OSI/MHS Management Programming Manual
Glossary
OSI/MHS Management Programming Manual—424824-001
Glossary-17
object management
In the GPI, a unique identifier of a particular object generated by the GPI service when 
the client program creates a new object, copies an object, or reserves an object. The 
client program passes the object identifier to any GPI procedure operating on the object. 
A GPI object identifier is not related to an ASN.1 object identifier.
object management. A means to operate on messages and their elements as objects.
object-name template. In DSM, a name that stands for more than one object. Such a name 
includes one or more wild-card characters, such as * and ?.  See also wild-card 
character.
object tree. The internal form of an X.400 communication maintained by the GPI.
object type. In DSM, the category of objects to which a specific object belongs: for 
example, a specific disk file might have the object type FILE, and a specific terminal 
might have the object type SU (subdevice). A subsystem identifies a set of object types 
for the objects it manages. The SCF interfaces to Compaq data communications 
subsystems use standard keywords to identify the types.  The corresponding 
programmatic interfaces have object-type numbers (represented by symbolic names such 
as ZCOM-OBJ-SU) suitable for passing to the SPI SSINIT procedure.
In the GPI, a category of objects having a common purpose and structure is called a 
“class.”
octet. A sequence of eight bits. Also called a “byte” or “character.”
octet string. A string comprising octets.
open system. A computer system based on standard technologies: for example, one that 
adheres to the OSI standards.
originator. The person or application that prepares and submits messages for delivery 
through an X.400 message handling system.
O/R (originator/recipient) address. A list of attributes that describes a user and locates that 
user in relation to the physical or organizational structure of the MHS or the underlying 
network. An O/R address, which is part of the O/R name, provides routing information 
for an X.400 message handling system.
O/R (originator/recipient) name. A list of attributes that identifies a user as an originator or 
potential recipient of a message or probe. An O/R name contains an O/R address.
OSI (Open Systems Interconnection). A set of standards used for the interconnection of 
heterogeneous computer systems, thus providing universal connectivity.
OSI manager process. A process in the OSI/AS subsystem that performs subsystem 
management functions. The OSI manager process is the focal point for all OSI 
management activities. It maintains a management information base (MIB) that 
contains the configuration information about the OSI environment.  There is one OSI 
manager process per OSI/AS subsystem.










