Oracle9i Application Server Portal Building Advanced Portals
Release 3.0.9

Part Number A90098-01
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Glossary

advanced search

Enables content area users to:

If interMedia is installed and enabled, advanced search can also be used to perform near, soundex, and fuzzy searches.

API

Application Program Interface. A software program that functions between the operating system and application or between a host application program and client applications.

API, overloaded

Comprised of more than one function or procedure that share same name, but contain differing numbers and/or types of parameters.

application

In Oracle Portal, a group of components connected to one another by links, designed to fulfill a particular business need. For example, a form can be linked a chart that, in turn, allows an end user to drill down to detailed reports about items displayed in the chart.

application component item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. An Oracle Portal application component item may be a chart, form, report, and so on, created by the Oracle Portal Component Build Wizard and stored in the host database. When the user clicks the item, the application component executes and sends the result to the user's browser.

activity log

Database table that provides a record of end user requests for Oracle Portal components. The log includes information about the time of the request, the user who made the request, and the machine and browser type that originated the request.

attribute

Stores information about an item or folder: for example, Create Date, Expire Date, and Author. Content area administrators can create their own attributes to extend the functionality of item types and folder types.

authorized user

User who logs on to Oracle Portal. By default, authorized users can create certain Oracle Portal objects such as folders and pages. Contrast to public users, who cannot log on.

banner

A colored, horizontal bar with a title and optional graphic elements displayed on an Oracle Portal page or folder. A banner breaks up the visual flow of a page and helps group related items that appear beneath it.

A folder can contain up to four different types of banners: Main, Sub, Region, and Group By.

base folder type

See folder type.

base item type

See item type.

basic search

Enables content area users to search the current content area's items, folders, categories, and perspectives for the search string.

batch job

Running a component in the background using the Oracle Portal batch job facility. An end user can run a component in batch mode by selecting options on the customization form for the component. Batch processing is useful if the component is based on a large amount of data, or if the component displays many rows of data.

bind variable

Variable in a SQL statement that must be replaced with a valid value or address of a value in order for the statement to execute successfully. Oracle Portal component developers typically use bind variables to display a parameter entry field in a component's customization form. The entry field allows end users to choose the data that the component will display.

bookmark

See favorite.

bulk load

See Zip file item.

caching

Temporary storage of a page, folder, or component to reduce performance costs associated with retrieving the object each time it is requested. Users can choose to cache the structure of a page or folder, the structure plus the content, or nothing at all.

calendar

Oracle Portal component that displays the results of a SQL query in calendar format. At least one of the table columns in the query must have the DATE datatype.

call interface

Displays the arguments that were selected when a component was originally created or last edited.

category

A grouping of items in a content area. A category helps users answer the question, "What is this item?" For example, in a travel content area, you might have categories of maps, snapshots, or hotel reviews. Each item added to a content area must be assigned to a category.

chart

A component that displays the results of a SQL query as a bar chart. Charts are based on at least two table or view columns: one that identifies the bars on the chart and another that calculates the size of the bars on the chart.

cluster

Database object used to store tables that are related to one another and that are often joined together in the same area on disk.

color palette

Used to assign colors to elements in a folder style, including background, links, banners, and other items displayed on a folder page. The hex value for each color is displayed in the palette.

component

A PL/SQL stored procedure created by an Oracle Portal component build wizard; for example, a chart, report, or form. Executing the stored procedure creates the HTML code used to display the component.

container folder

A repository for related items including files, text, documents, images, application components, and so on. Contrast to PL/SQL, URL, and search folders.

content area
Collection of related information used to store content in Oracle Portal. A content area includes all the tools required to manage its content. Known as a site in WebDB 2.x and Oracle Portal 3.0 beta. Content areas contain a hierarchy of folders for organizing content.
Content Area Map

Displays the hierarchical organization of all folders in an Oracle Portal content area; allows users to access folders. The Content Area Map is tailored for each authorized user; only the folders you are authorized to view and/or edit are displayed.

content area administrator

User who has full privileges over the entire content area. Content area administrators set up and maintain the content area; designate folder owners and style administrators; create perspectives and categories; and manage users. Content area administrators can also view all the folders on the content area, including any user's personal folder.

content area log

Table of all events and related information gathered as users interact with a content area. Used to generate statistics in the form of reports and graphs.

content area page

Page that establishes a common look and feel for every folder in a content area. May include such items as a standard navigation bar, a corporate logo, and so on. Controlled by the content area administrator.

content contributor

User who can add items to a content area folder; that is, one who has Own Item, Manage Item, View Item, or Create With Approval privileges. Item and folder owners control which users can add items to a given folder.

cookie

Used by the Login Server to store information about the identity of users attempting to log in to Oracle Portal or associated external and partner applications.

custom folder type

See folder type.

custom item type

See item type.

customization form

Page that prompts end users for values to pass to an Oracle Portal component. End users can view the customization form for a component, if one has been created, by clicking the Customization link.

dashboard

Set of buttons that appears at the top of the Category, Perspective, and Folder pages when displayed in Edit mode. Allows quick access to all the edit tools used to create and manage categories, perspectives, or folders.

database access descriptor (DAD)

Set of values that specifies how Oracle Portal connects to the Apache Listener to fulfill an HTTP request. The information in the DAD includes the user name (which also specifies the schema and the privileges), the user password, and connect string parameters.

database administrator (DBA)

Oracle Portal user belonging to the DBA group. By default, members in the DBA group have access to all Oracle Portal product pages, and have the Manage privilege for pages, content areas, applications, and administration.

database object

See object.

database user account

See schema.

direct access URLs

Allows users to bypass standard Oracle Portal navigation and directly access pages, folders, categories, perspectives, and documents using a URL.

directory

See portal directory.

display name

An object's external name used throughout Oracle Portal: in the Navigator, as well as on the page, folder, or component banner (unless it has been changed). When the object is published as a portlet, the display name is used as the title of the portlet in the Available Portlets list and in the portlet repository.

Edit mode

Mode that enables an authorized user who has logged on to a content area to manage folders and the items contained within the folders. To switch to Edit mode, the user clicks the Edit button at the top right of the folder page. If the Edit button does not appear, the user is not authorized to add items to the folder and/or to change the folder's properties.

expiration period

Number of days--or an exact date--on which an item expires. After an item expires, it is viewable only by the item's owner and the content area administrator. Expired items are removed from the database during a system purge of all expired items.

export

Moves source data from an Oracle Portal schema to a target schema for later retrieval. For example, you may want to export data from your production database and import all or part of the data in that export file into your development database.

external application

Application external to Oracle Portal that is launched from the External Applications portlet. If you have registered your user name and password for an application with this portlet, the Login Server logs on to the application for you each time you launch it.

favorite

Item in the Favorites portlet that provides quick access to a frequently visited URL, either within Oracle Portal or externally. Each user who logs on to Oracle Portal has his or her own Favorites portlet.

file item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. When you add a file item, the file is uploaded to the content area and stored in the host database. When a user clicks the display name link, the file is downloaded to the user's computer and displayed in the user's Web browser.

folder

Repository for content within a content area. Oracle Portal supports four folder types: container, PL/SQL, URL, and search. Folders in a content area are similar to folders on a desktop computer in that they are organized hierarchically. Folders may be accessed through the Navigator and the Content Area Map.

folder link item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. A folder link provides a route to another folder within a content area. When the user clicks the display name link, the folder referenced by the item is displayed in the user's browser.

folder owner

User responsible for managing the content (items) in a folder. May add, edit, or delete any item in the folder.

folder area

Area on the folder page where content items are displayed.

folder path

Chain of folder reference names separated by colons, starting at the root folder and ending at the object folder. Folder paths, which may appear on the folder page, describe the complete directory path of a folder and create URLs for use in folder links.

folder type

Defines the content of a folder and the information that is stored about a folder. Base folder types included with Oracle Portal are: container, PL/SQL, search, and URL. Custom folder types are folder types created by content area administrators to extend the functionality provided by base folder types, and store additional information about folders.

form

Component that provides an interface to one or more database tables, views, or procedures.

frame driver

Component consisting of a Web page divided into two frames. One frame (the driving frame) contains a SQL query that drives the contents of the second (target) frame.

function

PL/SQL subprogram that performs a specified sequence of actions and then returns a value. Functions are usually small, very specific blocks of code written to perform a specific task within the scope of a larger application.

End users can execute procedures or functions in a content area by clicking on the title of a PL/SQL or custom item.

generate

Saving a procedure containing an Oracle Portal component to a file or database in binary format so that it can be executed in run-time and batch mode.

gist

A generic interMedia Text gist is a summary consisting of the document paragraphs which best represent the overall subject matter. You can use the Generic Gist to skim the main content of the text, or assess your interest in the text's subject matter.

grantee

User who is given privileges on an object by another user.

group

Collection of Oracle Portal users that typically shares a common need or interest; for example, Human Resources, Accounting, and so on. Groups make it easy to grant access to an object (such as a page or component) to several users at once.

group owner

User who has the privilege to add or delete members from the group, or to delete the group itself. Each group can have more than one owner.

hierarchy

Component that displays data from a self-referencing table or view (at least two columns in the table must share a recursive relationship). A hierarchy can contain up to three levels and display data such as employees in an organization chart, or the hierarchical relationship between menus in a Web site.

home page

Within Oracle Portal, the page that is displayed upon logging on. The portal administrator chooses this page for public users; authorized users may choose their own.

HTML

Acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. A tag-based ASCII language used to specify the content, format, and links to other pages on Web servers on the Internet. Oracle Portal consists of a collection of PL/SQL procedures that, when executed, generate HTML.

HTTP function

See function.

image

Bitmap object that can be stored and loaded into a component or content area, and displayed using a Web browser. Oracle Portal supports images of type JPEG, GIF, or PNG.

image/imagemap item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. You can add a bitmap image or an imagemap item (collection of smaller images, each of which provides a link to a different URL).

index

Optional structure associated with a table used to locate rows of the table quickly, and (optionally) to guarantee that every row is unique.

interest list

Folder link(s) that an authorized user chooses to display in the Favorites portlet for quick and easy access.

interMedia Text

Advanced gist, theme, and text retrieval services offered in Oracle 8i that enable search criteria to be compared against every word in every item within a content area. When interMedia is not available, or has not been enabled, search criteria is compared to each titles, descriptions, and keywords only.

item

Basic unit of content (such as text, files, and folder links) placed in a content area folder. Items are stored in the content area's host database. The item's display name and its content (or results of execution, in the case of a link or function call) are displayed on automatically-generated Web pages by Oracle Portal. Each item must be defined as one of the base item types (or custom item types, if they have been created), so that Oracle Portal knows how to display and execute it.

item ID

Local database reference to the contents of an item. An item ID value is used in custom item types to pass items to PL/SQL procedures. The function uses the item ID to access the contents of the item.

item level security (ILS)

Mechanism which allows controlled and granular access to specific items in a given folder. ILS authorizes item owners to grant explicit item access to user(s) and group(s) who would otherwise not be authorized.

item type

Define the contents of an item and the information that is stored about an item. Base item types included with Oracle Portal are: File, Folder Link, Image, Java Application, PL/SQL, Text, URL, Application Component, and Zip File. Custom item types are item types created by content area administrators to extend the functionality provided by base item types, and store additional information about items.

item version control

See version control.

JavaScript

Scripting language developed by Netscape that allows generation of dynamic components in otherwise static HTML. Oracle Portal allows you to use JavaScript to create routines that validate entry fields in forms and customization forms. You can also create JavaScript event handlers for entry fields and buttons on forms.

library

Collection of one or more PL/SQL program units stored together in a database, and can be referenced by several applications at once.

link

Component that allows developers to add hypertext jumps between components.

link text

Text (usually displayed in color) which is "hot", or hypertext. End users click on the text to display the Web page specified in the HTML code. For example, in the HTML code <a href="http://www.traveltheworld.com">Travel The World</a>,' Travel The World' is the link text displayed in color. End users click it to jump to the www.traveltheworld.com Web site.

List of Values (LOV)

Component that allows developers to add selectable values to entry fields in components and customization forms. An end user selects from the list one or more values for the entry field. A single List of Values can be displayed in different formats such as combo boxes, radio buttons, or check boxes.

local node

Instance of Oracle Portal to which a user is logged on. Each node has its own portlet repository that can provide portlets to other instances of Oracle Portal. Contrast with remote node.

lock

Setting automatically applied to a component when it is being edited. The setting prevents other users from editing the component.

Login Server

When set up to run with Oracle Portal, provides a Single Sign-On (SSO) mechanism that enables an Oracle Portal user to log in securely to Oracle Portal, and any partner and external applications, using a single user name and password.

master-detail form

Component that displays a master table row and multiple detail rows within a single HTML page. Values in the master row determine which detail rows are displayed for querying, updating, inserting, and deleting.

menu

Component that displays a Web page containing options that end users can click to navigate to other menus, Oracle Portal components, or URLs.

navigation bar

In a content area, the area that allows users to navigate to frequently accessed or important areas. In framed browsers, the navigation bar appears on the left side of each folder page; in unframed browsers, it appears at the top of the page. While folder owners decide which text links or images to place on the navigation bar for a given folder, the content area administrator has control over certain elements of the navigation bar, such as which image is used as the site logo, and the text of the links themselves.

Navigator

Mechanism for locating and interacting with Oracle Portal objects, automatically customized for each user's authorization level. Provides a Find field for locating objects quickly.

object

1) An Oracle Portal structure used to store data in the database. Developers can create objects such as folders, components, pages, styles, and so on using wizards provided by Oracle Portal.

2) Database objects such as tables, procedures, Java objects, etc. These objects can also be created using Oracle Portal wizards or Oracle database commands.

Oracle connect string

Gateway setting that can be used to set up a TNS names alias for a remote database installed on Windows NT.

Oracle home

Environment variable that indicates the root directory of Oracle products.

package

Database object consisting of a specification and a body. The specification includes the datatypes and subprograms that can be referenced by other program units. The body includes the actual implementation of the package.

page

Object created in Oracle Portal containing portlets. Each time you display a page, it is dynamically assembled and formatted according to the portlets and layout chosen for that page.

page layout

Defines how many regions appear on a page and how they are organized.

page style

See style.

parameter entry field

Field on a customization form that allows end users to enter values that will be passed to an Oracle Portal component.

parent-child relationship

See recursive relationship.

personal folder

Area within Oracle Portal in which authorized users can store and share personal items. The portal administrator can choose to create a personal folder for a user when creating a Single Sign-On user account.

perspective

Cross-category grouping of items. Perspectives help users answer the question "Who will be interested in this item?". For example, you can add links to diverse vacation spots around the world and assign perspectives like 'Vacations for Nordic Enthusiasts', 'Archeology Expeditions', and 'Extreme Vacations for Adventurers'. Perspectives are optional, and more than one can be assigned to an item.

PL/SQL item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. A PL/SQL item contains a block of PL/SQL code. When a user clicks the item's display name link, the block is executed. The result is returned and displayed in the user's browser.

PL/SQL folder

One of the four folder types supported by Oracle Portal. PL/SQL folders contain PL/SQL code which generates HTML when the folder is rendered. Contrast with container, search, and URL folders.

PL/SQL function
See function.
portal

Set of information--content areas, pages, applications, even data from outside sources--brought together in one central location and accessed through a common interface, called a page.

portal administrator

Outside of the DBA, users with the highest level of privileges in Oracle Portal. Portal administrators can view and modify anything in Oracle Portal, even folders, pages, and applications marked private. (The only exception is groups: although portal administrators can modify the PORTAL_ADMINISTRATORS and PORTAL_PUBLISHERS groups, they cannot modify any other group unless they have been named group owner.)

portal directory

Lists information about Oracle Portal users, which other users can access. The portal administrator decides whether a user is included in the directory. Each user can specify whether to include personal information, such as home contact information, in the directory.

portlet

Re-usable information component that summarizes or provides access to an information source. Portlets are the fundamental building blocks of an Oracle Portal page.

portlet provider

Product (for example, iSyndicate or Oracle Portal itself) that manages portlets and provides special services, such as stock quotes, local news, and weather. Portlet providers provide code to registered partners that, when executed, downloads content to the partner's portal page. Partners can embed this code in their HTML to create content for an Oracle Portal portlet.

portlet publisher

User who can publish objects (folders, pages, components, and so on) as portlets so they can be included on pages.

portlet repository

Content area created by Oracle Portal containing all the portlets available on the local node and any registered remote nodes. When you register a new provider on your local node, or when you register remote nodes and perform a refresh, the providers and their portlets are automatically added to your portlet repository. In addition, as soon as an object in a content area is published to the portal, that content area (and the object) appear in the repository.

primary key

Column in a database table consisting of unique values that can be used to identify rows in a table.

privilege

The right to perform an action within Oracle Portal. Privileges are either global (set through the Users or Groups portlets) or specific to particular objects (usually set through the object's Access tab). When building applications, access also can be granted to database objects, shared components, components and applications.

procedure

PL/SQL subprogram that performs a specified sequence of actions.

profile

System and Oracle database resources that are available to the user.

property sheet

Displays item attributes or folder properties without having to access the Item Manager or Folder Manager.

provider

See portlet provider.

provider record

Record returned by a portlet provider containing specified information about a portlet.

proxy server

Server that provides access to files from other servers by retrieving them either from the local cache or from the remote server.

public folder

Any folder in a content area that is viewable by public users, who do not log on. The folder owner or content area administrator must explicitly designate a folder as public.

public user

User who can access but is not logged on to Oracle Portal. When users first access Oracle Portal they do so as public users, whether or not they have the ability to log on. A public user can view any content area folder that has been marked as public, but cannot edit any content.

Query by Example (QBE) report

Component that provides an interface allowing end users to query or insert values into a database table or view. The Query by Example report contains entry fields that correspond to the columns in the database table or view on which the form is built.

query

SQL SELECT statement that specifies which data to retrieve from one or more tables or views in a database.

partner application

Application that has delegated its authentication to the Login Server. If registered with the Login Server, users can log into a partner applications using the Single Sign-On mechanism.

purge

See system purge.

recent object

Oracle Portlet object recently displayed or edited. Each user has his or her own Recent Objects portlet, which provides links to the last n objects accessed.

recursive relationship

Relationship that occurs when the values in a table column can be related to those in another column in the same table or another table; for example, between a primary key and foreign key.

reference path

Path that uniquely identifies a portlet instance on a page. A reference path can be used to target parameters to individual portlets, or groups of portlets, on a given page.

region

Area within a page. Each region has its own specifications regarding how portlets placed within it are displayed (as rows or columns), how wide the region is relative to other regions in the row, and so on.

remote database

Database running on a separate machine that can be accessed over the network through a connect string or database link.

remote node

Any instance of Oracle Portal other than the one you are currently logged on to (known as the local node).

report

Oracle Portal component that displays the results of a SQL query in a tabular format.

role

Group of Oracle database users to whom database object privileges can be granted and revoked as a unit. A Database Administrator assigns database users roles in order to grant them Oracle database object privileges associated with the role.

rollover image

Second image that is displayed whenever the cursor is moved over an image on the navigation bar in a Oracle Portal content area, or on a tab on an Oracle Portal page.

root folder

Top level of the folder hierarchy in a content area; contains all other folders in the content area. Also known as the content area's home page.

row

Set of values in a table; for example, the values representing one employee in the SCOTT.EMP table.

schema

Collection of components and database objects under the control of a given database user.

search folder

Folder based on an Oracle Portal content area search which creates different views of the content for different audiences. For example, you can create a search folder for all items belonging to the same category. Search folders are dynamic and are updated each time the folder is rendered. Contrast to container, PL/SQL and URL folders.

sequence

Database object used to automatically generate numbers for table rows.

session

Uninterrupted connection between a browser and Oracle Portal, from initial access to log off or disconnect. A session established as a public session at initial access becomes an authenticated session upon login.

shared components

Building blocks used by Oracle Portal developers to create components. Shared components include JavaScripts, color, font, and image definitions. Each shared component can be used by multiple developers to create Oracle Portal components.

shared objects

Content area created by Oracle Portal which contains objects such as personal folders, shared perspectives, shared categories, and shared custom types (shared attributes, shared item types and shared folder types). These objects can be shared across all content areas.

Single Sign-On

See Login Server.

site

See content area.

snapshot

Table that contains the results of a query on one or more tables, called master tables, in a remote database.

snapshot log

Table associated with the master table of a snapshot tracking changes to the master table.

status code

See version.

stored procedure

See procedure.

structured U/I template

Shared component that controls the look and feel of Oracle Portal components. Structured U/I templates display the same image and text in the same location on every component that uses the template.

style

Set of values and parameters that controls the appearance of Oracle Portal folders and pages. Styles applied to folders can control the look and feel of all the folders in a content area, or they can be applied to a single folder. Page styles are always applied on a page-by-page basis. Styles created by the Style Manager in the content area can be applied to folders, banners, and navigation bars; page styles are applied only to pages.

style administrator

User who has special privileges to maintain and enforce display settings in a given page or folder style.

subfolder

A nested folder. All folders in a content area are subfolders of the content area's home page, also known as the root folder.

substitution tag

Tag used to create unstructured U/I templates. When the HTML code that creates the template executes, substitution tags dynamically embed components, titles, headings, and other elements into the template.

synonym

Name assigned to a table or view that can thereafter be used to refer to it.

system purge

Deletes all items in a content area marked as deleted or expired from the database. System purges are performed by the content area or portal administrator.

table

Basic storage structure in a relational database.

tablespace

Allocation of space in the database that can contain objects.

temporary tablespace

Allocation of space in the database used for the creation of temporary table segments for operations such as sorting table rows.

text item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. When you create a text item, you enter text (up to 32KB) in the Item Wizard. The text block is then stored in the content area's host database. When a user clicks the display name link, the text is displayed in the user's Web browser.

theme

An interMedia text theme is a snapshot that describes what the document is about. Rather than searching for documents that contain specific words or phrases, users can search for documents that are about a certain subject, even if that subject is not mentioned explicitly in the document. Theme queries return a list of documents that are about the requested subject, along with a score that indicates how strongly each document refers to the subject in question.

title

See display name.

translation

Content area rendered in another language. When a content area administrator creates a translation, content contributors can add content in that language. Content area users can also view the content by setting their browser language appropriately.

trigger

Database object associated with a table. It executes before or after one or more specified events.

unstructured U/I template

Shared component that controls the look and feel of Oracle Portal components. Unstructured U/I templates are based on HTML code that, when executed, dynamically embeds components, titles, headings, and other elements.

URL folder

Folder providing a route to another Web page, either inside or outside this content area. When a user clicks the folder link, the Web page referenced by the link is displayed. Contrast to container, PL/SQL, and search folders.

URL item

One of the item types you can add to a folder. URL items provides a route to another Web page, either inside or outside this content area. When a user clicks the item's display name link, the Web page referenced by the link is displayed.

user interface (U/I) template

Shared component that controls the look and feel of Oracle Portal components. Selecting a U/I template when building a component automatically selects a title on the page where the component is displayed, a title background, links to other web pages, and background colors and images.

version

Indicates the status of a stored procedure that contains a Oracle Portal component. For example, ARCHIVE indicates an old version of the component that is being saved in the database. PRODUCTION with VALID PACKAGE indicates the most recent version of the component, which will run without errors. PRODUCTION with INVALID PACKAGE indicates that the most recent version of the component contains errors. There can be multiple versions of the same component.

version control

Allows multiple versions of an item to simultaneously exist in the Oracle database. This feature is useful for tracking document changes from one version to the next or for reverting to a previous version if necessary.

view

A virtual table whose rows do not actually exist in the database, but which is based on a table that is physically stored in the database.

View mode

Usual mode of viewing and interacting with an Oracle Portal content area. Contrast to Edit mode, which is used to perform folder and item management tasks.

visited link

Link which is displayed in a different color than unvisited links to signify that the user has clicked it at least once during the browser session.

Web server

Program that delivers Web pages.

wildcard

In Oracle Portal, the percent (%) character, which is used to mean any single character or a contiguous set of characters within a word or phase.

wizard

Graphical interface that guides a user step by step through a process. In Oracle Portal, there are wizards for creating applications, components, database objects pages, content areas, folders, and items within folders.

Zip file item

Method for uploading many files in one operation. May be used to replicate a file system or Web site. A folder is created for each directory and an item is created for each file. The items are contained in a target folder in the chosen content area.


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