OSI/MHS Gateway Programmatic Interface (GPI) Programming Guide

GPI Object Management
OSI/MHS Gateway Programmatic Interface (GPI) Programming Guide—424822-001
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Attributes
Attributes
Until now, this section has focused on objects. Now it focuses on attributes, the
fundamental units of objects. Each attribute represents a separate information item. As
shown in Figure 3-8, an information item has three components: type, syntax, and one
or more attribute values.
Attribute Type
An attribute type is a name for an attribute. It indicates the purpose of an attribute’s
values. Many attribute types are defined by XAPIA specifications. Those supported by
the GPI are defined in the DDL as integer constants.
The DDL names for attribute types begin with the following prefixes:
•
OM-T for types of the object management package
•
IM-T for types of the interpersonal messaging package
•
MH-T for types of the message handling package
•
EDI-T for types of the electronic data interchange (EDI) package
An example of attribute type is MH-T-COUNTRY-NAME. It is the name for an
attribute that represents the country that originated information or is to receive it.
Each object class has one or more attributes that can appear in objects of that class. For
a list of attribute types associated with each class, refer to the GPI Reference Manual.
Attribute Syntax
Attribute syntax specifies the form of an attribute’s value or values. The GPI
implements the five types of XAPIA syntax listed in Table 3-3. Like attribute types,
each attribute syntax is defined in the DDL as an integer constant. For details on
attribute syntax, refer to the GPI Reference Manual.
Figure 3-8. Attribute Information
308CDT .CDD
Attribute
Type Syntax Value 0 Value n
INFORMATION ITEM
• • •