Introduction to Data Management

Glossary
15873 Tandem Computers Incorporated Glossary-5
ENFORM query language and report writer. An interactive tool for writing queries and
generating reports based on data from ENSCRIBE files.
ENSCRIBE database record manager. A software product for high-level access to records
in a relational database. The basic product in the first generation of database
management software from Tandem. This product accesses data on a record-by-
record basis.
Entry-sequenced file. A file in which each new record is stored at the end of the file in
chronological sequence, and whose primary key is a system-generated record address.
Entry-sequenced table. A table stored in an entry-sequenced file. Rows can be updated
but not deleted. Columns cannot be lengthened or shortened.
Exclusion mode. A specification that determines the degree of access that competing
processes can have to a file simultaneously: shared access, exclusive access, or
protected access. Exclusion mode is specified when the file is opened.
EXPAND NonStop Network. A data communications software product that supports
integrated, fault-tolerant networks of up to 255 individual computer systems.
Field. A particular set of information about the item to which a record pertains; a
portion of that record. For instance, a customer's bank account record would contain
fields for the customer's name, account number, total credits, total debits, and bank
balance. In relational terms, each column of a table represents one field.
File. A particular collection of records in a database, identified by a file name. For
example, the records for all checking accounts at a bank might belong to one file and
the records for all savings accounts might belong to another file. In NonStop SQL, a
file is the physical storage allocated for a table or index; the creation of a table or index
implicitly creates a file with the same name as the table or index.
File system. The portion of the operating system software that provides a standard
interface between application processes and I/O devices or other processes.
File system procedures. A generalized set of file-handling procedures available to
programs written in any source language supported by Tandem. Contrast with SIO
procedures.
File Utility Program (FUP). A standard utility program used to define, create, and load
structured and unstructured files for use in a database.
Global database. A massive database that spans multiple computer systems in different
geographic locations many miles apart. Applications view this database as a single
entity no matter where the data they access is actually stored.
Global network. Two or more computers, at different geographic sites, that are
connected to permit communication with each other. Global networks often entail
large groups of interconnected systems spread across a nation or even across the
world; they include many processors and peripheral devices.