Glossary Portal

.NET Framework

An integral Windows component that supports building, deploying, and running the next generation of applications and Web services. It provides a highly productive, standards-based, multilanguage environment for integrating existing investments with next generation applications and services, as well as the agility to solve the challenges of deployment and operation of Internet-scale applications. The .NET Framework consists of three main parts: the common language runtime, a hierarchical set of unified class libraries, and a componentized version of ASP called ASP.NET. See also: ASP.NET, common language runtime, .NET Framework class library.

.NET Framework data provider

A component of ADO.NET that provides access to data from a relational data source. A .NET Framework data provider contains classes to connect to a data source, execute commands at the data source, and return query results from the data source, including the ability to execute commands within transactions. A .NET Framework data provider also contains classes to populate a DataSet with results from a data source and propagate changes in a DataSet back to the data source.

access control list (ACL)

A list that specifies the rules for access to a particular resource. Microsoft Windows NT implements user-based ACLs, which specify the resources available to a particular user.

access key

A keyboard sequence, such as ALT+F, that corresponds to the underlined character on a menu, a menu command, or a control.

active time

The entire duration of a timeline, including forward and backward progression. For example, a timeline programmed to go from a progress value of 0 to 1 and then back to zero is active for twice the specified duration--once for the forward part and once again for the backward part.

add-in view

In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains interfaces or abstract base classes, and represents the add-in’s view of the methods and types used to communicate with a host. See also: add-in, host.

ADO.NET

The suite of data access technologies included in the .NET Framework class libraries that provide access to relational data and XML. ADO.NET consists of classes that make up the DataSet (such as tables, rows, columns, relations, and so on), .NET Framework data providers, and custom type definitions (such as SqlTypes for SQL Server).

affine matrix transformation

A transformation consisting of any combination of linear transformations (rotation, scaling, or skew) followed by a translation.

aggregate event

In WMI, a type of event that is generated after a series of events of another type have occurred. An aggregate event is used to represent a series of events to avoid flooding the event consumer. See also: event, event consumer.

alpha

In computer graphics, the measure of a pixel's opacity. A pixel with the maximum alpha value is opaque, one with a value of zero is transparent, and one with an intermediate value is translucent.

alpha channel

The opacity of an image defined by an alpha value per pixel interleaved with the color components (for example, ARGB), an alpha value per pixel stored in a separate alpha surface, or a constant alpha value for the entire surface.

ancestor

Pertaining to or constituting a relationship between nodes in a tree data structure in which the ancestor is one or more steps closer to the root (that is, one or more levels higher) than the descendant.

anti aliasing

The smoothing of jagged edges in graphical elements and text. Anti-aliasing softens the roughness of jagged lines or curves by shading neighboring pixels.

application dictionary

Customized list of words stored as a WordList object. These words are likely to be entered into an application as handwriting.

application gesture

Within the scope of an application, the laying down of ink (or movement of the pen) that commands or controls functionality, rather than the laying down of ink that is handwriting or drawing.

application object

The top-level object that represents the application to the system. The system calls methods on this object when the application is loaded, before it is shut down, and throughout the lifetime of the application to notify it of system-wide events. The application object contains application-wide code and maintains state that can be accessed from multiple views.

application state

In ASP.NET, a variable store that is created on the server for the current application and is shared by all users. Application state is typically used to store information that is used for all users, such as application-wide settings.

ASP.NET

A set of technologies in the Microsoft .NET Framework for building Web applications and Web services. ASP.NET pages execute on the server and generate markup (such as HTML, WML, or XML) that is sent to a desktop or mobile browser. ASP.NET pages use a compiled, event-driven programming model that improves performance and enables the separation of application logic and user interface. ASP.NET pages and Web services files created using ASP.NET contain server-side (rather than client-side) logic written in Visual Basic, C#, or any .NET-compatible language. Web applications and Web services take advantage of the features of the common language runtime, such as type safety, inheritance, language interoperability, versioning, and integrated security.

ASP.NET mobile controls

A set of ASP.NET controls designed for mobile Web applications. ASP.NET mobile controls extend their ASP.NET server control counterparts.

ASP.NET page

A component of an ASP.NET application.

ASP.NET Web application

An application that processes HTTP requests (Web requests) and executes on top of ASP.NET. An ASP.NET Web application can include ASP.NET pages, Web services, HTTP handlers, and HTTP modules.

assembly

A collection of one or more files that are versioned and deployed as a unit. An assembly is the primary building block of a .NET Framework application. All managed types and resources are contained within an assembly and are marked either as accessible only within the assembly or as accessible from code in other assemblies. Assemblies also play a key role in security. The code access security system uses information about the assembly to determine the set of permissions that code in the assembly is granted. See also: private assembly, shared assembly.

assembly manifest

An integral part of every assembly that renders the assembly self-describing. The assembly manifest contains the assembly's metadata. The manifest establishes the assembly identity, specifies the files that make up the assembly implementation, specifies the types and resources that make up the assembly, itemizes the compile-time dependencies on other assemblies, and specifies the set of permissions required for the assembly to run properly. This information is used at run time to resolve references, enforce version binding policy, and validate the integrity of loaded assemblies. The self-describing nature of assemblies also helps makes zero-impact install and XCOPY deployment feasible. See also: assembly, metadata.

assertion (Assert)

In .NET Framework security, helps to make sure that a method has access to a particular resource even if the method's callers do not have the required permission. During a stack walk, if a stack frame asserting the required permission is encountered, a security check for that permission will succeed. Assertions can create security holes and should be used only with extreme caution.

association class

In WMI, a class that describes a relationship between two classes or between instances of two classes. The properties of an association class include pointers, or references, to the two classes or instances. The Association qualifier is attached to every association class for identification.

ASSOCIATORS OF

A WMI Query Language statement that supports the traversal of associations programmatically by retrieving all endpoint instances that are associated with a particular source instance. See also: GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.

asynchronous communication layer

In ASP.NET, the layer of AJAX functionality that takes care of communication between the browser and the server.

asynchronous postback

In ASP.NET, the process of sending Web page data (plus viewstate and other necessary metadata) from the browser to the server without a complete postback and without blocking the user from continuing to work in the page. Asynchronous postbacks are an important feature of AJAX technology.

attached property

A property syntax that is defined by XAML. An attached property can be set on any object, not just the type that defines the property or its accessors. The attached property provider must provide static Get(PropertyName) and Set(PropertyName) methods as accessors for these attached properties.

authentication

In .NET Framework security, the process of discovering and verifying the identity of a principal by examining the user's credentials against some authority. See also: principal.

autopostback

In ASP.NET server controls, a setting that causes the control to submit the page when the user interacts with the control. (By default, only button controls cause a postback.) For example, if a DropDownList control is set to perform autopostback, the page is submitted as soon as a user selects an item from the list. See also: ASP.NET server control.

Bezier curve

A curve that is calculated mathematically to connect separate points into smooth, free-form curves and surfaces of the type needed for illustration programs and CAD models. Bezier curves need only a few control points to define a large number of shapes--hence their usefulness over other mathematical methods for approximating a given shape. Also "Bezier spline."

binding source

In data binding, the object from which the value is obtained.

bitmap

Representation of characters or graphics by individual pixels. The pixels can be arranged in rows (horizontal) and columns (vertical). Each pixel can be represented by 1 bit (simple black and white) to 32 bits (high-definition color) and beyond. Single plane, packed-pixel format bitmaps, where packed-pixel is the data for each pixel is stored in a contiguous manner.

bounds

The size and location of an object.

boxing

The conversion of a value type instance to an object, which implies that the instance will carry full type information at run time and will be allocated in the heap. The Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) instruction set's box instruction converts a value type to an object by making a copy of the value type and embedding it in a newly allocated object. See also: Microsoft intermediate language, unboxing, value type.

buffer

An area of memory reserved for temporarily holding data before that data is used by a receiving device or application. Buffering protects against the interruption of data flow.

C#

A programming language designed for building enterprise applications that run on the .NET Framework. C#, which is an evolution of C and C++, is type safe and object oriented. Because it is compiled as managed code, it benefits from the services of the common language runtime, such as language interoperability, security, and garbage collection.

card

A Web page in WML. WML devices can either display the contents of a card on a single screen or, when necessary, provide scroll bars so that the entire contents of the card can be viewed. Developers do not need to worry about manipulating cards or decks (groups of cards) because ASP.NET mobile controls handle formatting (including pagination) for targeted devices. See also: deck, WML.

catalog

A list of Web Parts controls (or other Web server, custom server, or user controls), created by a System.Web.UI.WebControls.CatalogPart control, that users can add to a Web Parts page. See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts page.

CDATA

A section in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document, bracketed by [!CDATA[[ and ]]] characters. All data in this section, including markup tags, is treated as normal characters by the XML parser.

character Autocomplete

For East Asian characters, the recognizer's ability to suggest recognition results based on incomplete characters.

chevron

The double angle bracket denoting an overflow button control.

chrome

The common user interface elements rendered around each Web Parts part control within a given zone. The chrome for a part control includes a border, a title bar, and the icons, title text, and verbs menu that appear within the title bar. The appearance of the chrome is set at the zone level and applies to all part controls in a zone. The rendering of chrome and of individual System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart controls is handled by the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPartChrome class. See also: part controls, Web Parts controls, zone.

CIM

See other term: Common Information Model (CIM)

CIM schema

In WMI, a collection of class definitions used to represent managed objects that occur in every management environment. See also: schema.

Classic mode

In IIS 7.0, a configuration in which request processing emulates the model used in IIS 6.0. In Classic mode, IIS receives requests and dispatches them to ISAPI components according to mapped file name extensions. IIS and the process that handles the request run as separate processes. For example, requests for ASP.NET resources are dispatched to the aspnet_isapi.dll component.

client area

The portion of a Windows-based application excluding toolbars, menus, and status bars.

clip

The area of the screen or page that enables graphics output.

CLR

See other term: common language runtime

CLS-compliant

Code that publicly exposes only language features that are in the Common Language Specification. CLS compliance can apply to classes, interfaces, components, and tools. See also: Common Language Specification (CLS).

code-behind class

A class that is accessed by an .aspx file, but resides in a separate file (such as a .dll or .cs file). For example, you can write a code-behind class that creates an ASP.NET custom server control, contains code that is called from an .aspx file, but does not reside within the .aspx file.

code-behind page

See other term: code-behind file

coercion

Used as a part of factoids, a means of restricting the alternates returned by a recognizer.

COM interop

A service that enables .NET Framework objects to communicate with COM objects.

common language runtime

The engine at the core of managed code execution. The runtime supplies managed code with services such as cross-language integration, code access security, object lifetime management, and debugging and profiling support.

Common Language Specification (CLS)

A subset of language features supported by the common language runtime, including features common to several object-oriented programming languages. CLS-compliant components and tools are guaranteed to interoperate with other CLS-compliant components and tools. See also: CLS-compliant.

common type system

The specification that determines how the common language runtime defines, uses, and manages types.

comparison evaluator

A filter that compares a device capability name to a value. See also: device capabilities.

compound file directory

A structure used to contain per-stream information about the streams in a compound file.

conceptual schema definition language (CSDL)

An XML-based language that is used to define the entity types, associations, entity containers, entity sets, and association sets of a conceptual model.

connection

See Other Term: Web Parts connection

constraint

See Other Term: generic type parameter constraint

constructed type

See Other Term: constructed generic type

container

See other term: naming container

content page

In ASP.NET, a Web page that is configured to be merged with a master page to create a complete page. See also: master page.

context

An ordered sequence of properties that define an environment for the objects that resides inside it. Contexts are created during the activation process for objects that are configured to require certain automatic services such as synchronization, transactions, just-in-time activation, security, and so on. Multiple objects can live inside a context.

context property

The implicit state, and code to manage that state, held on behalf of an object instance. For example, the transaction context property holds the transaction identifier of the transaction that the object is participating in.

control

A component that provides or enables user-interface (UI) capabilities. A button is an example of a control.

control state

A field in an ASP.NET Web page that stores the current property settings for server controls on the page. Control state is used to recreate the page and reestablish previous settings on each postback. See also: ASP.NET page, ASP.NET server control, postback, view state.

control view

A subset of the raw view of the UI Automation tree. It includes all User Interface (UI) items from the raw view that meet one of the following conditions: can receive keyboard focus, can be clicked, is a control that is text, or is a control that is an image. The control view closely maps to the UI structure perceived by an end user and is the default view of the UI Automation tree.

co-sign

To digitally sign data along with one or more additional signatories. A cosignature does not imply that other signatures are valid.

crop

To trim the vertical or horizontal edges of an object. Pictures are often cropped to focus attention on a particular area.

cryptographic digest

The result of a one-way hash function that takes a variable-length input string and converts it to a fixed-length output string. This fixed-length output string is probabilistically unique for every different input string and thus can act as a fingerprint of a file. It can be used to determine whether a file was tampered with.

CTS

See Other Term: common type system

current time

The current position of a timeline, relative to the starting time.

custom attribute (Attribute)

A class used to represent custom metadata. See also: attribute.

data binding

The process or method for configuring controls on a form or Web page to fetch data from or write data to a data source such as a database, XML file, and so on.

data space

A series of transforms that operate on data in a specific order.

deadlock

In multithreading, a condition in which each of two threads holds a lock that the other thread needs in order to proceed. See also: synchronization.

declarative security check

Declarative security information in metadata. Developers can use such declarations, which are usually written as custom attributes, to invoke several kinds of security functionality: require permissions to bind reference to the code, require permissions to derive a type, demand that callers have certain permissions, and so on. See also: imperative security check.

deep copy

A copy of the contents of a data structure, including all its substructures.

delegate

In the .NET Framework, a reference to a function. A delegate is equivalent to a function pointer. See also: reference type. In WMI, a security impersonation level used to allow remote access involving more than one network hop.

denial

By denying a permission, a method can prevent its callers from exercising the privilege represented by that permission. If a method on the call stack denies permission A, a stack walk checking for permission A will fail unless a valid assertion is found on the stack between the method doing the denial and the method that initiated the check for permission A. See also: assertion.

dependency property

A property represented by a DependencyProperty identifier that is registered with the Windows Presentation Foundation property system. Dependency properties can be defined only by DependencyObject types, which typically expose the identifier as a public static field. Dependency properties inherit to derived classes and support value expressions, property invalidation, default values, per-type metadata, inheritance, animation, data binding, and styling. The property system determines their effective value based on a precedence evaluation of all possible value sources.

descendant

In a tree data structure, a node that is one or more steps farther from the root (one or more levels lower) than the ancestor node.

deserialize

The process of converting a series of bytes back into an object.

device capabilities

The set of device functionality available through the HasCapability method or the <Choice> element.

device definition

The characteristics of a device available through the MobileCapabilities class and the DeviceSpecific control.

device independent pixel

A unit of measure that equals 1/96 of an inch. Because device independent pixels are not physical pixels, they scale to the dots per inch (dpi) settings of the rendering device. The size of an inch depends on the resolution and dpi of the rendering device, and can therefore vary from device to device.

Digital Rights Management

In a digital goods commerce system, a system that enforces content usage rules and protects the content from illegal use. A DRM system does not grant rights to the user of digital content; it only enforces the usage rules that the content owner has already established. Examples of usage rules are expiration date, play counts, and number of copies.

DIP

See Other Term: device independent pixel

direct event handling

An event handling strategy that does not involve routing.

discrete interpolation

One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method produces a jump from one value to the next, without generating in-between values.

display pointer

A pointer that marks a position in the markup text of an HTML document during editing in relation to the onscreen position of the rendered page. A display pointer is controlled by an GetDisplayGravity interface. Display pointers work in conjunction with markup pointers.

document time

An implicit timeline that starts when the application is launched, or when a page or frame is navigated to.

drawing

Ink that is neither handwriting nor gestures.

duration

A value, in seconds, that indicates the amount of time an animated object remains active or displayed.

Dynamic Data

In ASP.NET, a framework that facilitates the creation of data-driven Web applications. Dynamic Data uses customizable page and field templates, scaffolding, user-definable metadata, and convention-based naming to create UI that displays data, lets users navigate relationships between tables, and lets users edit and create data (CRUD operations). See also: scaffolding.

encapsulation

The ability of an object to hide its internal data and methods, making only the intended parts of the object programmatically accessible.

entity

In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a concept in the domain of an application from which a data type is defined.

Entity Data Model

A data model for defining application data as sets of entities and relationships to which common language runtime types and storage structures can be mapped.

entity set

In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a logical container for entities of a given type and its subtypes, mapped to tables in a database.

entity type

In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a specification for a data type that includes a named set of properties and represents a top-level item in a data model.

event

In WMI, an occurrence of a change to static or dynamic data related to a managed object.

event consumer

In WMI, a recipient of notifications that report an occurrence of an event. An event consumer is either temporary or permanent. See also: event, permanent consumer, temporary consumer.

event filter

In WMI, a filter that registers to receive notification of a specific type of event. See also: event.

event query

A WMI Query Language statement that event consumers use to register to receive notification of specific events. An event provider uses an event query to register to generate notifications of specific events. See also: event, event consumer.

Event-based Asynchronous Pattern

A design pattern that uses events to expose asynchronous features of a class.

executable file

A file in portable executable (PE) file format that can be loaded into memory and executed by the operating system loader. It can be either an .exe or a .dll file. In the .NET context, a PE file must be translated by the common language runtime into native code before it can be executed by the operating system. See also: portable executable (PE) file.

extender control

In ASP.NET, a control that encapsulates functionality that is implemented in JavaScript and that defines behavior in the browser. Extender controls are associated with existing Web server controls to add the extender's behavior to that control. For example, an extender control can add a watermark to any TextBox control or drag-and-drop behavior to a variety of ASP.NET Web server controls.

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)

An XML-based language used to represent a tree of objects. Events generated by these objects can be handled using any .NET programming language. In Windows Presentation Foundation, XAML is typically used to describe user interfaces (UI), documents, and media experiences. Pronounced "zammel".

extent

For controls that display content, the extent size refers to the total width and height of the content. Content controls typically expose extent width and height as properties. Contrast with a viewport, which is a mechanism used to display a particular portion of content that may be too large to fit in the available display space.

external style sheet

A style sheet defined in a user control in an .ascx file. See also: external style.

factoid fingerprint

Concatenation of the factoid type.

fingerprint

See Other Term: factoid fingerprint

flavor

A WMI-defined flag that describes the behavior of a qualifier. WMI flavors describe rules that specify whether a qualifier can be propagated to derived classes and instances and whether a derived class or instance can override the qualifier's original value.

flow layout

A way of designing a form in which all elements are positioned one immediately after the other.

fragment

A subtree of UI Automation elements within a host framework such as a window; for example, a list box with a scroll bar and list items.

Full Trust

Installed applications are installed on the user's system and run with full trust. This means that they have complete access to the system resources, much like a traditional Microsoft Win32 application. They can be either a ClickOnce installed application or a traditional .exe, deployed with Microsoft Installer (MSI). With ClickOnce, when the user attempts to deploy an installed application, the system will display a dialog box and request permission for the deployment to continue. If the user does not grant permission, the deployment is canceled.

gamma correction

The process of adjusting an image input signal to correctly display on a particular device.

GDI+

The portion of the Microsoft Windows XP operating system that provides two-dimensional vector graphics, imaging, and typography. GDI+ improves on GDI (the graphics device interface included with earlier versions of Windows) by adding new features and optimizing existing features. The GDI+ managed class interface (a set of wrappers) is part of the Microsoft .NET Framework.

generic interface

See Other Term: generic type

generic type

A class, interface, or structure whose definition has placeholders, called generic type parameters, for one or more types used in its member definitions (for example, as method parameter types). A user specifies real types (generic type arguments) for the type parameters when creating an instance of the generic type. See also: constructed generic type, generics, generic type argument, generic type parameter.

generic type definition

The definition of a generic type, in which type parameters act as placeholders for types that the user supplies when creating instances to use. These instances are not instances of the generic type definition, but of the constructed type formed by specifying type arguments. See also: constructed generic type, generics, generic type, generic type argument, generic type parameter.

generic type parameter constraint

A way of limiting the types that can be specified for a generic type parameter. For example, types substituted for the type parameter can be constrained to inherit from a particular type, to implement a specific interface, to provide a parameterless constructor, and so on. See also: generics, generic type parameter.

generics

A feature of the common language runtime, conceptually similar to C++ templates, that allows classes, structures, interfaces, and methods to have placeholders (generic type parameters) for the data types they store and manipulate. Generic types are a form of parameterized types. See also: generic type, generic type parameter, parameterized type.

gesture recognizer

See Other Term: Microsoft gesture recognizer

global assembly cache (GAC)

A machine-wide code cache that stores assemblies specifically installed to be shared by many applications on the computer. Applications deployed in the global assembly cache must have a strong name. See also: assembly cache, strong name.

glyph

Series of ink segments used to symbolize a gesture.

grab-and-go docking

Docking and undocking of the computer without advanced notice. The ability of an operating system or application to operate continuously and without interruption when a computer is suddenly docked or undocked.

granted permissions

The permissions, determined by security policy, that code will be given, allowing it access to resources and giving it identity. The granted permissions are determined by both the requested permissions and what is allowed by the security policy configuration. See also: security policy.

guide

See Other Term: recognition guide

handler (HTTP)

A component registered with ASP.NET (typically with an .axd extension) that produces Web output dynamically.

hash code

A fixed-size result that is obtained by applying a one-way mathematical function (sometimes called a hash algorithm) to an arbitrary amount of data. If the input data changes, the hash changes. The hash can be used in many operations, including authentication and digital signing, and is commonly used to index data for quick retrieval.

heap

A portion of memory reserved for a program to use for the temporary storage of data structures whose existence or size cannot be determined until the program is running.

HID

See Other Term: human interface device (HID)

hit test

A comparison of the mouse position with on-screen geometry. Commonly used to detect whether the mouse has been clicked over on-screen geometry.

host view of the add-in

In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains interfaces or abstract base classes, and represents the host’s view of the methods and types used to communicate with an add-in. See also: add-in, host.

HTML server control

An ASP.NET server control that belongs to the System.Web.UI.HtmlControls namespace. An HTML server control maps directly to an HTML element and is declared on an ASP.NET page as an HTML element marked by a runat="server" attribute, for example <button runat="server" />. In contrast to Web server controls, HTML server controls do not have an asp tag prefix. See also: ASP.NET server control, validation server controls, Web server control.

HttpModule

See other term: module (HTTP)

image codec

The short form of the term "image encoder/decoder". Software or an algorithm that converts images to a specified file format (encoder) or from file format to displayed image (decoder).

index

A zero-based number used to designate an item in a series of items. For example, some .NET Framework methods and properties use an index to designate a character in a string or an element in an array or collection.

ink

Data type representing pen strokes, including metadata about the strokes and contextual awareness of where the ink is used in an application.

ink serialized format (ISF)

File format for an Ink object that saves the original device coordinates, is extensible through support for arbitrary properties and multiple packet formats, is forward compatible, and stores ink in a highly compressed binary format.

ink-enabled

Having the ability to recognize both ink and text.

Input Panel

See Other Term: Tablet PC Input Panel

Integrated mode

In IIS 7.0, a configuration in which IIS and ASP.NET share request processing, based on a pipeline that supports both components created with the .NET Framework and native components. In Integrated mode, ASP.NET components such as HTTP modules can be used to manage all Web requests, including those for non-ASP.NET resources.

interface

A reference type that defines a contract. Other types implement an interface to guarantee that they support certain operations. The interface specifies the members that must be supplied by classes or other interfaces that implement it. Like classes, interfaces can contain methods, properties, indexers, and events as members. See also: contract, indexer, property, reference type.

internal style

A style in an internal style sheet. See also: internal style sheet.

interop assembly

An assembly containing definitions of COM types described in metadata. An interop assembly is typically produced by the Type Library Importer (Tlbimp.exe). See also: assembly, primary interop assembly.

ISA

An operator in the WQL WHERE clause that is used to retrieve instances from a class hierarchy. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.

JIT

An acronym for "just-in-time," a phrase that describes an action that is taken only when it becomes necessary, such as just-in-time compilation or just-in-time object activation.

lattice

Mapping of recognition alternates to strokes in the Ink object.

left-aligned

In left-to-right layout, the upper side of a vertical ToolStrip or the left side of a horizontal ToolStrip.

linear interpolation

One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method produces a constant rate of change.

lined guide

Ruled recognition guide. A lined guide minimally draws a suggested base line, but it can also include a midline, or even ascender or descender lines.

localization

The process of customizing or translating the separated data and resources needed for a specific region or language. See also: globalization, locale.

lossless compression

A process for compressing data in which information is arranged in a more concise form and restored to its original state upon decompression.

managed data

Objects whose lifetimes are managed by the common language runtime. The runtime automatically handles object layout and manages references to these objects, releasing them when they are no longer being used. See also: common language runtime, garbage collection.

management application

In WMI, an application or Windows 2000/Windows NT service that uses information originating from one or more managed objects in a managed environment. Management applications retrieve this information through calls to the CIM Object Manager API from the CIM Object Manager and from providers. See also: CIM Object Manager, provider.

mapping specification language (MSL)

An XML-based language that is used to map items defined in a conceptual model to items in a storage model.

mark up

The user action of applying ink as commentary to or highlighting of original content.

markup pointer

Marks a position in the markup text of an HTML document when the document is being edited.

mask placeholder

A character used in a masked control when there is no user input to display.

master page

In ASP.NET, a page that defines the layout for a set of pages. A master page can contain static text and controls that should appear on all pages. Master pages are merged at run time with content pages that define page-specific content. See also: content page.

metadata

Data about data. Title, subject, author, and size are examples of a file's metadata.

metadata workspace

A class that represents the metadata runtime service component that provides support for retrieving metadata.

Microsoft gesture recognizer

Engine that specifically recognizes and processes ink input as either system or application commands.

midline

Imaginary horizontal line with which the top of the main body of each character, excluding ascenders, is aligned. Corresponds to the top of the x-height.

mixed mode

Recognition mode that treats incoming ink selectively, based on its shape and what the recognizers indicate. Ink may be interpreted as a command or as content.

mobile user control

An ASP.NET mobile control derived from the System.Web.UI.MobileControls.MobileUserControl class. User controls provide containers for custom controls built from other ASP.NET mobile controls. See also: ASP.NET mobile controls.

module

A loadable unit, which can contain type declarations and type implementations. The module contains enough information to enable the common language runtime to locate all implementation bits when the module is loaded. The format for modules is an extension of the Windows portable executable (PE) file format. When deployed, a module is always contained in an assembly. See also: assembly, portable executable (PE) file.

MOF

See other term: Managed Object Format

MSIL

See other term: Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL)

namespace

A logical naming scheme for grouping related types. The .NET Framework uses a hierarchical naming scheme for grouping types into logical categories of related functionality, such as the ASP.NET technology or remoting functionality. Design tools can use namespaces to make it easier for developers to browse and reference types in their code. A single assembly can contain types whose hierarchical names have different namespace roots, and a logical namespace root can span multiple assemblies. In the .NET Framework, a namespace is a logical design-time naming convenience, whereas an assembly establishes the name scope for types at run time. See also: assembly.

native code

Code that has been compiled to processor-specific machine code.

navigation property

In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a property of entity types that uses an association to reference related entities.

NGen

See definition for native image generation.

object path

A formatted string used to access namespaces, classes, and instances. Each object on the system has a unique path that identifies it locally or over the network. Object paths are conceptually similar to Uniform Resource Locators (URL).

Object Services

Services provided by the ADO.NET Entity Framework that enable application code to operate on entities in terms of .NET Framework objects.

open generic type

A constructed generic type in which one or more of the generic type arguments substituted for its generic type parameters is a type parameter of an enclosing generic type or method. Open generic types cannot be instantiated. See also: closed generic type, constructed generic type, generics, generic type argument, generic type parameter.

origin

The zero points of the axes of any coordinate system used to draw graphical objects. In 2-D the origin is (0, 0).

owner draw

A rendering mode in which you take responsibility for drawing a control, rather than relying on the control’s default rendering behavior.

packet

Within a stroke, properties (such as the number of points in the stroke) and point data related to that stroke. The set of data sent by the tablet device at each sample point in a stroke.

page coordinates

The coordinate system used by a drawing surface, such as a form or control.

parameter constraint

See Other Term: generic type parameter constraint

parameterless constructor constraint

A restriction on a generic type parameter, such that types substituted for that type parameter must provide a parameterless or default constructor. See also: generics, generic type parameter, generic type parameter constraint.

part control

A control in the Web Parts control set that inherits directly or indirectly from the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.Part class and is used to create the primary user interface of Web Parts applications. See also: Web Parts control set.

partial-page rendering

In ASP.NET, the process of refreshing only a region of a Web page during an asynchronous postback. This is typically accomplished by using UpdatePanel controls. Partial-page rendering is an important feature of AJAX technology.

pen input panel

Software accessory that can be attached to a control on a form and that enables text input using a pen. The pen input panel opens near the control to which it is attached when the user taps the control with a Tablet PC pen.

performance counter

A property in a performance class that stores performance data. The counter is a member of a performance object in the original performance library.

permission class

A class that defines access to a resource or defines an identity by supporting authorization checks. See also: permission object.

personalization

A feature of the Web Parts control set that enables end users to personalize (modify) Web Parts controls and save the personalized settings. Personalization can apply to individual users (user scope) or to all users (shared scope). See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts control set.

per-user control

A dynamic Web Parts control that can be personalized and permanently deleted from a page for an individual user only. A per-user control appears on the page only when the page is in user scope. Note that a per-user control can have properties that are both user-scope and shared-scope for personalization purposes. See also: personalization, Web Parts controls.

platform invoke

The functionality provided by the common language runtime to enable managed code to call unmanaged native DLL entry points.

portable executable (PE) file

The file format used for executable programs and for files to be linked together to form executable programs.

precompilation

In ASP.NET, the process of submitting an entire Web site to a compiler. The resulting Web site output runs without needing to be compiled on first request and does not require source code to be deployed to a production server.

primary interop assembly

An assembly containing definitions of COM types that is distributed and digitally signed by the author of the COM component. Visual Studio uses a registered primary interop assembly by default when a developer references a type in the corresponding type library. See also: assembly, interop assembly.

private assembly

An assembly that is available only to clients in the same directory structure as the assembly. See also: assembly, shared assembly.

profile property

In ASP.NET, a property that can store information for each unique user and that is managed automatically by ASP.NET. When users visit the site, ASP.NET associates each user with a unique ID and can then read and write profile property values for the user.

provider

In a Web Parts connection, a server control that sends data to a consumer control. A provider can be a WebPart control or any type of server control, but must be designed to function as a provider. A provider must have a special callback method marked with a ConnectionProviderAttribute attribute in the source code. This method provides data to consumer controls in the form of an interface instance. See also: connection point, consumer, Web Parts connection. In WMI, a COM server that communicates with managed objects to access data and event notifications from a variety of sources, such as the system registry or an SNMP device. Providers forward this information to the CIM Object Manager for integration and interpretation. See also: CIM Object Manager.

qualifier

In WMI, a modifier containing information that describes a class, instance, property, method, or parameter. Qualifiers are defined by the Common Information Model (CIM), by the CIM Object Manager, and by developers. See also: CIM Object Manager, Common Information Model.

rafting

The sharing by ToolStrips of horizontal space when docked top or bottom, or of vertical space when docked left or right.

RCW

See other term: runtime callable wrapper (RCW)

recognition guide

Structure that specifies the boundaries of the ink to the recognizer, by using ink space coordinates. In general, a recognition guide indicates what marks are drawn on the screen to aid the user in isolating areas for input. Also see "boxed guide", "lined guide".

recognizer

Engine that recognizes and processes one language, a group of related languages, or a class of related objects such as musical notes, system gestures, or geometric shapes.

red/black tree

A binary search tree which uses a one-bit flag on each node to identify the node by color: either red or black. A set of constraints on node color helps form an approximately balanced binary tree.

REFERENCES OF

A WMI Query Language statement that supports the traversal of associations programmatically by retrieving all association instances that refer to a particular source instance. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.

reflection

The process of obtaining information about assemblies and the types defined within them, and creating, invoking, and accessing type instances at run time.

regular expression

A concise and flexible notation for finding and replacing patterns of text. The notation comprises two basic character types: literal (normal) text characters, which indicate text that must exist in the target string, and metacharacters, which indicate the text that can vary in the target string. You can use regular expressions to quickly parse large amounts of text to find specific character patterns; extract, edit, replace, or delete text substrings; or to add the extracted strings to a collection in order to generate a report.

remoting

The process of communication between different operating system processes, regardless of whether they are on the same computer. The .NET Framework remoting system is an architecture designed to simplify communication between objects living in different application domains, whether on the same computer or not, and between different contexts, whether in the same application domain or not. See also: application domain, context.

rendering context

Context that enables real-time placement of ink. Used to draw strokes on the device context as the user is writing, as well as to specify the transform, background, drawing mode, and mapping for rendering ink.

resource

Any nonexecutable data that is logically deployed with an application. A resource might be displayed in an application as error messages or as part of the user interface. Resources can contain data in a number of forms, including strings, images, and persisted objects.

role

In .NET Framework security: A named set of principals that have the same privileges with respect to security. See also: principal. In the ADO.NET Entity Framework: The name given to each End of an association to clarify the semantics of the relationship. See also: End.

round trip

A sequence of Web Forms stages that begins when a user action requires processing on the server. When this occurs, a form must be sent (posted) to the server, processed, and returned to the browser.

RTL

See other term: right to left (RTL)

runtime callable wrapper (RCW)

A .NET Framework object that acts as a proxy for a reference-counted COM object.

SAPI

Microsoft Speech API.

scaffolding

The process of generating Web-page templates based on database schemas. In ASP.NET, Dynamica Data uses scaffolding to faciliate the generation of Web-based UI that lets a user view and update a database.

scRGB

A standard color space that enables various devices including cameras, scanners, displays, and printers to produce reasonably identical colors. scRGB is optimized for greater than 8 bits per channel with a gamma of 1.0, and white point and primaries identical to sRGB. The scRGB color space is based on sRGB but offers a larger color gamut and precision by encoding values over 1.0 (white) and under 0.0 (black) with more bits per channel.

security descriptor

A data structure that contains the security information for a securable object, such as a share, file, sink, or event filter. A security descriptor identifies the object's owner and primary group. It also identifies who can have access to the resource and what type of access.

security identifier (SID)

A data structure that identifies user, group, and computer accounts. Every account on a network is issued a unique SID when the account is first created. SIDs are used in access control (the process of comparing a SID to a resource security descriptor that specifies which SIDs can use the resource).

security-critical type or member

A type or member that accesses secure resources and can be used only by trusted code in the .NET Framework for Silverlight class library. Security-critical types and members cannot be used by Silverlight application code. See also: Silverlight.

seeking

The querying and modifying of the current read/write position within a stream.

segment

See Other Term: recognition segment

semisynchronous method

A method call that returns immediately and allows the application or script to enumerate the returned objects as a collection. A semisynchronous method call does not require setting up an object sink, but an asynchronous method call does require setting up an object sink. See also: asynchronous method.

serialize

The process of converting data into a string of ones and zeros so that it can be transmitted serially. Encoding is part of this process.

Session state

In ASP.NET, a variable store created on the server for the current user; each user maintains a separate Session state on the server. Session state is typically used to store user-specific information between postbacks. See also: postback.

shared assembly

An assembly that can be referenced by more than one application. An assembly must be explicitly built to be shared by giving it a cryptographically strong name. See also: assembly, private assembly, strong name.

shared name

See other term: strong name

SID

See other term: security identifier

signature

The list of types involved in the definition of a method, field, property, or local variable. For a method, the signature includes its name, number of parameters and their types, the type it returns (if any), and its calling convention (default or vararg). The signature for a property is similar to that of a method. The signature for fields and local variables is simply their type (for example, array [0..5] of int).

Silverlight

A cross-browser, cross-platform client technology that helps developers design, develop, and deliver media-enabled experiences and rich interactive applications on the Web.

simple time

The duration of a single section of forward progress for a given node.

site navigation

In ASP.NET Web sites, the process of displaying controls such as menus, a tree view, or SiteMapPath (breadcrumb) controls that assist users in finding pages of interest. Site navigation is typically driven from a sitemap. See also: sitemap.

sketch ink object (sInk)

Object containing ink input that is a drawing.

skin file

A file containing one or more control properties that define how the controls should look. Skin files are part of ASP.NET themes. See also: theme.

snaplines

Visual guides that the Windows Forms Designer draws to aid in the placement and alignment of controls.

splined interpolation

One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method uses a Bezier curve to describe how the animation transitions between key frames. The Bezier curve starts at zero, which corresponds to the current key frame value, and ends at one (the next key frame's value). By altering the curve's two control points, you alter the animation's progress curve.

sRGB

A standard color space that enables various devices including cameras, scanners, displays, and printers to produce reasonably identical colors. Optimized for 8 bits per channel with a gamma of 2.2, white point of D65, and primaries identical to HDTV/ITU-R BT.709/5.

stack layout

A layout style in which adjacent items align against each other as though they were stacked, always taking up the free space in between the items.

static control

A Web Parts control that is part of the declarative "page persistence" markup in an .aspx page; it exists only as part of the .aspx page, not in a personalization store like a dynamic Web Parts control. Unlike a dynamic control, a static control is added to an .aspx page on every request. A static Web Parts control is always a shared control, which means that although users can both personalize and "close" the control when the page is in either shared or user scope, the control can never be permanently deleted. See also: personalization, personalization scope, shared control, Web Parts control.

store schema definition language (SSDL)

An XML-based language that is used to define the entity types, associations, entity containers, entity sets, and association sets of a storage model, often corresponding to a database schema.

stream

The flow of data from a source to a single receiver that flows through a channel, as opposed to packets, which may be addressed and routed independently, possibly to multiple recipients.

stride

The distance, in bytes, between an address that represents the beginning of a bitmap line and the beginning of the next line. Do not confuse memory pitch and memory width because not all display memory is laid out as one linear block. For example, with rectangular memory, the pitch of the display memory could include the width of the bitmap plus part of a cache.

stroke range

Inclusive set of values that describes a set of strokes. A Stroke range identifies a set of strokes from a piece of ink by using a set of index values.

structure

A user-defined value type. Like a class, structures can contain constructors, constants, fields, methods, properties, indexers, operators, and nested types. Unlike classes, however, structures do not support inheritance. See also: class, field, indexer, nested type, property, value type.

synchronization

In multithreading, the coordination of the activities of multiple threads through locks and signaling mechanisms so that program data is protected from corruption, and deadlocks and race conditions do not occur. See also: deadlock, race condition.

system class

In WMI, a class that the CIM Object Manager defines to support core features such as event notification, security, and localization. A system class is automatically defined in each namespace. See also: CIM Object Manager.

system gesture

System-wide, a movement of the pen that commands or controls functionality. System gestures include the pen equivalents of traditional mouse messages.

table layout

A method of designing a form in which all elements are positioned in cells within a table. Sometimes called "grid layout".

table-per-type (TPT)

A method of modeling a type hierarchy in a database that uses multiple tables with one-to-one relationships to model the various types.

tablet context

On the tablet, the "pen input area." In the Tablet PC Platform APIs, represents the physical area of the tablet that will be used for inking and usually overlays the display context. Used to determine the current state and settings of the tablet and to process and manage the packet queue.

template

In ASP.NET, a declarative page fragment that is used to provide a visual interface for a templated ASP.NET server control. A template contains presentation elements that include literal text, HTML, and data-binding expressions, as well as declarative syntax elements that represent ASP.NET server controls. A template can be persisted as a text file with an .ascx extension. See also: ASP.NET server control, templated control. In ASP.NET mobile controls, a markup language construct associated with controls and created with the <DeviceSpecific> and <Choice> tags. It is used to customize output for specific types of hardware devices. See also: templated control, template set.

template set

In ASP.NET mobile controls, a collection of templates associated with a templated control. See also: template, templated control.

temporary consumer

In WMI, a consumer that receives event notifications only while the consumer is active. See also: permanent consumer.

text ink object (tInk)

Object that contains ink that is handwriting.

Text Services Framework (TSF)

API that enables advanced text input, independent of any source. Microsoft Windows Text Services Framework (TSF) exposes its framework to applications and text services through a set of COM interfaces.

the journal

&quot;The journal&quot; is the name of the Windows Presentation Foundation(WPF) service that records backward and forward navigation. Internet Explorer, NavigationWindow, and Frame get the data for their Forward and Back buttons from the journal.

thumb

The part of a slider control that can be moved to set the slider position.

time stamp

A certification by a trusted third party specifying that a particular message existed at a specific time and date. In a digital context, trusted third parties generate a trusted time stamp for a given message by having a time stamping service append a time value to a message and then digitally signing the result.

tInk

See Other Term: text ink object (tInk)

TPT

See other term: table-per-type (TPT)

transform (Media Integration Layer)

In mathematics and computer graphics, to alter the position, size, or nature of an object by moving it to another location (translation), making it larger or smaller (scaling), turning it (rotation), changing its description from one type of coordinate system to another, and so on.

tree

A data structure containing zero or more nodes that are linked together in a hierarchy. If any nodes are present, one node is the root; each node except the root is the child of one and only one other node, and each node has zero or more nodes as children.

TSF

See Other Term: Text Services Framework (TSF)

tunneling

An event routing strategy where the event instance moves down the element tree (starting at the root of the visual tree and ending with the source). In Windows Presentation Foundation, the names of events that use this routing strategy are prefixed with the word &quot;Preview&quot;. These events have the same signature as their counterparts that use the bubbling event routing strategy.

type parameter

See Other Term: generic type parameter

type safe

The ability for languages and classes to exchange information through commonly agreed upon definitions and usage patterns for types.

UDDI

See other term: Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)

UI Automation element

An object that represents a UI Automation client application's view of a Windows user interface item.

unboxing

The conversion of an object instance to a value type. See also: boxing, value type.

unit vector

Vector with a magnitude (length) of 1.0.

unmanaged code

Code that is executed directly by the operating system, outside the common language runtime environment. Unmanaged code must provide its own garbage collection, type checking, security support, and so on, unlike managed code, which receives these services from the common language runtime. See also: managed code.

user dictionary

Word list containing words that the user has added to the dictionary.

validation server controls

A set of server controls, included with ASP.NET, that verify user input. The input is checked as it comes from HTML server controls and Web server controls (for example, a Web page form) against programmer-defined requirements. Validation controls perform input checking in server code. If the user is working with a browser that supports DHTML, the validation controls can also perform validation using client script. See also ASP.NET server control, HTML server control, Web server control.

value type

A data type that is represented by the type's actual value. If a value type is assigned to a variable, that variable is given a fresh copy of the value. (This is in contrast to a reference type, where assignment does not create a copy.) Value types are usually created on a method's stack frame, rather than in the garbage-collected heap. A value type can be boxed, which is a process that creates a corresponding reference type. See also: boxing, reference type, unboxing.

verbs menu

A menu in the title bar of a part control that contains various verbs (UI actions that apply to an individual control) such as Close, Minimize, Restore, Delete, Export, Edit, Help, and others, as well as custom verbs implemented by developers. See part control, verb.

version policy

The rules that specify which version of dependent assemblies to bind to. Version polices are expressed using configuration files.

viewport

For controls that display content, the viewport is a virtual window through which all or part of the content is visible. A viewport is typically used to display a particular portion of content when all of the content will not fit in the available display space. Compare to the extent size, which is the total width and height of the content.

virtual-mode data binding

A type of data binding in which a data-bound control retrieves only as many rows from the database as the user will be able to see on the screen.

WAP

Wireless Application Protocol. A standard protocol for providing Internet communications and advanced telephony services on phones, pagers, PDAs, and other wireless terminals.

Web Forms

The ASP.NET page framework, which consists of programmable Web pages (called Web Forms pages) that contain reusable server controls. See also ASP.NET server control.

Web Parts connection

An association between two server controls residing in a WebPartZoneBase zone that enables them to share data, with one control acting as the provider of data and the other control acting as the consumer. A connection is encapsulated within a System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPartConnection object. See also: consumer, provider, zone.

Web Parts controls

A way of referring generally to any of the various types of controls in the Web Parts control set. See also: Web Parts control set.

Web server control

An ASP.NET server control that belongs to the System.Web.UI.WebControls namespace. Web server controls are richer and more abstract than HTML server controls. A Web server control has an asp tag prefix on an ASP.NET page, such as &lt;asp:Button runat="server" /&gt;. See also: ASP.NET server control, HTML server control, validation server controls.

Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM)

An initiative undertaken by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) to provide enterprise system managers with a standard solution for management. WMI is the Microsoft implementation of the WBEM initiative for Windows operating systems.

WHERE

A clause in the WQL SELECT statement that constrains a query so that subsets of class definitions or class instances can be selected. WHERE clauses can also be used to limit the scope of event notifications. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WITHIN.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

WMI is the Microsoft extension to the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, and provides a set of interfaces for access to components that provide management capabilities to an enterprise. See also: Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM).

Windows Presentation Foundation Designer for Visual Studio

A designer in Visual Studio for creating Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) controls and applications. The WPF Designer includes a split view that enables you to view the design surface and XAML markup at the same time. See also: Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML).

WMI

See other term: Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

WML

An XML-based markup language used to specify content and the user interface for narrowband devices, including cellular phones and pagers. WML is part of WAP. See also: WAP.

world transformation

The transformation that converts world coordinates to page coordinates. See also: page coordinates, world coordinates.

WPF Designer

See other term: Windows Presentation Foundation Designer for Visual Studio

WPF framework-level

The complete set of all programming features available in Windows Presentation Foundation. Architecturally, the APIs that complete this framework-level feature set are packaged in the PresentationFramework.DLL library.

X.509 certificate

A cryptographic certificate that contains a vendor's unique name and the public key.

x-height

The height of a lowercase letter x. The x-height is therefore representative only of lowercase letters and excludes uppercase letters, ascenders, and descenders.

XML Schema (XSD)

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard language used for creating XML Schema documents. The XML Schema contains two parts: a set of predefined types (for example, string, dateTime, decimal), and an XML language for defining new types (for example, complexType, minOccurs, element).

XML Web services

Units of application logic providing data and services to other applications. Applications access XML Web services using standard Web protocols and data formats such as HTTP, XML, and SOAP, independent of how each XML Web service is implemented. XML Web services combine the best aspects of both component-based development and the Web, and they are a cornerstone of the Microsoft .NET programming model.

zone

A region that contains Web Parts controls on a page, and provides layout management and a consistent UI for the contained controls. A zone in the Web Parts control set is a composite control that contains other controls and is rendered as an HTML table. All Web Parts zones inherit from System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebZone. See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts control set.