Apple WebObjects 5 - Manual (Page 99)

G L O S S A R Y
99

Apple Computer, Inc. January 2002
Java Client A WebObjects development
approach that allows you to create graphical
user interface applications that run on the
user’s computer and communicate with a
WebObjects server.
Java Foundation Classes A set of graphical
user interface components and services
written in Java. The component set is known
as Swing.
JDBC Informally stands for “Java Database
Connectivity.” An interface between Java
platforms and databases.
JNDI (Java Naming and Directory
Service)
Protocol that provides a standard
API to naming and directory services.
key An arbitrary value (usually a string)
used to locate a datum in a data structure
such as a dictionary.
key-value coding The mechanism that
allows the properties in enterprise objects to
be accessed by name (that is, as key-value
pairs) by other parts of the application.
locking A mechanism to ensure that data
isn’t modified by more than one user at a
time and that data isn’t read as it is being
modified.
look In Direct to Web applications, one of
three user interface styles. The looks differ in
both layout and appearance.
method In object-oriented programming, a
procedure that can be executed by an object.
model An object (of the EOModel class)
that defines, in Entity-Relationship terms, the
mapping between enterprise object classes
and the database schema. This definition is
typically stored in a file created with the
EOModeler application. A model also
includes the information needed to connect
to a particular database server.
Model-View-Controller An
object-oriented programming paradigm in
which the functions of an application are
separated into the special knowledge (Model
objects), user interface elements (View
objects), and the interface that connects them
(the Controller object).
object A programming unit that groups
together a data structure (instance variables)
and the operations (methods) that can use or
affect that data. Objects are the principal
building blocks of object-oriented programs.
primary key An attribute in an entity that
uniquely identifies rows of that entity. For
example, the Employee entity can contain an
EmpID attribute that uniquely identifies each
employee.
Project Builder A tool used to manage the
development of a WebObjects application or
framework.
property In Entity-Relationship modeling,
an attribute or relationship. See also
attribute
; relationship.
record The set of values that describes a
single instance of an entity; in a relational
database, a record is equivalent to a row.