OSI/MHS Orientation Guide

Glossary
OSI/MHS Orientation Guide—424829-001
Glossary-3
bind. The act of establishing a connection. An MTA bind enables one MTA to establish an
association with another MTA; an MS bind enables a user agent to establish an
association with a message store.
bit string. A series of bits treated as a unit.
body part. The substance of an interpersonal message (IPM). An IPM user message can
contain one or more body parts. Each body part can have one of a variety of encoded
information types, such as text, facsimile, graphics, or voice.
CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee). A division of the
United Nations International Telecommunications Union that coordinates standards-
setting activities.
character string. A set of characters treated as a unit and interpreted by a computer as text
rather than a numeric value.
class. A grouping or category of objects, based on their shared purpose and internal structure.
In the GPI, messages, probes, and reports are the fundamental object classes.
In OSI/MHS, groups of processes fall into classes, depending on the functions the
groups perform; for instance, the MS (message store) class consists of all the MS
processes and associated data in an OSI/MHS subsystem.
CLASS object. An object type, used in OSI/MHS management interfaces, representing all
groups that have the same basic function: for instance, all message relay groups or all
message store groups. You use a CLASS object to configure and control a set of groups
as a unit. The OSI/MHS subsystem recognizes five CLASS object names: #GI, #LO,
#MR, #MS, and #RS. See also group.
client. An application or program that uses another software component, typically called a
“service” or a “server.” For instance, a GPI client uses the GPI service. The XAPIA
specifications use the term “client application.”
closed user group. See CUG.
collector. An EMS process that accepts event messages from subsystems and logs them in the
event log. See also distributor.
command file. An EDIT file that contains sequences of commands. Sometimes called an
OBEY file.
command message. An SPI message, containing a command, sent from an application
program to a subsystem. See also response message or event message.
command/response interface. In DSM, a management interface that performs operations on
subsystem-defined objects.
common definition. In DSM programmatic interfaces, a definition (data declaration) used in
several commands, responses, or event messages in an SPI interface to a subsystem.
common name. In X.400, an attribute of the O/R name that normally specifies the
organizational role or significance of the individual or distribution list. Common names
are defined in the 1988 X.400 Recommendations but not in the 1984 versions.