Open System Services Porting Guide (G06.24+, H06.03+)

Glossary
Open System Services Porting Guide—520573-006
Glossary-9
pathname component
pathname component. See filename.
pathname resolution. In the OSS environment, the process of associating a single file with
a specified pathname.
pathname-variable limits. Limits that can vary within the OSS file hierarchy. That is, the
limits on a pathname variable can vary according to the directory in which pathname
resolution begins.
path prefix. In the OSS environment, a pathname, with an optional final slash (/) character,
that refers to a directory.
PIC. See position-independent code (PIC).
PID. In the Open System Services (OSS) environment, a synonym for process ID. OSS
process ID is the preferred term in HP NonStop™ system publications.
In the Guardian environment, PID is sometimes used to mean either:
•
A Guardian process identifier such as the process ID
•
The cpu, pin value that is unique to a process within an Expand node.
See also OSS process ID (PID).
pipe. An unnamed FIFO, created programmatically by invoking the pipe() function or
interactively with the shell pipe syntax character (|). A shell pipe redirects the standard
output of one process to become the standard input of another process. A
programmatic pipe is an interprocess communication mechanism.
portable application. An application that can execute on a wide range of hardware
systems from multiple manufacturers. A portable application is a program that can be
moved with little or no change in its source code from another manufacturer’s system
to an HP NonStop system.
position-independent code (PIC). position-independent code (PIC). Executable
program or library code that is designed to be loaded and executed at any virtual
memory address, without any modification. Addresses that can be modified by the
loader do not appear in PIC code, only in data that can be modified by the loader. See
also dynamic-link library (DLL)
POSIX. The Portable Operating System Interface, as defined by the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI). Each POSIX interface is separately defined in a numbered ANSI/IEEE
standard or draft standard. The application program interface (API), known as
POSIX.1, has become ISO/IEC IS 9945-1: 1990.
process. (1) A program that has been submitted to the operating system for execution, or a
program that is currently running in the computer. (2) An address space, a single