Glossary: Sybase Unwired Platform

administration perspective – Or administration console. The Unwired Platform administrative perspective is the Flash-based Web application for managing Unwired Server. See Sybase Control Center.

administrators – Unwired Platform users to which an administration role has been assigned. A user with the "SUP Administrator" role is called a "platform administrator" and a user with the "SUP Domain Administrator" role is called a "domain administrator". These administration roles must also be assigned SCC administration roles to avoid having to authenticate to Sybase Control Center in addition to Unwired Server:

• A domain administrator only requires the "sccUserRole" role.
• A platform administrator requires both the "sccAdminRole" and "sccUserRole" roles.

Adobe Flash Player – Adobe Flash Player is required to run Sybase Control Center. Because of this player, you are required to run Sybase Control Center in a 32-bit browser. Adobe does not support 64-bit browsers.

Advantage Database Server® – A relational database management system that provides the messaging database for Sybase Unwired Platform. See messaging database.

Afaria® – An enterprise-grade, highly scalable device management solution with advanced capabilities to ensure that mobile data and devices are up-to-date, reliable, and secure. Afaria is a separately licensed product that can extend the Unwired Platform in a mobile enterprise. Afaria includes a server (Afaria Server), a database (Afaria Database), an administration tool (Afaria Administrator), and other runtime components, depending on the license you purchase.

application – In Unwired Server (and visible in Sybase Control Center), and application is the runtime entity that can be directly correlated to a native or mobile workflow application. The application definition on the server establishes the relationship among packages used in the application, domain that the application is deployed to, user activation method for the application, and other application specific settings.

APNS – Apple Push Notification Service.

application connection – A unique connection to the application on a device.

application connection template – a template for application connections that includes application settings, security configuration, domain details, and so forth.

application node – In Sybase Control Center, this is a registered application with a unique ID. This is the main entity that defines the behavior of device and backend interactions.

application registration – The process of registering an application with Sybase Unwired Platform. Registration requires a unique identity that defines the properties for the device and backend interaction with Unwired Server.

artifacts – Artifacts can be client-side or automatically generated files; for example: .xml, .cs, .java, .cab files.

availability – Indicates that a resource is accessible and responsive.

BAPI – Business Application Programming Interface. A BAPI is a set of interfaces to object-oriented programming methods that enable a programmer to integrate third-party software into the proprietary R/3 product from SAP®. For specific business tasks such as uploading transactional data, BAPIs are implemented and stored in the R/3 system as remote function call (RFC) modules.

BLOB – Binary Large Object. A BLOB is a collection of binary data stored as a single entity in a database management system. A BLOB may be text, images, audio, or video.

cache – The virtual tables in the Unwired Server cache database that store synchronization data.See cache database.

cache group – Defined in Unwired WorkSpace, MBOs are grouped and the same cache refresh policy is applied to their virtual tables (cache) in the cache database

cache partitions – Partitioning the cache divides it into segments that can be refreshed individually, which gives better system performance than refreshing the entire cache. Define cache partitions in Unwired WorkSpace by defining a partition key, which is a load argument used by the operation to load data into the cache from the enterprise information system (EIS).

cache database – Cache database. The Unwired Server cache database stores runtime metadata (for Unwired Platform components) and cache data (for MBOs). See also data tier.

CLI – Command line interface. CLI is the standard term for a command line tool or utility.

client application – See mobile application.

client object API – The client object API is described in the Developer Guide: BlackBerry Native Applications, Developer Guide: iOS Native Applications, and Developer Guide: Windows and Windows Mobile Native Applications.

cluster – Also known as a server farm. Typically clusters are setup as either runtime server clusters or database clusters (also known as a data tier). Clustering is a method of setting up redundant Unwired Platform components on your network in order to design a highly scalable and available system architecture.

cluster database – A data tier component that holds information pertaining to all Unwired Platform server nodes. Other databases in the Unwired Platform data tier includes the cache, messaging, and monitoring databases.

connection – Includes the configuration details and credentials required to connect to a database, Web service, or other EIS.

connection pool – A connection pool is a cache of Enterprise Information System (EIS) connections maintained by Unwired Server, so that the connections can be reused when Unwired Server receives future requests for data.

For proxy connections, a connection pool is a collection of proxy connections pooled for their respective back-ends, such as SAP Gateway.

connection profile – In Unwired WorkSpace, a connection profile includes the configuration details and credentials required to connect to an EIS.

context variable – In Unwired WorkSpace, these variables are automatically created when a developer adds reference(s) to an MBO in a mobile application. One table context variable is created for each MBO attribute. These variables allow mobile application developers to specify form fields or operation parameters to use the dynamic value of a selected record of an MBO during runtime.

data change notification (DCN) – Data change notification (DCN) allows an Enterprise Information System (EIS) to synchronize its data with the cache database through a push event.

data refresh – A data refresh synchronizes data between the cache database and a back-end EIS so that data in the cache is updated. See also scheduled data refresh.

data source – In Unwired WorkSpace, a data source is the persistent-storage location for the data that a mobile business object can access.

data tier – The data tier includes Unwired Server data such as cache, cluster information, and monitoring. The data tier includes the cache database (CDB), cluster, monitoring, and messaging databases.

data vault – A secure store across the platform that is provided by an SUP client.

deploy – (Unwired Server) Uploading a deployment archive or deployment unit to an Unwired Server instance. Unwired Server can then make these units accessible to users via a client application that is installed on a mobile device.

There is a one-to-one mapping between an Unwired WorkSpace project and a server package. Therefore, all MBOs that you deploy from one project to the same server are deployed to the same server package.

deployment archive – In Unwired WorkSpace, a deployment archive is created when a developer creates a package profile and executes the build operation. Building creates an archive that contains both a deployment unit and a corresponding descriptor file. A deployment archive can be delivered to an administrator for deployment to a production version of Unwired Server.

deployment descriptor – A deployment descriptor is an XML file that describes how a deployment unit should be deployed to Unwired Server. A deployment descriptor contains role-mapping and domain-connection information. You can deliver a deployment descriptor and a deployment unit—jointly called a deployment archive—to an administrator for deployment to a production version of Unwired Server.

deployment mode – You can set the mode in which a mobile application project or mobile deployment package is deployed to the target Unwired Server.

deployment profile – A deployment profile is a named instance of predefined server connections and role mappings that allows developers to automate deployment of multiple packages from Sybase Unwired WorkSpace to Unwired Server. Role mappings and connection mappings are transferred from the deployment profile to the deployment unit and the deployment descriptor.

deployment unit – The Unwired WorkSpace build process generates a deployment unit. It enables a mobile application to be effectively installed and used in either a preproduction or production environment. Once generated, a deployment unit allows anyone to deploy all required objects, logical roles, personalization keys, and server connection information together, without requiring access to the whole development project. You can deliver a deployment unit and a deployment descriptor—jointly called a deployment archive—to an administrator for deployment to a production version of Unwired Server.

development package – A collection of MBOs that you create in Unwired WorkSpace. You can deploy the contents of a development package on an instance of Unwired Server.

device application – See also mobile application. A device application is a software application that runs on a mobile device.

device notification – Replication synchronization clients receive device notifications when a data change is detected for any of the MBOs in the synchronization group to which they are subscribed. Both the change detection interval of the synchronization group and the notification threshold of the subscription determine how often replication clients receive device notifications. Administrators can use subscription templates to specify the notification threshold for a particular synchronization group.

device user – The user identity tied to a device.

DML – Data manipulation language. DML is a group of computer languages used to retrieve, insert, delete, and update data in a database.

DMZ – Demilitarized zone; also known as a perimeter network. The DMZ adds a layer of security to the local area network (LAN), where computers run behind a firewall. Hosts running in the DMZ cannot send requests directly to hosts running in the LAN.

domain administrator – A user to which the platform administrator assigns domain administration privileges for one or more domain partitions. The domain administrator has a restricted view in Sybase Control Center, and only features and domains they can manage are visible.

domains – Domains provide a logical partitioning of a hosting organization's environment, so that the organization achieves increased flexibility and granularity of control in multitenant environments. By default, the Unwired Platform installer creates a single domain named "default". However the platform administrator can also add more domains as required.

EIS – Enterprise Information System. EIS is a back-end system, such as a database.

Enterprise Explorer – In Unwired WorkSpace, Enterprise Explorer allows you to define data source and view their metadata (schema objects in case of database, BAPIs for SAP, and so on).

export – The Unwired Platform administrator can export the mobile objects, then import them to another server on the network. That server should meet the requirement needed by the exported MBO.

hostability – See multitenancy.

IDE – Integrated Development Environment.

JDE – BlackBerry Java Development Environment.

key performance indicator (KPI) – Used by Unwired Platform monitoring. KPIs are monitoring metrics that are made up for an object, using counters, activities, and time which jointly for the parameters that show the health of the system. KPIs can use current data or historical data.

keystore – The location in which encryption keys, digital certificates, and other credentials in either encrypted or unencrypted keystore file types are stored for Unwired Server runtime components. See also truststore.

LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

local business object – Defined in Unwired WorkSpace, local business objects are not bound to EIS data sources, so cannot be synchronized. Instead, they are objects that are used as local data store on device.

logical role – Logical roles are defined in mobile business objects, and mapped to physical roles when the deployment unit that contain the mobile business objects are deployed to Unwired Server.

matching rules – A rule that triggers a mobile workflow application. Matching rules are used by the mobile workflow email listener to identify e-mails that match the rules specified by the administrator. When emails match the rule, Unwired Server sends the e-mail as a mobile workflow to the device that matches the rule. A matching rule is configured by the administrator in Sybase Control Center.

MBO – Mobile business object. The fundamental unit of data exchange in Sybase Unwired Platform. An MBO roughly corresponds to a data set from a back-end data source. The data can come from a database query, a Web service operation, or SAP. An MBO contains both concrete implementation-level details and abstract interface-level details. At the implementation-level, an MBO contains read-only result fields that contain metadata about the data in the implementation, and parameters that are passed to the back-end data source. At the interface-level, an MBO contains attributes that map to result fields, which correspond to client properties. An MBO may have operations, which can also contain parameters that map to arguments, and which determines how the client passes information to the enterprise information system (EIS).

You can define relationships between MBOs, and link attributes and parameters in one MBO to attributes and parameters in another MBO.

MBO attribute – An MBO attribute is a field that can hold data. You can map an MBO attribute to a result field in a back-end data source; for example, a result field in a database table.

MBO binding – An MBO binding links MBO attributes and operations to a physical data source through a connection profile.

MBO operation – An MBO operation can be invoked from a client application to perform a task; for example, create, delete, or update data in the EIS.

MBO relationship – MBO relationships are analogous to links created by foreign keys in a relational database. For example, the account MBO has a field called owner_ID that maps to the ID field in the owner MBO.

messaging based synchronization – A synchronization method where data is delivered asynchronously using a secure, reliable messaging protocol. This method provides fine-grained synchronization (synchronization is provided at the data level—each process communicates only with the process it depends on), and it is therefore assumed that the device is always connected and available. See also synchronization.

messaging database – The messaging database allows in-flight messages to be stored until they can be delivered. This database is used in a messaging based synchronization environment. The messaging database is part of the Unwired Platform data tier, along with the cache, cluster, and monitoring databases.

mobile application – A Sybase Unwired Platform mobile application is an end-to-end application, which includes the MBO definition (back-end data connection, attributes, operations, and relationships), the generated server-side code, and the client-side application code.

Mobile Application Diagram – The Mobile Application Diagram is the graphical interface to create and edit MBOs. By dragging and dropping a data source onto the Mobile Application Diagram, you can create a mobile business object and generate its attribute mappings automatically.

Mobile Application Project – A collection of MBOs and client-side, design-time artifacts that make up a mobile application.

mobile workflow packages – Mobile workflow packages use the messaging synchronization model. The mobile workflow packages are deployed to Unwired Server, and can be deployed to mobile devices, via the Unwired Platform administrative perspective in Sybase Control Center.

monitoring – Monitoring is an Unwired Platform feature available in Sybase Control Center that allows administrators to identify key areas of weakness or periods of high activity in the particular area they are monitoring. It can be used for system diagnostic or for troubleshooting. Monitored operations include replication synchronization, messaging synchronization, messaging queue, data change notification, device notification, package, user, and cache activity.

monitoring database – A database that exclusively stores data related to replication and messaging synchronization, queues status, users, data change notifications, and device notifications activities. By default, the monitoring database runs in the same data tier as the cache database, messaging database and cluster database.

monitoring profiles – Monitoring profiles specify a monitoring schedule for a particular group of packages. These profiles let administrators collect granular data on which to base domain maintenance and configuration decisions.

multitenancy – The ability to host multiple tenants in one Unwired Cluster. Also known as hostability. See also domains.

node – A host or server computer upon which one or more runtime components have been installed.

object query – Defined in Unwired WorkSpace for an MBO and used to filter data that is downloaded to the device.

onboarding – The enterprise-level activation of an authentic device, a user, and an application entity as a combination, in Unwired Server.

operation – See MBO operation.

package – A package is a named container for one or more MBOs. On Unwired Server a package contains MBOs that have been deployed to this instance of the server.

palette – In Unwired WorkSpace, the palette is the graphical interface view from which you can add MBOs, local business objects, structures, relationships, attributes, and operations to the Mobile Application Diagram.

parameter – A parameter is a value that is passed to an operation/method. The operation uses the value to determine the output. When you create an MBO, you can map MBO parameters to data-source arguments. For example, if a data source looks up population based on a state abbreviation, the MBO gets the state from the user, then passes it (as a parameter/argument) to the data source to retrieve the information. Parameters can be:

• Synchronization parameters – synchronize a device application based on the value of the parameter.
• Load arguments – perform a data refresh based on the value of the argument.
• Operation parameters – MBO operations contain parameters that map to data source arguments. Operation parameters determine how the client passes information to the enterprise information system (EIS).

personalization key – A personalization key allows a mobile device user to specify attribute values that are used as parameters for selecting data from a data source. Personalization keys are also used as operation parameters. Personalization keys are set at the package level. There are three type of personalization keys: Transient, client, server.

They are most useful when they are used in multiple places within a mobile application, or in multiple mobile applications on the same server. Personalization keys may include attributes such as name, address, zip code, currency, location, customer list, and so forth.

perspective – A named tab in Sybase Control Center that contains a collection of managed resources (such as servers) and a set of views associated with those resources. The views in a perspective are chosen by users of the perspective. You can create as many perspectives as you need and customize them to monitor and manage your resources.

Perspectives allow you to group resources ways that make sense in your environment—by location, department, or project, for example.

physical role – A security provider group or role that is used to control access to Unwired Server resources.

Problems view – In Eclipse, the Problems view displays errors or warnings for the Mobile Application Project.

provisioning – The process of setting up a mobile device with required runtimes and device applications. Depending on the synchronization model used and depending on whether or not the device is also an Afaria client, the files and data required to provision the device varies.

pull synchronization – Pull synchronization is initiated by a remote client to synchronize the local database with the cache database. On Windows Mobile, pull synchronization is supported only in replication applications.

push synchronization – Push is the server-initiated process of downloading data from Unwired Server to a remote client, at defined intervals, or based upon the occurrence of an event.

queue – In-flight messages for a messaging application are saved in a queue. A queue is a list of pending activities. The server then sends messages to specific destinations in the order that they appear in the queue. The depth of the queue indicates how many messages are waiting to be delivered.

relationship – See MBO relationship.

relay server – See also Sybase Hosted Relay Service.

resource – A unique Sybase product component (such as a server) or a subcomponent.

REST web services – Representational State Transfer (REST) is a style of software architecture for distributed hypermedia systems such as the World Wide Web.

RFC – Remote Function Call. You can use the RFC interface to write applications that communicate with SAP R/3 applications and databases. An RFC is a standalone function. Developers use SAP tools to write the Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) code that implements the logic of a function, and then mark it as "remotely callable," which turns an ABAP function into an RFC.

role – Roles control access to Sybase Unwired Platform resources. See also logical role and physical role.

role mapping – Maps a physical (server role) to a logical (Unwired Platform role). Role mappings can be defined by developers, when they deploy an MBO package to a development Unwired Server, or by platform or domain administrators when they assign a security configuration to a domain or deploy a package to a production Unwired Server (and thereby override the domain-wide settings in the security configuration).

RSOE – Relay Server Outbound Enabler. An RSOE is an application that manages communication between Unwired Server and a relay server.

runtime server – An instance of Unwired Server that is running. Typically, a reference to the runtime server implies a connection to it.

SAP – SAP is one of the EIS types that Unwired Platform supports.

SCC – Sybase Control Center. A Web-based interface that allows you to administer your installed Sybase products.

schedule – The definition of a task (such as the collection of a set of statistics) and the time interval at which the task must execute in Sybase Control Center.

scheduled data refresh – Data is updated in the cache database from a back-end EIS, based on a scheduled data refresh. Typically, data is retrieved from an EIS (for example, SAP) when a device user synchronizes. However, if an administrator wants the data to be preloaded for a mobile business object, a data refresh can be scheduled so that data is saved locally in a cache. By preloading data with a scheduled refresh, the data is available in the information server when a user synchronizes data from a device. Scheduled data refresh requires that an administrator define a cache group as "scheduled" (as opposed to "on-demand").

security configuration – Part of the application user and administration user security. A security configuration determines the scope of user identity, authentication and authorization checks, and can be assigned to one or more domains by the platform administrator in Sybase Control Center. A security configuration contains:

• A set of configured security providers (for example LDAP) to which authentication, authorization, attribution is delegated.
• Role mappings (which can be specified at the domain or package level)

security provider – A security provider and it's repository holds information about the users, security roles, security policies, and credentials used by some to provide security services to Unwired Platform. A security provider is part of a security configuration.

security profile – Part of the Unwired Server runtime component security. A security profile includes encryption metadata to capture certificate alias and the type of authentication used by server components. By using a security profile, the administrator creates a secured port over which components communicate.

server connection – The connection between Unwired WorkSpace and a back-end EIS is called a server connection.

server farm – See also cluster. Is the relay server designation for a cluster.

server-initiated synchronization – See push synchronization.

SOAP – Simple Object Access Protocol. SOAP is an XML-based protocol that enables applications to exchange information over HTTP. SOAP is used when Unwired Server communicates with a Web service.

solution – In Visual Studio, a solution is the high-level local workspace that contains the projects users create.

Solution Explorer – In Visual Studio, the Solution Explorer pane displays the active projects in a tree view.

SSO – Single sign-on. SSO is a credential-based authentication mechanism.

statistics – In Unwired Platform, the information collected by the monitoring database to determine if your system is running as efficiently as possible. Statistics can be current or historical. Current or historical data can be used to determine system availability or performance. Performance statistics are known as key performance indicators (KPI).

Start Page – In Visual Studio, the Start Page is the first page that displays when you launch the application.

structured data – Structured data can be displayed in a table with columns and labels.

structure object – Defined in Unwired WorkSpace, structures hold complex datatypes, for example, a table input to a SAP operation.

subscription – A subscription defines how data is transferred between a user's mobile device and Unwired Server. Subscriptions are used to notify a device user of data changes, then these updates are pushed to the user's mobile device.

Sybase Control Center – Sybase Control Center is the Flash-based Web application that includes a management framework for multiple Sybase server products, including Unwired Platform. Using the Unwired Platform administration perspective in Sybase Control Center, you can register clusters to manage Unwired Server, manage domains, security configurations, users, devices, connections, as well as monitor the environment. You can also deploy and MBO or workflow packages, as well as register applications and define templates for them. Only use the features and documentation for Unwired Platform. Default features and documentation in Sybase Control Center do not always apply to the Unwired Platform use case.

Sybase Control Center X.X Service – Provides runtime services to manage, monitor, and control distributed Sybase resources. The service must be running for Sybase Control Center to run. Previously called Sybase Unified Agent.

Sybase Hosted Relay Service – The Sybase Hosted Relay Service is a Web-hosted relay server that enables you to test your Unwired Platform development system.

Sybase Messaging Service – The synchronization service that facilitates communication with device client applications.

Sybase Unwired Platform – Sybase Unwired Platform is a development and administrative platform that enables you to mobilize your enterprise. With Unwired Platform, you can develop mobile business objects in the Unwired WorkSpace development environment, connect to structured and unstructured data sources, develop mobile applications, deploy mobile business objects and applications to Unwired Server, which manages messaging and data services between your data sources and your mobile devices.

Sybase Unwired WorkSpace – Sybase Unwired Platform includes Unwired WorkSpace, which is a development tool for creating mobile business objects and mobile applications.

synchronization – A synchronization method where data is delivered synchronously using an upload/download pattern. For push-enabled clients, synchronization uses a "poke-pull" model, where a notification is pushed to the device (poke), and the device fetches the content (pull), and is assumed that the device is not always connected to the network and can operate in a disconnected mode and still be productive. For clients that are not push-enabled, the default synchronization model is pull.See also messaging based synchronization.

synchronization group – Defined in Unwired WorkSpace, a synchronization group is a collection of MBOs that are synchronized at the same time.

synchronization parameter – A synchronization parameter is an MBO attribute used to filter and synchronize data between a mobile device and Unwired Server.

synchronization phase – For replication based synchronization packages, the phase can be an upload event (from device to the Unwired Server cache database) or download event (from the cache database to the device).

synchronize – See also data refresh. Synchronization is the process by which data consistency and population is achieved between remote disconnected clients and Unwired Server.

truststore – The location in which certificate authority (CA) signing certificates are stored. See also keystore.

undeploy – Running undeploy removes a domain package from an Unwired Server.

Unwired Server – The application server included with the Sybase Unwired Platform product that manages mobile applications, back-end EIS synchronization, communication, security, transactions, and scheduling.

user – Sybase Control Center displays the mobile-device users who are registered with the server.

view – A window in a perspective that displays information about one or more managed resources. Some views also let you interact with managed resources or with Sybase Control Center itself. For example, the Perspective Resources view lists all the resources managed by the current perspective. Other views allow you to configure alerts, view the topology of a replication environment, and graph performance statistics.

Visual Studio – Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment product that you can use to develop device applications from generated Unwired WorkSpace code.

Welcome page – In Eclipse, the first set of pages that display when you launch the application.

workspace – In Eclipse, a workspace is the directory on your local machine where Eclipse stores the projects that you create.

WorkSpace Navigator – In Eclipse, the tree view that displays your mobile application projects.

WSDL file – Web Service Definition Language file. The file that describes the Web service interface that allows clients to communicate with the Web service. When you create a Web service connection for a mobile business object, you enter the location of a WSDL file in the URL.