(7.0) Glossary of Terms

The following terms are often used in conjunction with OS/2 Warp:

Term
Definition
APAR
A bug fix which has been (or will be) created by IBM to address a very specific problem. (Example: "Please send me APAR 09761.")
ASPI
Adaptec SCSI Programming Interface: a standard set of services used by backup, scanning, and other types of software which require access to a SCSI adapter. OS/2 Warp comes with ASPI support for DOS, Windows, and OS/2 applications.
BonusPak
Free, full fledged applications included with OS/2 Warp at no extra charge. The BonusPak includes HyperAccess, Faxworks, Person to Person, the Internet Connection, Compuserve Information Manager, Video IN, IBM Works, and other applications. These applications not only demonstrate how powerful and easy-to-use OS/2 Warp really is, but they also let you get to work (or play!) right out-of-the-box.
CID
"Configuration/Installation/Distribution": a term usually used to refer to the ability to install an operating system or application remotely, over a network. (Example: "IBM TCP/IP 2.0 for OS/2 is now CID-enabled.") See (4.2) Installing from Drive B.
CSD
"Corrective Service Diskette(s)": see (4.6) Corrective Service Diskettes.
DASD
"Direct Access Storage Device": disk space (most commonly a hard disk drive). (Example: "I do not have enough DASD for this new application.")
DCE
"Distributed Computing Environment": an open software standard, created by the Open Software Foundation and backed by IBM and other vendors, which allows for applications to operate across a network and distribute the workload without a significant investment in programming. DCE supports common directory services (for accessing resources on a network), security (for preventing unauthorized or runaway applications from wreaking havoc on a network), and other management features. OS/2 Warp is a key platform for DCE, and IBM produces the most advanced implementations of DCE available on the market.
DMA
"Direct Memory Access": circuitry provided on all PCs to allow peripherals (such as disk controllers) to transfer data to memory directly, without the assistance of the computer's processor. Appropriate use of DMA can often help to improve overall system performance.
DPMI
"DOS Protected Mode Interface: a method used by some DOS applications (including Windows) to access memory beyond 640K on 80286 (or later) processors. OS/2 Warp can provide DPMI memory to DOS and Windows applications. See EMS and XMS.
EA
"Extended Attribute": up to 64K of assorted data stored with any file under OS/2. Such data may include file type (e.g. "Plain Text"), icons, comments, and other information which is best left outside the file itself. Only OS/2 applications can create and modify extended attributes.
EMS
"Expanded Memory Specification": one of several types of memory (beyond 640K) that can be used by certain DOS applications. OS/2 Warp can provide EMS memory to DOS applications. See DPMI and XMS.
ES
"Extended Services": see (3.10) Extended Services.
FAT
"File Allocation Table": the disk format introduced by DOS. See HPFS.
GA
"General Availability": available for purchase as a shrinkwrapped product from IBM and its dealers.
HPFS
"High Performance File System": see (1.5) High Performance File System.
IFS
"Installable File System": refers to an OS/2 driver used to manage a file system type. Available IFSes include NFS (used with TCP/IP networks), CD-ROM, HPFS, and HPFS386 (supplied with IBM LAN Server Advanced).
IPL
"Initial Program Load": starting a PC's operating system (i.e. booting or rebooting). (Example: "Please IPL your system now.") See also RIPL.
ISV
"Independent Software Vendor": a software developer, other than the provider of the operating system (such as IBM and OS/2), which produces applications for that operating system (e.g. Borland is an OS/2 ISV, producing Borland C++ for OS/2).
LA
"Limited Availability": available only from IBM to certain customers.
multitasking
Running two or more applications "simultaneously," dividing the computer processor's attention among them. (In fact, the two or more applications only appear to run simultaneously because the processor switches between them rapidly.) Cooperative multitasking, such as that found in Microsoft Windows and Macintosh System 7, requires that each application be written so as to "surrender" the computer's processor at regular intervals so that it can devote attention to other running applications. If one application for some reason refuses to yield the processor, all other applications stop running. Preemptive multitasking, as found in OS/2 and Unix, for example, leaves the operating system in charge of delegating processor time to each running application. The amount of attention given depends on the operating system's scheduler, the logic which assesses (and perhaps adjusts) the priorities of various tasks and assigns processor attention accordingly.
multithreading
An operating system's ability to manage what are sometimes called lightweight processes, namely subtasks which are spawned by applications. For example, a word processor may be written so that any printing operation is put in a separate thread. This thread is then run alongside the word processor itself, in the background, so that control returns immediately to the user of the word processor. OS/2 1.0 was the first major operating system to support threads. See multitasking.
object
The basic unit of interaction in OS/2 Warp. In some environments, such as Windows, users work only with files. In other environments, such as the Macintosh, users work with documents and applications. In OS/2 Warp, users work with objects (of which files and documents are but two types). OS/2 is easy to use because objects are generally not restricted in the ways they can be used based on computer-oriented restrictions (such as the length of names for objects). Rather, objects can be treated in very similar ways when using OS/2, with differences related to more human ideas of how things behave. For example, in OS/2 Warp every object (including the desktop itself, which is a folder-type object) has a pop-up menu, brought up with a click of the second mouse button. Printer objects have unique menu options (such as Change Status and Set Default). Likewise, document objects have other possible menu selections (such as Print). Disk objects have Format. But the whole point is that the user, not the computer, dictates how objects can be used and manipulated, insofar as possible.
OpenDoc
A set of technologies (slated for inclusion in OS/2 Warp in 1995) which, together, will deliver unprecendented flexibility in the way applications and objects can be combined, manipulated, and transformed by people using computers. OpenDoc recognizes that people are creating more and more complex documents, including documents which contain embedded runnable code (such as multimedia sound and video clips which activate with a mouse click), and they need a way to store, manage, link, and revise such documents, without unnecessary complexity. OpenDoc is a standard supported by members of the Component Integration Laboratories, including IBM, Apple, WordPerfect, Lotus, Novell/Wordperfect, and many other vendors. SOM is a key technology found in OpenDoc (and the Workplace Shell and its applications, including IBM Works, demonstrate several aspects of OpenDoc technology today).
PM
"Presentation Manager": the underlying services used by programmers and the Workplace Shell (see WPS) to provide windows, scroll bars, dialog boxes, and other essential interface elements.
PMR
"Problem Management Record": a number assigned by IBM to track a customer-reported problem. (Example: "I have opened PMR Number 9X534; please reference this number if you call again.")
PPP
"Point-to-Point Protocol": a standard communications method used to carry network protocols (especially TCP/IP) over a modem, ISDN, or other serial connection. Although PPP requires more overhead than SLIP, it is considered its successor. PPP is available, free of charge, for OS/2 Warp's Internet Connection.
RIPL
"Remote Initial Program Load": the capability to boot (start) a PC (load its operating system) over a network. See IPL.
seamless
Refers to the ability to run Windows applications alongside OS/2 and DOS applications on the Workplace Shell (see WPS) desktop as opposed to the full screen Win-OS/2 desktop. (Example: "Will this video driver support seamless Windows?")
SLIP
"Serial Line Internet Protocol": or a means of sending TCP/IP network traffic over a modem or ISDN connection. SLIP is used when connecting to an Internet provider (such as the IBM Global Network) using OS/2 Warp's Internet Connection.
SMP
"Symmetric Multiprocessing": a set of technologies in which two or more computer processors (CPUs) are managed by one operating system to provide greater computing power to applications. With SMP, processors are treated more or less equally (with applications able to run on any or perhaps all processors in the system, interchangeably, at the operating system's discretion). Simple MP usually involves assigning each processor to a fixed task (such as managing the file system), reserving the single main CPU for general tasks. OS/2 for SMP provides true SMP capabilities on a variety of systems, including those which are compatible with the Intel MPS (Multiprocessing Specification) 1.1 standard.
SOM
"System Object Model": the underlying design which allows applications running on OS/2 Warp to be so tightly integrated, able to share data and, indeed, runnable objects quickly and easily. The Workplace Shell is the largest and most complex OS/2 application based on SOM, but there are many other applications which use SOM extensively (such as IBM Works, cc:Mail for OS/2, Chipchat Wireless Communicator, IBM Workframe 2.1, DeScribe Version 5, Mesa for OS/2, and more). For programmers, SOM is fully compliant with CORBA standards, fully distributable (over a network) without any programming changes, and is true object technology, with inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism. SOM objects running on OS/2 Warp are fully protected from one another and do not share the same address space. SOM is one of the key technologies in OpenDoc, is available on many other platforms, and has been declared a U.S. Federal Government open software standard.
SP
"Service Pak": see CSD. Sometimes numbered (e.g. "SP 2") to refer to a particular Service Pak.
Taligent
A company founded by IBM and Apple (with Hewlett-Packard also a major shareholder) with a mission to create a set of object-oriented software technologies, including the Taligent frameworks, for use by its parent companies in their products (including OS/2 Warp).
TCP/IP
"Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol": a protocol, widely available and implemented across a huge range of systems, which allows information to be transmitted across a network. TCP/IP is the protocol used by the Internet, and it is used over a SLIP connection in OS/2 Warp's built-in Internet Connection.
URL
"Universal Resource Locator": standard notation for locating and accessing information on the Internet which is used with a World Wide Web browser (such as the IBM Web Explorer).
Win-OS/2
IBM's customized version of Windows, based on Microsoft's own source code, which provides compatibility with Windows applications under OS/2. Windows is not emulated when it runs under OS/2; a real copy of Windows, only slightly modified, is used. OS/2 Warp is available both with and without Win-OS/2. The version of OS/2 Warp without Win-OS/2 is designed to use an existing copy of Windows or Windows for Workgroups (if present) to run Windows applications under OS/2 Warp. When running this way, that copy of Windows or Windows for Workgroups is also often called Win-OS/2.
Workplace OS
A set of technologies (not a product itself) which IBM is using to create future versions of OS/2 Warp (such as OS/2 Warp for PowerPC) and other operating systems. Key to this set of technologies is the IBM Microkernel (based on the Carnegie-Mellon Mach microkernel) and the ability to support multiple "personalities." Workplace OS technology allows IBM (and, in fact, other vendors) to create portable, reliable operating systems which are easily reconfigured to meet the needs of any buyer.
WPS
"Workplace Shell": OS/2 Warp's most commonly used user interface which provides icons, folders, drag-and-drop configuration, settings notebooks, and other features necessary for user interaction with the operating system and its applications.
XMS
"Extended Memory Specification": a method used by some DOS applications for accessing extended memory (beyond 640K) on 80286 (or better) processors. OS/2 Warp can provide XMS memory to DOS applications. See DPMI and EMS.

:elines.

Related information:

(0.4)  Special Report on OS/2 Warp
(1.5)  High Performance File System (HPFS)
(3.10) Extended Services
(3.16) Image Scanners
(4.2)  Installing from Drive B
(4.6)  Corrective Service Diskettes




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