Glossary: Glossary :: SAS(R) Guide to Applications Development, Second Edition

Glossary

application workspace (AWS): a window that contains other windows or from which other windows can be invoked, but which is not contained within any parent window that is part of the same software application.
attribute: a property of a SAS/AF component that specifies the data that is associated with a component, such as its color, size, description, or other information that is stored with the component. Although similar to instance variables, attributes can contain additional data.
attribute linking: a feature of the SAS/AF graphical user interface that enables you to designate values to be shared by multiple components without writing any SAS Component Language (SCL) code. You can define attribute links between attributes of the same component or between different components within the same frame.
automatic instance variable: an instance variable whose value is automatically copied into the corresponding SCL variable when an SCL method executes, and is copied back into the object when the method returns. Assigning the automatic status to an instance variable makes writing new methods for a class easier because the SCL method can access the automatic instance variable directly instead of accessing it indirectly with SCL list functions. See also instance variable.
CAM: See custom access method (CAM).
catalog entry: See SAS catalog entry.
class: in object-oriented programming, a template for an object. A class includes data that describes the object's characteristics (such as attributes or instance variables), as well as the operations (methods) that the object can perform. See also subclassing, object.
complex attribute: an attribute whose type is either Object (O) or a fully qualified SAS/AF class name such as sashelp.classes.draganddrop.class. Using an object as an attribute enables you to use a single attribute to store a set of information. In SAS Component Language (SCL), you can access the attributes of a complex attribute object by 'stringing' together the dot notation that queries or sets the attribute. The objects that are used as complex attributes can have their own methods. A complex attribute must be a non-visual component (that is, one that is not based on sashelp.classes.widget.class).
component: a self-contained class that has specific properties, which can include attributes, methods, events, event handlers, and interfaces.
control: another term for visual component. See visual component.
custom access method (CAM): a method that is automatically executed when an attribute is accessed. See also getCAM, setCAM.
data representation: the type of data that a drag site is capable of transferring or receiving. The data can be as simple as a string of text or as complex as an SCL list. See also drag site, drag and drop (DND), drop operation.
dimension: a group of closely related hierarchies. Different hierarchies within a single dimension typically represent different measurements of a single concept. For example, a Time dimension might consist of two hierarchies: (1) Year, Month, Date, and (2) Year, Week, Day.
drag and drop (DND): a user interface action that involves dragging objects with a mouse (or other pointing device) and dropping them over other objects at run time, and having some action occur. On systems that do not use a mouse or other pointing device, you can drag an object by using the WDRAG command and cursor-key input to position the object and complete the drag action.
drag site: a component that can be dragged. See also drag and drop (DND).
drop operation: any of the following actions that can be performed on a data representation: (1) copy, when data is provided with no post- processing; (2) link, when some mechanism synchronizes the source and destination; (3) move, when data is provided and the source is removed.
drop site: a component that can receive a dragged object. See also drag and drop (DND).
EIS (enterprise information system): an integrated series of applications that enables decision makers to access critical information easily. An EIS summarizes, integrates, and displays information in reports that are easy to understand. In addition to delivering summarized information quickly, an EIS can display the details on which the summaries are based when necessary.
enterprise information system: See EIS (enterprise information system).
entry type: a characteristic of a SAS catalog entry that identifies the catalog entry's structure and attributes to SAS. When you create a SAS catalog entry, SAS automatically assigns the entry type as part of the name. See also SAS catalog entry.
event: a property of a SAS/AF component that notifies components or applications when a resource or state changes. An event occurs when a user action (such as a mouse click) occurs, when an attribute value is changed, or when a user-defined condition occurs. An event handler then provides a response to the change.
event handler: a property of a SAS/AF component that determines the response to an event. Essentially, an event handler is a method that executes after an event is received.
field: a window area in which users can view, enter, or modify a value.
field validation: the process of checking user-entered values either against attributes that have been specified for a field or against conditions that have been specified in a SAS Component Language (SCL) program.
getCAM: a method that is associated with an attribute and that is automatically executed when the attribute's value is queried. See also custom access method (CAM), setCAM.
global command: a command that is valid in all of a particular SAS software product's windows.
graphics object: a graphical window element that displays a variety of graphics output created dynamically from specified data.
hierarchy: an arrangement of members of a dimension into levels that are based on parent-child relationships. Members of a hierarchy are arranged from more general to more specific. For example, in a Time dimension, a hierarchy might consist of the members Year, Quarter, Month, and Day. In a Geography dimension, a hierarchy might consist of the members Country, State or Province, and City. More than one hierarchy can be defined for a dimension. Each hierarchy provides a navigational path that enables users to drill down to increasing levels of detail. See also member, level.
hotspot: a graphical window element that is positioned within another graphical window element and that provides a different visual representation for that area. A hotspot can execute one or more actions when it is selected. For example, a hotspot can overlay a segment of a graph or a text entry field and execute an action when a user selects it.
inheritance: in object-oriented methodology, the structural characteristic of class definitions by which methods and attributes of a class are automatically defined in its subclasses.
instance: another term for object. See object.
instance variable: a characteristic that is associated with an object, such as its description, its color or label, or other information about the object. All objects that are created from the same class automatically contain the instance variables that have been defined for that class, but the values of those variables can change from one object to another. In addition, objects can contain local instance variables (that is, variables that are local to a particular instance of a class). Beginning in Version 8, the use of attributes reduced the need for instance variables. See also automatic instance variable, attribute.
interface: a type of class that specifies the rules that are used for model/view communication. Interfaces are collections of abstract method definitions that enable you to redirect a method call from one component to a method call on a different component. The method definitions are just the information that is needed to define a method; they do not contain the actual method implementations. If two components share an interface, they can indirectly call each others' methods via that interface.
KEYS entry: a type of SAS catalog entry that contains function key settings for interactive windowing procedures.
legacy class: any SAS/AF class that does not use the SAS Component Object Model (SCOM), including classes that were supplied in Version 6 of SAS/AF Software.
level: one of the classification columns in a dimension hierarchy. Levels describe the dimension from the highest (most summarized) level to the lowest (most detailed) level. For example, in a Geography dimension, the Country level is higher than the City level.
libref (library reference): a name that is temporarily associated with a SAS library. The complete name of a SAS file consists of two words, separated by a period. The libref, which is the first word, indicates the library. The second word is the name of the specific SAS file. For example, in VLIB.NEWBDAY, the libref VLIB tells SAS which library contains the file NEWBDAY. You assign a libref with a LIBNAME statement or with an operating system command.
local environment list: a list that contains data that is available only to SCL entries that are invoked in the same SCL application. This list is deleted when the application ends.
MDDB (multidimensional database): a specialized data storage structure in which data is presummarized and cross-tabulated and then stored as individual cells in a matrix format, rather than in the row-and- column format of relational database tables. The source data can come either from a data warehouse or from other data sources. MDDBs can give users quick, unlimited views of multiple relationships in large quantities of summarized data.
measure: a special dimension that usually represents numeric data values that are analyzed. Actual Sales, Predicted Sales, and Revenue are all examples of measures. For example, you might drill down within the Clothing hierarchy of the Product dimension to see the value of the Actual Sales measure for the Shirts classification variable.
member: (1) a SAS file in a SAS library. (2) a name that represents a particular data element within a dimension. For example, September 1996 might be a member of the Time dimension. A member can be either unique or non-unique. For example, 1997 and 1998 represent unique members in the Year level of a Time dimension. January represents non- unique members in the Month level, because there can be more than one January in the Time dimension if the Time dimension contains data for more than one year.
member name: a name that is assigned to a SAS file in a SAS library.
metabase: another term for repository. See repository.
metadata: a description or definition of data or information.
method: a property of a SAS/AF component that defines an operation that the component can execute.
model: a type of non-visual component that provides attributes and methods for querying and modifying underlying data abstractions. For example, a Data Set List model contains methods for reading and manipulating SAS tables.
model/view: an abstract relationship between a model, the internal logic of applications, and a viewer. You can set model/view component communication during application build time (that is, within the Build window) either by dragging a model onto a viewer or by setting the 'model' attribute of a viewer in the Properties window. See also model, view, viewer.
multidimensional database: See MDDB (multidimensional database).
non-visual component: any component that is not visible in an application's graphical user interface.
object: an instantiation or specific representation of a class. For example, a list box on a frame is an instantiation of sashelp.classes.Listbox_c.class. The terms instance and object are synonyms.
overload: to define multiple methods that have the same name but different signatures within the same class. If you call an overloaded method, SCL checks the method arguments, scans the signatures for a match, and executes the appropriate code. See also signature.
override: to replace the definition of an inherited method or the default value of an instance variable in a subclass.
parameter: (1) in SAS/AF and SAS/FSP applications, a window characteristic that can be controlled by the user. (2) in SAS Component Language (SCL), a value that is passed from one entry in an application to another. For example, in SAS/AF applications, parameters are passed between entries by using the CALL DISPLAY and ENTRY statements. (3) a unit of command syntax other than the keyword. For example, NAME=, TYPE=, and COLOR= are typical command parameters that can be either optional or required.
parent class: the class from which another class is derived. The parent class is also known as a super class.
property: any of the characteristics of a component that collectively determine the component's appearance and behavior. Attributes, methods, events, and event handlers are all types of properties.
region manager: the portion of SAS that allows windows to consist of regions. The region manager controls the operations performed on regions.
repository: a directory in which data sources (tables or MDDBs) have been registered for a SAS/EIS application.
resource: another term for RESOURCE entry. See RESOURCE entry.
RESOURCE entry: a type of SAS catalog entry that stores information about a set of classes. This information determines which classes can be instantiated by a frame when that frame is initialized. Therefore, when you browse, edit, or execute a frame, the frame must be able to access the RESOURCE entry that was used when the frame was created.
resource list: the list of classes and sets of attributes that can be used to build objects and execute FRAME entries. Resource lists are stored in RESOURCE entries.
SAS catalog: a SAS file that stores many different kinds of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A single SAS catalog can contain several different types of catalog entries. See also SAS catalog entry.
SAS catalog entry: a separate storage unit within a SAS catalog. Each entry has an entry type that identifies its purpose to SAS. Some catalog entries contain system information such as key definitions. Other catalog entries contain application information such as window definitions, Help windows, SAS formats and informats, macros, or graphics output. See also entry type.
SAS Component Language (SCL): See SCL (SAS Component Language).
SAS Component Object Model: See SCOM (SAS Component Object Model).
SAS data set: a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats.
SCL (SAS Component Language): a programming language that is provided with SAS/AF and SAS/FSP software. You can use SCL for developing interactive applications that manipulate SAS data sets and external files; for displaying tables, menus, and selection lists; for generating SAS source code and submitting it to SAS for execution; and for generating code for execution by the host command processor.
SCOM (SAS Component Object Model): a framework for developing SAS/AF applications that provides developers with model/view communication, drag and drop communication, and attribute linking. See also model/view, drag and drop (DND), attribute linking.
scope: a value that indicates whether a property can be called by all classes, by only the parent class, or only by subclasses. Scope is set to Public, Private, or Protected. Scope also determines whether properties are displayed at build time. For example, only public attributes are displayed in the Properties window. By default, the scope of a property is Public.
selection list: a list of items in a window, from which users can make one or more selections. Sources for selection lists are LIST entries, special SCL functions, and extended tables.
setCAM: a method that is associated with an attribute and that is automatically executed when the attribute's value is set. See also custom access method (CAM), getCAM.
signature: the name, order, and type of arguments for a method.
sigstring: a short notation that indicates a method signature.
source code: programming code that must be compiled before it can be executed.
source entry: a SAS catalog entry that contains the source code for a method. Source entries typically have an entry type of SCL.
state: a value that indicates whether a property is new, inherited, or overridden, or whether it is a system property.
subclassing: the process of deriving a new class from an existing class. A new class inherits the characteristics (attributes or instance variables) and operations (methods) of its parent. It can also possess custom attributes (or instance variables) and methods. See also class, attribute, instance variable, method.
super method: a method that is replaced by an overridden method. The super method can be invoked from the overridden method with a CALL SUPER statement.
table: a named object that contains a specific number of fields (or columns) and any number of unordered rows. In SAS/EIS software, this term is also used to refer to a SAS data set. See also SAS data set.
type: the data type of a variable, an attribute, or a method argument.
view: a particular way of looking at a model's data.
viewer: a component that provides a visual representation of a model's data.
visual component: a component such as an icon, a push button, a check box, or a frame that forms part of the graphical user interface of an application. Visual components are also referred to as controls.
widget: an element of a graphical user interface that displays information or that accepts user input. For example, a text entry field is a widget that is used for displaying and entering text, and a chart is a widget that is used for displaying information.

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