Glossary - S
SAA -
Systems Application Architecture.
SBCS
-
Single-byte character set.
scheduler
-
A computer program designed to perform functions
such as scheduling, initiation, and termination of jobs.
screen
-
In SAA Basic Common User Access architecture,
the physical surface of a display device upon which information is shown
to a user.
screen device context -
A
logical description of a data destination that is a particular window on
the screen. See also device context.
SCREEN$
-
Character-device name reserved for the display
screen.
scroll bar -
In
SAA Advanced Common User Access architecture, a part of a window, associated
with a scrollable area, that a user interacts with to see information that
is not currently allows visible.
scrollable entry
field -
An entry field larger than the visible
field.
scrollable selection field -
A
selection field that contains more choices than are visible.
scrolling
-
Moving a display image vertically or horizontally
in a manner such that new data appears at one edge, as existing data disappears
at the opposite edge.
secondary window -
A
window that contains information that is dependent on information in a primary
window and is used to supplement the interaction in the primary window.
sector -
On disk or
diskette storage, an addressable subdivision of a track used to record one
block of a program or data.
segment -
segment attributes
-
Attributes that apply to the segment as an entity,
as opposed to the individual primitives within the segment. For example,
the visibility or detectability of a segment.
segment
chain -
All segments in a graphics presentation
space that are defined with the 'chained' attribute. Synonym for picture
chain.
segment priority -
The
order in which segments are drawn.
segment store
-
An area in a normal graphics presentation space
where retained graphics segments are stored.
select
-
To mark or choose an item. Note that select
means to mark or type in a choice on the screen; enter means
to send all selected choices to the computer for processing.
select
button -
The button on a pointing device, such
as a mouse, that is pressed to select a menu choice. Also known as button
1.
selection cursor -
In
SAA Advanced Common User Access architecture, a visual indication that a
user has selected a choice. It is represented by outlining the choice with
a dotted box. See also text cursor.
selection
field -
(1) In SAA Advanced Common User Access
architecture, a set of related choices. See also entry field. (2)
In SAA Basic Common User Access architecture, an area of a panel that cannot
be scrolled and contains a fixed number of choices.
semantics
-
The relationships between symbols and their
meanings.
semaphore -
An
object used by applications for signalling purposes and for controlling
access to serially reusable resources.
separator
-
In SAA Advanced Common User Access architecture,
a line or color boundary that provides a visual distinction between two
adjacent areas.
serial dialog box -
serialization -
The
consecutive ordering of items.
serialize
-
To ensure that one or more events occur in a specified
sequence.
serially reusable resource (SRR)
-
A logical resource or object that can be accessed
by only one task at a time.
session -
(1)
A routing mechanism for user interaction via the
console; a complete environment that determines how an application runs
and how users interact with the application. OS/2 can manage more than one
session at a time, and more than one process can run in a session. Each
session has its own set of environment variables that determine where OS/2
looks for dynamic-link libraries and other important files. (2) (D of C)
In the OS/2 operating system, one instance of a started program or command
prompt. Each session is separate from all other sessions that might be running
on the computer. The operating system is responsible for coordinating the
resources that each session uses, such as computer memory, allocation of
processor time, and windows on the screen.
Settings
Notebook -
A control window that is used to display
the settings for an object and to enable the user to change them.
shadow
-
An object that refers to another object. A
shadow is not a copy of another object, but is another representation of
the object.
shadow box -
The
area on the screen that follows mouse movements and shows what shape the
window will take if the mouse button is released.
shared
data -
Data that is used by two or more programs.
shared memory -
In
the OS/2 operating system, a segment that can be used by more than one program.
shear -
In computer
graphics, the forward or backward slant of a graphics symbol or string of
such symbols relative to a line perpendicular to the baseline of the symbol.
shell -
(1) A software
interface between a user and the operating system of a computer. Shell programs
interpret commands and user interactions on devices such as keyboards, pointing
devices, and touch-sensitive screens, and communicate them to the operating
system. (2) Software that allows a kernel program to run under different
operating-system environments.
shutdown -
The
process of ending operation of a system or a subsystem, following a defined
procedure.
sibling processes -
Child
processes that have the same parent process.
sibling
windows -
Child windows that have the same parent
window.
simple list -
A
list of like values; for example, a list of user names. Contrast with mixed
list.
single-byte character set (SBCS)
-
A character set in which each character is represented
by a one-byte code. Contrast with double-byte character set.
slider
box -
In SAA Advanced Common User Access architecture:
a part of the scroll bar that shows the position and size of the visible
information in a window relative to the total amount of information available.
Also known as thumb mark.
SOM -
source file -
A
file that contains source statements for items such as high-level language
programs and data description specifications.
source
statement -
A statement written in a programming
language.
specific dynamic-link module -
A
dynamic-link module created for the exclusive use of an application.
spin
button -
In SAA Advanced Common User Access architecture,
a type of entry field that shows a scrollable ring of choices
from which a user can select a choice. After the last choice is displayed,
the first choice is displayed again. A user can also type a choice from
the scrollable ring into the entry field without interacting with the spin
button.
spline -
A
sequence of one or more Bezier curves.
spooler
-
A program that intercepts the data going to
printer devices and writes it to disk. The data is printed or plotted when
it is complete and the required device is available. The spooler prevents
output from different sources from being intermixed.
stack
-
A list constructed and maintained so that the
next data element to be retrieved is the most recently stored. This method
is characterized as last-in-first-out (LIFO).
standard
window -
A collection of window elements that
form a panel. The standard window can include one or more of the following
window elements: sizing borders, system menu icon, title bar, maximize/minimize/restore
icons, action bar and pull-downs, scroll bars, and client area.
static
control -
The means by which the application
presents descriptive information (for example, headings and descriptors)
to the user. The user cannot change this information.
static
storage -
(1) A read/write storage unit in which
data is retained in the absence of control signals. (A) Static storage
may use dynamic addressing or sensing circuits. (2) Storage other than dynamic
storage. (A)
style -
subclass -
A
class that is a child of another class. See also Inheritance.
subdirectory
-
In an IBM personal computer, a file referred
to in a root directory that contains the names of other files stored on
the diskette or fixed disk.
swapping -
(1)
A process that interchanges the contents of an area of real storage with
the contents of an area in auxiliary storage. (I) (A) (2) In a system
with virtual storage, a paging technique that writes the active pages of
a job to auxiliary storage and reads pages of another job from auxiliary
storage into real storage. (3) The process of temporarily removing an active
job from main storage, saving it on disk, and processing another job in
the area of main storage formerly occupied by the first job.
switch
-
(1) In SAA usage, to move the cursor from one
point of interest to another; for example, to move from one screen or window
to another or from a place within a displayed image to another place on
the same displayed image. (2) In a computer program, a conditional instruction
and an indicator to be interrogated by that instruction. (3) A device or
programming technique for making a selection, for example, a toggle, a conditional
jump.
switch list -
symbolic identifier -
A
text string that equates to an integer value in an include file, which is
used to identify a programming object.
symbols
-
In Information Presentation Facility, a document
element used to produce characters that cannot be entered from the keyboard.
synchronous -
Pertaining
to two or more processes that depend upon the occurrence of specific
events such as common timing signals. (T) See also asynchronous.
System Menu -
In the
Presentation Manager, the pull-down in the top left corner of a window that
allows it to be moved and sized with the keyboard.
System
Object Model (SOM) -
A mechanism for language-neutral,
object-oriented programming in the OS/2 environment.
system
queue -
The master queue for all pointer device
or keyboard events.
system-defined messages
-
Messages that control the operations of applications
and provides input an other information for applications to process.
Systems
Application Architecture (SAA) -
A set of IBM
software interfaces, conventions, and protocols that provide a framework
for designing and developing applications that are consistent across systems.
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