part. A part can create an embedded frame, make it a subframe of its own display frame, and then display itself in that subframe.

subject attribute An object specifier, attached to a semantic event, that refers to the target part by its persistent object ID.

subsystem A broad subdivision of the interface and capabilities of OpenDoc, divided along shared-library boundaries. The OpenDoc subsystems include shell, storage, layout, imaging, user events, and semantic events. Individual OpenDoc subsystems are replaceable.

superclass A class from which another class (its subclass) is derived. Also called ancestor, base class, or parent class. See
also inheritance.

swap token A special Apple event token that signals OpenDoc of an object accessor's failure furnish a required token. Passing a swap token causes a switch in the context of object resolution.

synchronized frames Separate frames that display the same representation of the same part, and should therefore be updated together. In general, if an embedded part has two or more editable display frames of the same presentation, those frames (and all their embedded frames) should be synchronized.

synthetic command ID A command ID created by OpenDoc for a menu command that had not previously been registered with the menu bar object.

System Object Model (SOM) A technology from International Business Machines, Inc., that provides language- and platform-independent means of defining programmatic objects and handling method dispatching dynamically at runtime.

terminology resource A Mac OS resource (of type 'aete') that is required for scriptability.

thread-safe Said of an activity, or access to data, that can be safely undertaken in a multitasking environment.

thumbnail view type A view type in which a part is represented by a large (64-by-64 pixels) bitmap image that is typically a miniature representation of the layout of the part content. Other possible view types for displaying a part include large icon, small icon, and frame.

token (1) A short, codified representation of a string. The session object creates tokens for ISO strings. (2) In Apple events for OpenDoc, a special descriptor structure that a part uses to identify one or more content objects within itself.

transform A geometric transformation that can be applied to a graphic object when it is rendered, such as moving, scaling, or rotation. Different platforms and different graphics systems have transforms with different capabilities.

translation The conversion of one type of data to another type of data. Specifically, the conversion of data of one part kind to data of another part kind. The translation object is an OpenDoc wrapper for platform- specific translation capabilities. Note that translation can involve loss of fidelity.

translator A software utility, independent of OpenDoc, that converts data from one format to another. A translator may, for example, convert text in the format used by one word processor into a format readable by a different one. The translation capability of OpenDoc relies on the availability of translators.

undo To rescind a command, negating its results. The undo object holds command history information to support the undo capability of OpenDoc.

update ID (1) A number used to identify a particular instance of clipboard contents. (2) A number used to identify a particular instance of link-source data.

usage binding See public header file.

used shape A shape that describes the portion of a frame that a part actually uses for drawing; that is, the part of the frame that the containing part should not draw over.

user event A message, sent to a part by the dispatcher, that pertains only to the state of the part's user interface, not directly to its contents. User events include mouse clicks and keystrokes; they deliver information about window locations, scroll-bar positions, editing actions, and the like. Compare semantic event.

user-interface part A part without content elements, representing a unit of a document's user interface. Buttons and dialog boxes, for example, can be user-interface parts.

validate To mark a portion of a canvas (or facet, or frame) as no longer in need of redrawing. Compare invalidate.

value In the OpenDoc storage system, a data stream associated with a property in a storage unit. Each property has a set of values, and there can be only one value of a given data type for each property.

value type An ISO string that specifies the format of a particular value in a property. Compare property name.

viewer See part viewer.

view type The basic visual representation of a part. Supported view types are large icon, small icon, thumbnail, and frame.

weak persistent reference A persistent reference that, when the storage unit containing the reference is cloned, is ignored; the referenced storage unit is not copied. Compare strong persistent reference.

window An area of a computer display in which information is presented to users in a graphic user interface. Windows typically contain one or more content areas and controls, such as scroll bars, that allow the user to manipulate the display. Window systems are platform-specific.

window canvas The canvas attached to the root facet of a window. Every window has a window canvas.

window-content transform The composite transform that converts from a part's content coordinates to its window coordinates.

window coordinate space The coordinate space of the window in which a part's content is drawn. It may or may not be equal to canvas coordinate space.

window-frame transform The composite transform that converts from a part's frame coordinates to its window coordinates.

window state An object that lists the set of windows that are open at a given time. Part editors can alter the window state, and the window state can be persistently stored.

wrapper An object (or class) that exists to provide an object-oriented interface to a non-object-oriented or system-specific structure. The OpenDoc class ODWindow, for example, is a wrapper for a system-specific window structure.

write For a part or other OpenDoc object, to transform its in-memory representation into a persistent form in a storage unit. Same as externalize; compare read.

z-ordering The front-to-back ordering of sibling frames used to determine clipping and event handling when frames overlap.


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© Apple Computer, Inc.
16 JUL 1996




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