Distributed Name Service (DNS) Management Programming Manual

Glossary
46958 Tandem Computers Incorporated Glossary–5
Current position. The location in the SPI buffer of the token whose token code, token
value, or attribute has just been retrieved. Scans for the next token code (with the
operations ZSPI-TKN-NEXTCODE and ZSPI-TKN-NEXTTOKEN) begin at the current
position, but always return a token code beyond the current position. Compare with
Next position and Initial position.
Current token. The token in the current position. See Current position.
Data list. A grouping of tokens used to separate response records within an SPI
message for a response, or to enclose a single response record if the program so
requests. A data list consists of a list token that denotes a data list (different from the
token that starts an error list or a generic list), followed by a response record and an
end-list token. See “response record.”
Definition authority. The security attribute value required to add, alter, or delete
subsystems or alias, composite, or subsystem-object types in DNS.
Definition files. A set of files containing declarations for use in applications that call SPI
procedures. SPI has a standard definition file for DDL and one for each of the
programming languages supporting SPI; the latter files are derived from the DDL
definition file. Likewise, each subsystem that has a token-oriented programmatic
interface has one definition file for DDL and one for each programming language.
Some subsystems—for instance, data communications subsystems—have additional,
shared definition files. See also SPI standard definitions and Subsystem definitions.
Definition node. With respect to a particular DNS name, the node where the name was
originally defined. All future changes to the original definition must be made at this
node.
Distributed Name Service. A Tandem subsystem that manages a distributed database of
names. It allows you to store in your database the names (and aliases) of system and
network objects, facts about their relationships, and instructions for replicating name
definitions on remote nodes. The completed database, which you update as needed to
reflect configuration changes, is an online resource to operators and management
applications. The subsystem includes both an interactive text interface (DNSCOM)
and a programmatic command interface based on SPI.
Distributed Systems Management. A set of software tools that facilitate management of
NonStop systems and EXPAND networks. These tools include the ViewPoint console
application, the Subsystem Control Facility (SCF) for data communications
subsystems, the Subsystem Programmatic Interface (SPI), the Event Management
Service (EMS), the Distributed Name Service (DNS), and token-oriented programmatic
interfaces to the management processes for various Tandem subsystems.
Distribution. Apportionment of resources within a system or among nodes of a
network. It is proper to refer to distribution of an application or its processes, a
database or its data, memory, devices, workload, and so on. In the case of a
database— for instance; the DNS database—distribution might imply partial
replication of the database at various locations.
DNS. Abbreviation for Distributed Name Service.