1.1 Glossary
This document uses the following terms:
aggregatable server: A COM server that can be contained by another COM server and can allow its interfaces to be used as if they were defined by the containing server.
automation client: An application that can manipulate objects exposed by other applications, which are also called automation servers.
automation interface: An interface that supports the OLE Automation Protocol.
Automation Interface Definition Language (AIDL) interface: An automation interface that is not defined with the syntax of properties and methods.
automation scope: An IDL scope that provides a context for automation types that are defined or referenced.
automation scope family: A set of automation scopes that share the same GUID.
automation scope generation: A set of automation scopes that belong to the same automation family and share the same version.
automation server: An application that exposes its functionality through COM interfaces to other applications, which are also called automation clients.
automation type browser: A COM client that uses automation type descriptions to examine the functionality provided by an automation type library or an automation server.
automation type description: A COM server that describes and provides access to the members of a type that is defined or referenced in an automation scope.
automation type library: A COM server that provides descriptions of the automation-compatible types that are defined or referenced in an automation scope.
automation types: Types that support the OLE Automation Protocol.
bindable server: A server that is able to notify a client whenever the value of a specified property is changed.
byref argument: An argument to be modified by the invoked automation method. Such an argument is represented as a VARIANT with the VT_BYREF flag set.
class identifier (CLSID): A GUID that identifies a software component; for instance, a DCOM object class or a COM class.
client: An execution environment that holds object references and issues object RPC (ORPC) calls.
coclass: A component object (an association between a class identifier (CLSID) and a set of named implementations of IUnknown) that is defined using the coclass keyword.
COM server: A server that provides access to a component object (an association between a CLSID and a set of named implementations of IUnknown).
connectable server: A server that uses specified source interfaces to communicate with clients that implement those interfaces.
DCOM interface: An ORPC interface.
dispatch ID (DISPID): A 32-bit signed integer used in automation interfaces to identify methods, properties, and arguments.
dispinterface: An automation interface defined by using the dispinterface keyword or as part of a dual interface.
Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM): The Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) specification that defines how components communicate over networks, as specified in [MS-DCOM].
dual interface: An interface that can act either as a dispinterface or a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) interface.
dynamic endpoint: A network-specific server address that is requested and assigned at run time. For more information, see [C706].
endpoint: A network-specific address of a remote procedure call (RPC) server process for remote procedure calls. The actual name and type of the endpoint depends on the RPC protocol sequence that is being used. For example, for RPC over TCP (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_ip_tcp), an endpoint might be TCP port 1025. For RPC over Server Message Block (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_np), an endpoint might be the name of a named pipe. For more information, see [C706].
globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] have to be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).
HRESULT: An integer value that indicates the result or status of an operation. A particular HRESULT can have different meanings depending on the protocol using it. See [MS-ERREF] section 2.1 and specific protocol documents for further details.
interface: A specification in a Component Object Model (COM) server that describes how to access the methods of a class. For more information, see [MS-DCOM].
Interface Definition Language (IDL): The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard language for specifying the interface for remote procedure calls. For more information, see [C706] section 4.
interface identifier (IID): A GUID that identifies an interface.
language code identifier (LCID): A 32-bit number that identifies the user interface human language dialect or variation that is supported by an application or a client computer.
Microsoft Interface Definition Language (MIDL): The Microsoft implementation and extension of the OSF-DCE Interface Definition Language (IDL). MIDL can also mean the Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler provided by Microsoft. For more information, see [MS-RPCE].
named argument: An argument specified in a call both by its value and by its DISPID. Named arguments always follow positional arguments.
Network Data Representation (NDR): A specification that defines a mapping from Interface Definition Language (IDL) data types onto octet streams. NDR also refers to the runtime environment that implements the mapping facilities (for example, data provided to NDR). For more information, see [MS-RPCE] and [C706] section 14.
object: In COM, a software entity that implements the IUnknown interface and zero or more additional interfaces that can be obtained from each other using the IUnknown interface. A COM object can be exposed to remote clients via the DCOM protocol, in which case it is also a DCOM object.
OBJREF: The marshaled form of an object reference.
ODL dispinterface: An Object Description Language (ODL) dispinterface defined using the syntax of properties and methods.
opnum: An operation number or numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific remote procedure call (RPC) method or a method in an interface. For more information, see [C706] section 12.5.2.12 or [MS-RPCE].
partner dispinterface: An automation type description that exposes the members of a dual interface as a dispinterface.
partner interface: An automation type description that exposes the members of a dual interface as a DCOM interface.
property: A data field within a Common Information Model (CIM) class definition. This consists of a simple name, a type, and a value.
reference dispinterface: A dispinterface defined by referencing a DCOM interface.
remote procedure call (RPC): A communication protocol used primarily between client and server. The term has three definitions that are often used interchangeably: a runtime environment providing for communication facilities between computers (the RPC runtime); a set of request-and-response message exchanges between computers (the RPC exchange); and the single message from an RPC exchange (the RPC message). For more information, see [C706].
server: A computer on which the remote procedure call (RPC) server is executing.
source interface: An interface that is defined by a connectable server, and implemented by a client to enable the server to initiate communication with the client.
universally unique identifier (UUID): A 128-bit value. UUIDs can be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects in cross-process communication such as client and server interfaces, manager entry-point vectors, and RPC objects. UUIDs are highly likely to be unique. UUIDs are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) and these terms are used interchangeably in the Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the UUID. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] has to be used for generating the UUID.
user-defined type (UDT): A group of related data items that is declared as one type of information in an Interface Definition Language (IDL) file.
MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.