Pathmaker Reference Manual

Glossary
067869 Tandem Computers Incorporated Glossary–1
Access path. Access paths are optional attributes of SQL table objects. An access path
identifies an ordered set of columns of the table for SELECT and FETCH operations.
Each table object can have up to 40 named access paths.
Alias. A name associated with an object in the requester context. The alias name is
different from the ENSCRIBE DDL or NonStop SQL DDL name. You can use an alias
on the Requester Context screen or on the IPC Definition screen to create a copy of a
requester context object.
Application. A set of programs designed to perform a specified task, usually involving
specified operations on a database.
Application screen. The data entry screen or menu screen for the application you are
creating. The application screen is the screen that appears to end users when they run
the application you created with Pathmaker.
You can design an application screen entirely by setting screen layout parameters in
the Requester Definition screen and in its related screens, or you can enhance the
application screen by using the Screen Painter.
Box. A four-sided figure drawn around a record on a database requester application
screen. A box encloses one and only one DDL record type. However, you can have
multiple instances of a single record within a box.
Catalog. See Project catalog.
Child record. One of two records linked together in a database (DB) requester. The
child record is linked to a parent record, which might, in turn, be joined as a child to a
third record. Linking records establishes a dependency between them; you can access
a child record only after you have accessed the parent record.
COBOL85. The Tandem compiler and run-time support for the American National
Standard Programming Language COBOL, X3.23-1985.
Context. See Requester context.
Custom service. A unit of work to be performed by a server, corresponding to a single
SEND operation in a Pathway environment, as part of a transaction. You write custom
services in COBOL to perform a specific transaction. A custom service might be one
that inserts an airline flight reservation record or transfers money from one bank
account record to another.
Data field. A portion of the application screen dedicated to receiving data typed in by
the end user. A data field consists of a set of contiguous positions on the screen and
can be underlined for emphasis. Data fields have an associated DDL or NonStop SQL
data definition.
Data field segment. One portion of a data field that wraps from one line on a requester
screen to the subsequent line.
Data type. A catagory of data. Specific data types can vary from programming
language to programming language. For example, in COBOL, data can be numeric,
alphanumeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric edited, and numeric edited.