Definitions

Absolute frames. These frames do not change, since no data is stored within them. The ABS area is where the D3 virtual (

The ACCESS Query Language (AQL) is a D3 facility used to retrieve and output data and consists of the List preprocessor,

An account is a collection of logically related files. Each account has a master dictionary (MD), where the vocabulary f

ACID is an acronym for Atomic, Compliant, Isolated, Durable.

An active list is a list of strings for use in a subsequent process that handles items one at a time. Typically, a list

ADI is an acronym for attribute-defining item.

Each server can be given an alias to avoid having to tie a D3 object to a given computer on the network. For example: Wh

AMC is an acronym for attribute mark count.

ASCII is an acronym for the set of characters that comprise the American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

The assembler changes Pick assembly language source statements (lines) into machine executable object code.

Pick assembly language defines the language of the Pick Virtual environment. It is used to write the Pick core functiona

Assembly languages are computer programming languages usually related to particular CPU’s primitives.

An atomic operation is an indivisible operation, either uninterruptible or, if aborted, a mechanism is provided that ens

An attribute is a field that is used to store data within an item.

An attribute mark is the specific metacharacter used in D3 items to indicate the end of an attribute, and the beginning

B-tree is the balanced tree access method that D3 supports throughout the system and in every process that touches the d

Backward link zero (BLZ) is a particular system error. A frame containing data, either workspace or file system data was

Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) is a third generation programming language originally developed

Binary files are used to access binary items using normal D3 utilities.

Blocking I/O is the process that D3 uses to group several disk reads into one larger disk access in order to improve dis

BLZ is an acronym for backward link zero.

Branching is a fundamental concept in programming and programming languages regarding the control of program execution.

CCB is an acronym for cursor control block.

CDS is an acronym for Cell Directory Service.

The clipboard is a temporary storage area where data can be placed from an application and later retrieved from the same

A command is a stored procedure that is inherent to one of the processors in D3.

Conversions are subroutines used to convert data to alternate formats. These are listed under Processing Codes.

Correlatives are used in attribute 8 of the dictionary item being processed by AQL or the Update processor.

CRT is an acronym for cathode ray tube, the display portion of almost all dumb terminals.

Cruising is the ability to scan forwards and backwards through items in a file.

The CTRL key is used to enter commands in the Update processor.

A cursor control block is a binary item that contains the codes and control strings pertinent to the terminal in questio

A D-pointer is used to define a file’s location.

A delimiter delineates parts of a statement, command, or data.

The dialer is a subsystem that allows D3 systems to communicate over serial lines to transfer items, execute commands on

Dictionaries are used by the D3 system to describe, define, locate, and, in general, operate on data within the files to

Dirty bits are status bytes associated with each item in the D3 file system indicating that the item is new or changed.

dm is an acronym for the D3 data manager account which contains the files necessary for basic system operation.

A Windows concept that defines a set of systems, clients, and servers that are administered as a unit. A domain controll

Double-spacing AQL reports can be achieved using the dbl-spc modifier. To double-space Output processor documents, chang

EBCDIC is an acronym for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code.

A data element is an atomic datum variously known as field, attribute, value, attribute value, and so on.

An entity is a system element, such as a D3 process, a serial port, or a device, with which data can be exchanged.

An expression is a variable, literal, function, or expression enclosed in parentheses, or a combination of these, separa

External format describes data that has been externally converted using one of the conversion or processing codes provid

FCB is an acronym for file control block.

FDI is an acronym for file-defining item.

FID is an acronym for frame-ID, which is the unique identifier to each virtual frame on the disk.

Everything in the D3 database is an item in a file.

Every file on the system has a special frame attached to it called a file control block or FCB. These frames contain inf

A file inconsistency is a state representing structural inconsistency within a certain group of a file.

The file inconsistency handler processes file inconsistencies encountered in the D3 file system.

Attributes 5 and 6 of file-defining items can contain retrieval and update lock codes respectively. These codes are used

A file name is the name of a D3 file.

The file reference is the name of a file in the master dictionary to which the user is currently logged. It can also be

A D3 service, normally started automatically at boot time on a Windows server that services file system requests. Each D

File-defining items are the mechanisms by which the D3 system establishes the disk addresses of a file.

FlashBASIC is a high-level programming language that is an extension of the Dartmouth BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbo

The flusher is responsible for scheduling and writing all write-required (dirty) frames back to disk.

Font is the typeface of a character.

A frame is the basic storage area of the system. Each frame is addressed by its numeric frame ID (FID), beginning with f

Full duplex means simultaneous bidirectional communications. Both sides send and receive with virtually no turnaround ti

A full restore is the opposite of a full save or file-save. A full restore is the process of reloading the entire file s

Glossary of D3 terms, commands, acronyms, and so on.

A group is a partition in a file consisting of one or more linked frames used for storing and retrieving items.

Half duplex is communication in a single direction at a time.

A hangup is a condition by which a device, usually a modem or a network, indicates to the application that communication

Hashing is the file-access method used by D3 to find items in a file.

Header files access header information using normal D3 utilities.

Hot backup is a configuration where one machine is in a standby mode, ready to take over the load from a failing system.

A port is considered hung when it refuses to accept keyboard input and is producing no new terminal output.

An incremental restore restores all items from the most recent incremental save tape.

An incremental save backs up only the items that have been changed since the last full save.

Installation information is provided in your System Installation Guide provided with your D3 system.

Internal format is the data format resulting when data is internally converted using one of the conversion or processing

An item is the fundamental directly accessible aggregation of data in D3.

An item-ID is a unique identifier by which an item can be retrieved from a file. An item-ID may be any length up to 100

Language definition is the file structure that is used by D3 to perform case insensitive compares according to other lan

Any command or program can be interrupted during execution by pressing the active level pushing key, (usually the BREAK

Linked or dynamic overflow are the additional frames attached to a file. As files expand and contract, additional frames

D3 locks groups on a process basis. A port executing a program is locked from accessing items locked by the previous lev

See Retrieval and Update Locks.

The logon procedure is used to gain access to the system, and consists of a user prompt, which is usually:

Macros are used to execute one or more TCL commands and are stored in the master dictionary with the name of the macro a

The master dictionary (md) file contains commands, Procs, macros, menus, connectives, default attribute-defining items,

The maxfid is the last addressable frame on the disk. The what command outputs the current maxfid.

Menus provide a selection of processing choices.

Metacharacters are used to reference one of the four reserved delimiters that D3 uses within its item structure.

A modulo designates the number of groups (measured in frames) in the primary file space, as indicated during the creatio

The Name service allows clients to locate the service they need without knowing where and how to reach the server provid

This topic describes how to implement a full save/restore of one machine to another across a network, using tape-socket.

The Open Systems File interface (OSFI) provides a standard mechanism for handling nonfile entities as if they were stand

An acronym for the Open Systems File interface

The overflow table is the area that contains a list of unused frames.

Account passwords can be used to limit the access to an account or to limit access to the system.

Performance monitoring is the process of using various tips, utilities, and performance monitoring tools that allow iden

A phantom process is a process that is initiated at a terminal and detaches itself from that terminal for execution inde

PIB is an acronym for Process Identification Block. It is often used, inappropriately, to designate a D3 port number.

PIB status is a piece of data returned by the where command. The pibstat program is used to break the information down i

Pick remote files are standard Pick files on a nonlocal Pick machine.

A Process ID (PID) uniquely identifies a UNIX process. On D3, each D3 process is a UNIX process, and, therefore, is assi

Pointer items are internal file place-keepers that point to the frame where the actual data resides.

For UNIX: Port is not always the same as the physical device, and can be thought of as the D3 port number.

A port number is the sequentially-assigned number associated with each physical line or process on the system. The numbe

Primary file space is the initial space set aside for a file and is specified as a number of frames in the create-file c

A primary list is an active list of item-IDs to be used in a subsequent process that processes them one at a time.

A prompt is a computer request for data entry.

Prompt characters are the characters displayed at input prompts. The number of prompt characters output is equivalent to

A pseudo tape is a binary host file handled internally as a large floppy. Data is formatted in 512 byte sectors and acce

A Q-pointer defines a duplicate (synonym) name for an already existing file.

A QS-pointer defines a remote file that is saved as if it were local.

A restore refers to the loading (restoring) of data into the D3 file system from a backup media created by a save, or t-

Restricted system access means that a user has been denied access to TCL. Users can be denied access to TCL by placing t

If any process, such as a TCL command or a FlashBASIC program is executed from an account that does not have retrieval a

A scrubber is a mechanism that provides overflow protection in the event of a system halt.

Secondary lists are created using the s option with the select, sselect or get-list commands. Its is only used when runn

D3 provides several levels of security, including:

A segment mark is the specific metacharacter used within D3 items. The segment mark is not actually part of data. Rather

The selection processor is responsible for presenting items to the List processor based on processing the selection crit

A seq item alters the normal sort sequence of characters used by the ms (mask alter sort) processing code.

Whenever requesting a software change, please provide as much of the following information to Rocket as you can. This fo

The start buffer mark is used to pad tape records to the length specified during the most recently executed tape attachm

A subvalue is a field used to store data within a value of an attribute within an item.

A subvalue mark is the specific metacharacter used within D3 items to indicate the end of a subvalue, and the beginning

Super Q-pointers are extended Q-pointers used to access non-D3 and/or nonlocal files.

Also known as Q-pointers, synonym-defining items are used in account master dictionaries to point to other files. A Q-po

A table synonym or Q-pointer is a special record in a master dictionary or table dictionary that points to another table

Sysbase refers to the first frame where data is stored on the disk.

System delimiters refer to:

System privileges determine which processes the user has access to or can invoke.

All processes that handle magnetic media are classified as tape handling commands. All references to media and tape mean

Tape socket defines a tape system across a network. This section is an introduction to the functionality of the tape ove

The transaction logger is a subsystem designed to write file system updates to another device.

Through the OSFI, it is possible to access UNIX files as if they were D3 items, using AQL, BASIC, FlashBASIC, and so on.

User exits allow direct references to assembler routines known as modes. These are generally not needed for new applicat

A user-ID identifies a user. User-IDs are found in the dm,users, file.

A value is the field used to store data within an attribute of an item.

A value mark is the specific metacharacter used within D3 items to indicate the end of a value, and the beginning of ano

The var file is a pseudo file that maps to the user’s TCL shell variables.

A virtual machine is a set of resources obtained from UNIX at initialization time that display the functions and charact

Workgroup is a collection of systems on a network that work as peers.