Glossary

Account Number

The identification of an individual document in a source file. The account number indicates the identity of the individual or business associated with the account information.

ACH

Automated Clearing House. A network for Electronic Funds Transfer, governed by the National ACH Association (NACHA) and the U.S Federal Reserve Bank. The ACH Network is used for all kinds of EFT transactions, including direct deposit of paychecks and monthly debits for routine payments to vendors. The ACH network is separate and distinct from the various bankcard networks that process credit card transactions. ACH transactions are conducted among participating financial institutions by the transfer of ACH files in batch mode, which can take up to 72 hours before the money is actually transmitted. In eaPay, an ACH return file is sent if there are insufficient funds in the account or if there are other errors or problems with the transaction. (Term used with eaPay.)

Addenda Record

ACH record type data needed to completely identify an account holder or to provide information concerning a transaction that carries supplemental payment. (Term used with eaPay.)

AIX

Advanced Interactive Executive. IBM's version of UNIX, which runs on 386 and higher PCs, RS/6000 workstations and 390 mainframes. It is based on AT&T's UNIX System V with Berkeley extensions.

ALF

Application Logic File. An ALF contains the rules to present the data extracted from the original data source in a customized HTML format. An ALF is created during application design and development using the eaDirect Composer tool. The ALF (which is in XML format) is then used along with the DDF during live statement retrieval to display extracted account data on the Web, in email, etc. The ALF also contains business logic (conditional statements that consider current statement data) for marketing and other customization purposes. eaMarket adds enhanced marketing promotion capabilities to eaDirect. In addition to dynamic statement presentment, ALFs are also developed and used for the composition of static output, most commonly notification emails. An application can have multiple ALFs for use in presenting different statement views. See also View.

Anchor

An additional (and optional) condition placed on a DDF extraction rule to ensure the proper data is extracted or located. Anchors can be defined on any DDF extraction rule, including fields, markers and page styles. If an anchor is defined, the system looks for the anchor pattern first and then the defined element. Anchors are useful when the data to be located is too generic to be detected by a pattern or it is found within a large range of rows and columns. See also Table Anchor.

API

Application program interface. A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer puts the blocks together.

Application

A customized set of eaDirect files (DDFs, ALFs, Statement HTML templates, Group HTML templates and images) created exclusively to extract and present online statements for a service provider. A custom application must be designed for each input data source. Each application is given a unique name. A single service provider can have more than one application if they present data from input data sources with different formats or content.

Application Name

The name of a particular application. eaDirect expects a DDF and ALF named after the application when dynamically composing the first statement view. The main application directory must also be named after the application. See also DDN.

ASP

Active server page. A Web server technology from Microsoft that allows for the creation of dynamic, interactive sessions with the user. An ASP is a Web page containing HTML and embedded programming code written in VBScript or Jscript. It was introduced with Version 3.0 of Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS). When an ASP page is requested by the browser, IIS executes the embedded program. ASPs are Microsoft's alternative to CGI scripts and JavaServer Pages (JSPs), which allow Web pages to interact with databases and other programs. Third party products add ASP capability to non-Microsoft Web servers.

ASP can also refer to Application Service Provider. See Service Provider.

Authentication

The process by which a Web application (such as an eaDirect application) verifies the identity of an individual Web user. eaDirect applications must verify the identity of an enrolled user before they can view account information.

Business Logic

In eaDirect, the conditional statements added to an ALF during application design and development. Conditional statements are written to create customized statements based on the particular financial and personal activity of each statement recipient. Business logic lets you display alternative messages or implement targeted advertising campaigns under specified conditions.

Also refers to the Java code that implements the functionality of a business application. In the EJB model, this logic is implemented by the methods of an enterprise bean.

Category

Subdirectory of a library. The lowest level of storage; a category has no subdirectories. A library can have one or more categories. (Term used with eaMarket.)

CCD

Cash Concentration and Disbursement. An automated corporate payment used primarily for the intra-company concentration or disbursement of funds. eaPay supports this type of ACH payment. (Term used with eaPay.)

Clicks

A subset of impressions and show the number of times the promotion was clicked. (Term used with eaMarket.)

Column

A unique data field that appears within a table. The columns of a table are usually related to each other in some logical way. Related table column occurrences usually appear on the same row, although this is not required. For example, in a table of telephone call detail, there could be columns for "Number Dialed," "Call Duration," and "Cost of Call." (In previous releases of eaDirect, columns have been referred to as record fields.)

Composer

The Windows-based, GUI tool used to create the rules for mapping data extracted from an input file to an HTML template for display on the Web, email, etc. The Composer displays the HTML template in WYSIWYG format and lets designers drag and drop placeholders for data elements into the template. The Composer also lets designers define business rules (build conditions) for marketing purposes. The main output of the Composer is an Application Logic File (ALF). The secondary output of the Composer is HTML templates, edited to include placeholder tags for the placement of extracted data elements and the execution of business logic statements. Composer is used along with DefTool to design and develop an eaDirect application.

Container

A Java entity that provides life cycle management, security, deployment, and runtime services to components. Each type of container (EJB, Web, JSP, servlet, applet, and application client) also provides component-specific services.

Content

What is to be shown for a promotion, such as GIF, JPEG, HTML and URLs. (Term used with eaMarket.)

CORBA

Common Object Request Broker Architecture. An architecture that enables pieces of programs, called objects, to communicate with one another independent of which programming language they were written in or what operating system they're running on.

CSR

Customer Service Representative. A CSR can be employed by the service provider or other entity.

CTE, CTX

Corporate Trade Exchange. An ACH Standard Entry Class code type used for corporate to corporate payments. CTX can transmit up to 9,999 addenda records in ANSI X12 syntax (EDI). (Term used with eaPay.)

Data Store

Physical location where the content of a promotion is stored. A data store can be a database or file system and there can be one or many. (Term used with eaMarket.)

DDF

Data Definition File. The DDF contains the rules for finding and extracting data from an application’s input data source. An application designer creates a DDF file using the eaDirect DefTool during the initial system design. It is created exclusively for use with a service provider’s particular data source format and application. DDFs are used on a regular basis during statement live retrieval to extract account data for display on the Web. The DDF is also used by the Indexer task to prepare a data source and the entire eaDirect application for live statement retrieval.

DDF Namespace

The collection of data elements defined for extraction in a DDF, including field, table, and group names. Most data elements are explicitly named, but some could be implicitly named (for example, the rows within a detail block might not have individual names). The contents of an application DDF Namespace appear in the left pane of the Composer screen, within the Definition tab. A designer can click and drag elements to the HTML view on the right.

DDN

Data Definition Name. The name of a particular application (internal to eaDirect). eaDirect expects a DDF and ALF named after the DDN when dynamically composing the first statement view. The main application directory must also be named after the DDN. See also Application Name.

DefTool

The Windows-based, GUI tool used to create the rules for finding and extracting data from a data source. DefTool’s interface lets designers view the data source content in digitized format and graphically identify the elements to extract. The output of DefTool is a Data Definition File (DDF). DefTool is used along with the Composer tool to design and develop an eaDirect application.

Detail Extractor

A type of eaDirect batch job used to extract and upload data from the data input file to an eaDirect database table. This data requires custom application functionality to extract the data from the database to merge with statements or use in any other way. For the Detail Extractor job you publish a DDF file, a database table schema XML file, and an XSLT style sheet.

Deployment

The process by which software is installed into an operational environment.

Distributed Application

An application made up of distinct components running in separate runtime environments, usually (in the eaDirect environment) on similar platforms connected via a network. Typical distributed applications are two-tier (client/server), three-tier (client/middleware/server), and n-tier (client/multiple middleware/multiple servers).

DOCID

An API-level string created by eaDirect to uniquely identify a particular document, or statement.

Document

A single statement or set of account data in an input data source. An input data source typically consists of many individual documents. Also used to describe a Web page composed by eaDirect to display a single user’s statement or view of account data.

Document Style

A delimiter used to locate the first page of each statement in a data source. The Document Style data string is defined during application design to enable eaDirect to identify a new statement in the data source. If the Document Style is found on a page, it indicates with certainty that this is the first page of the next statement (delimiting statements in the data source). The Document Style definition consists of a name, pattern, and the row and column coordinates within which eaDirect must search for the start of the identifying data string.

Dynamic Paging

The ability to dynamically spread repeating data across multiple HTML pages including the ability to navigate the resulting pages. (Dynamic paging does not correspond to physical pages identified in the source data file.)

Dynamic Web View

A view used to create a dynamic statement presentation on the Web. Dynamic view types are: HTML, CSV, XML, Chart, XSLT, and XML Query. You publish dynamic Web views.

eaDirect

edocs flagship software product; the foundation of eaSuite. eaDirect provides secure online account management and presentment systems capable of using a variety of input data formats.

eaMarket

The eaSuite software product that enhances eaDirect’s capability to integrate marketing and customer service messages throughout the online account management experience.

eaPay

The eaSuite software product that provides electronic payment capabilities to an eaDirect system and lets the end-user manage and track payments. eaPay supports a wide range of electronic payment methods including CheckFree, credit card and ACH transactions.

eaPost

The eaSuite software product that handles all aspects of distributing summary account information to any end-point. Service providers can plug-in new cartridges to reach new destinations.

eaSuite

The complete set of edocs online presentment products, including eaDirect and add-on products: eaMarket, eaXchange, eaPay, and eaPost.

EBPP

Electronic bill presentment and payment.

EJB

JavaSoft Enterprise JavaBeans. A specification defining a component architecture for building distributed, object-oriented business applications in Java. Enterprise JavaBeans encapsulate business logic. EJB developers can develop their own business components (such as invoices, bank accounts, and shipping routes), called enterprise beans, or purchase them from third-party vendors. Enterprise JavaBeans run in a special environment called an EJB container.

EJB Container

A container that implements the EJB component contract of the J2EE architecture. This contract specifies a runtime environment for enterprise beans that includes security, concurrency, life cycle management, transaction, deployment, and other services. An EJB container is provided by an EJB or J2EE server.

EJB Server

Software that provides services to an EJB container. For example, an EJB container typically relies on a transaction manager that is part of the EJB server to perform the two-phase commit across all the participating resource managers. The J2EE architecture assumes that an EJB container is hosted by an EJB server from the same vendor, so does not specify the contract between these two entities. An EJB server can host one or more EJB containers.

Email Notification

A type of eaDirect batch job used to dispatch secure email notifications to enrolled users after a statement has been processed. You must publish a view with each EmailNotification job.

Enrollment For Payment

The process by which an end-user becomes enrolled in a service provider’s system for the purpose of paying bills. The enrollment process involves providing user-profile information that uniquely identifies the individual to an online billing service provider.

Enrollment For Presentation

The process by which a Web user becomes enrolled in a service provider’s system for the purpose of viewing interactive or notification-based statement presentation. The enrollment process involves providing user-profile information that uniquely identifies the individual to an online billing service provider.

Enterprise Bean

A component that implements a business task or business entity; either an entity bean or a session bean. Also called EJB.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning. An integrated information system that serves all departments in an enterprise. ERP evolved from the manufacturing industry, and implies the use of packaged rather than proprietary software, although ERP modules can possibly be modified using a vendor's proprietary tools or a programming language (standard or proprietary).

Field

An independent data element within a statement that stands apart from any repeating line item detail. It is often used to isolate account information such as an account number, customer name, and summary financial information, such as total amount due.

FIDS

Formatted Input Data Stream. A type of data file created for an alternative method of generating a DDF automatically. A FIDS file contains extracted source data and related metadata. An eaDirect product extension uses the FIDS to automatically generate extraction rules (the DDF) for an application.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. A protocol used on the Internet for sending files.

Group

A collection of tables that repeat together within a document. A group can be used to present related data elements together in moderately complex applications containing multiple or combined statement information. For example, a group could be used to consolidate shipping information with related detail in a table that repeats for each ship-to address. A group can contain tables and/or groups of tables.

Also a unit that reviews and approves content before it goes into a promotion. (Term used with eaMarket)

HTML Output

A type of eaDirect batch job used to create static HTML-formatted email and output files. You publish a DDF file for the Indexer task and a view for this job type.

IIOP

Internet Inter-ORB Protocol. A protocol used for communication between CORBA object request brokers in a TCP/IP environment.

IIS

Internet Information Server. Microsoft's Web server that runs on, and is bundled with, Windows NT and Windows 2000. IIS is limited to the Windows NT platform, but is relatively easy to administer since it is tightly integrated with the operating system. (Netscape's Web servers run on all major platforms, including Windows NT, OS/2, and UNIX.)

Impressions

The number of times the page containing the promotion was accessed. (Term used with eaMarket.)

Indexer

A type of eaDirect batch job used to prepare a data file to be accessed by other production tasks. Indexer extracts meta-data from the application's DDF and stores the content in partitioned database index tables. Indexing an input file enables sub-second statement-retrieval response time across data sets of millions of electronic documents while maintaining the core data in the original input format. You publish a DDF file for the Indexer task, and dynamic Web views which depend on the Indexer job.

Input file (also Data File)

A service provider’s file of account or statement data which eaDirect extracts and presents on the Web. An input file consists of many individual documents. Also called a source file, eaDirect supports a wide variety of print formats, database extracts, and intermediate document composition formats. Each eaDirect application must be custom-designed for its unique input file format and content.

ISAPI

Internet Server API. A programming interface on IIS. Using ISAPI function calls, Web pages can run programs written as DLLs on the server, typically to access a database. IIS comes with a DLL that lets embedded queries access ODBC-compliant databases. ISAPI is an alternative to using CGI scripts on Microsoft Web servers. The counterpart to ISAPI on the client side is WinInet.

Java API

Java Application Programming Interface. Prewritten code organized into packages of similar topics. For instance, the Applet and AWT packages include classes for creating fonts, menus, and buttons.

J2EE

Java 2.0 Enterprise Edition

J2EE Application

Any deployable unit of J2EE functionality. This can be a single module or a group of modules packaged into an .ear file with a J2EE application deployment descriptor. J2EE applications are typically engineered to be distributed across multiple computing tiers.

J2EE Server

The runtime portion of a J2EE product. A J2EE server provides Web and/or EJB containers.

J2SE

Java 2.0 Standard Edition

JDBC

Java Database Connectivity. An industry standard for database independent connectivity between the Java platform and a wide range of databases. The JDBC interface provides a call-level API for SQL-based database access.

JDK

Java Development Kit. A software development environment for writing applets and applications in the Java programming language.

JMS

Java Messaging Service. An API for use with enterprise messaging systems such as IBM, MQ Series, TIBCO Rendezvous, etc.

JNDI

Java Naming & Directory Interface. A set of APIs that assists with the interfacing to multiple naming and directory services.

JNI

Java Native Interface. A programming interface (API) in Sun's Java Virtual Machine used for calling native platform elements such as GUI routines. RNI (Raw Native Interface) is the JNI counterpart in Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine.

Job

An eaDirect production function designed to produce a particular type of output in an application. All the different types of jobs defined for an application contribute to the process of extracting and presenting cyclical account data for viewing online. Jobs can be scheduled to run automatically on specific days, times, and intervals. See also Job Type.

Job Type

The particular function or purpose of an eaDirect job. Job types include Indexer, Email Notification, Purge App, Purge Logs, XML Output, HTML Output, and Detail Extractor.

JSP

JavaServer Page. An extensible Web technology that uses template data, custom elements, scripting languages, and server-side Java objects to return dynamic content to a client. Typically the template data is HTML or XML elements, and in many cases the client is a Web browser. (JSPs are converted to Java Servlets by the servlet engine.)

JTA

Java Transaction API.

JTS

Java Transaction Services. A way to maintain control of distributed transactions to protect them from sharing violations or other failures. WebLogic uses JTS internally for its transaction processing functionality, but does not export any of its JTS implementation as a public API.

JVM

Java Virtual Machine. An abstract computing machine, or virtual machine, JVM is a platform-independent programming language that converts Java byte code into machine language and executes it. Most programming languages compile source code directly into machine code that is designed to run on a specific microprocessor architecture or operating system, such as Windows or UNIX. A JVM - a machine within a machine - mimics a real Java processor, enabling Java bytecode to be executed as actions or operating system calls on any processor regardless of the operating system. For example, establishing a socket connection from a workstation to a remote machine involves an operating system call. Since different operating systems handle sockets in different ways, the JVM translates the programming code so that two machines on different platforms can connect.

LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. A protocol used to access a directory listing. LDAP support is being implemented in Web browsers and e-mail programs that can query an LDAP-compliant directory. LDAP is expected to provide a common method for searching e-mail addresses on the Internet, eventually leading to a global white pages. LDAP is a sibling protocol to HTTP and FTP and uses the ldap:// prefix in its URL.

Library

Storage area within a data store. There can be one or more storage areas per data store. (Term used with eaMarket.)

Marker

A set of delimiters defining where eaDirect can find and extract table or group data from source file. Markers are defined using the DefTool during the application design and development process.

Metadata

Descriptive information about data elements; data about data. In eaDirect, metadata is the term used to describe the key data elements used to positively identify a statement within a data source during live retrieval. The metadata is extracted from the input data source and preserved in partitioned index tables during the Indexing job to prepare the data source to be accessed by other production tasks.

MICR

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, sometime used to refer to the account and transit number at the bottom of a check.

NACHA

National Automated Clearing House Association. The organization that governs and sets the operational rules for all participants of the ACH Network (Term used with eaPay.)

NSAPI

Netscape Server API. A programming interface on Netscape's Web Server. Using NSAPI function calls, Web pages can invoke programs on the server, typically to access data in a database. NSAPI is an alternative to using CGI scripts on Netscape Web servers.

OAM

Online account management. The ability to provide live account statement views to customers and manage customer relationships on the Web. Online account management is made available by a service provider. For the customer, OAM can include the ability to make payments online and/or receive statement summaries on a selected payment consolidation portal.

ODBC

Open Database Connectivity. A standard database access method developed by Microsoft to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which DBMS is handling the data. ODBC inserts a middle layer, called a database driver, between an application and the DBMS. The purpose of this layer is to translate the application's data queries into commands the DBMS understands, which requires that both the application and DBMS be ODBC-compliant.

ODFI

Originating Depository Financial Institution. Institution responsible for the origination of ACH transactions; the institution could deposit items directly with an ACH operator. Typically, the ODFI is the online service provider's bank. (Term used with eaPay.)

ORB

Object Request Broker. A component in the CORBA programming model, ORB acts as the middleware between clients and servers. In the CORBA model, a client can request a service without knowing what servers are attached to the network. The various ORBs receive the requests, forward them to the appropriate servers, then send the results back to the client.

Page Style

A definition created in the DDF to identify a statement page (subsequent to the Document Style) that contains a finite subset of the statement’s data. A statement can have many pages consisting of one page style or they can have multiple page styles. Examples of different page styles include a summary page, line item detail pages, a cover letter, an ID card, or other types of information formatted differently (and therefore contain separate subsets of data). The page Style definition consists of a name, pattern and the row and column coordinates within which eaDirect must search for the start of the data string that differentiates the page Style from others in the statement.

Pattern

The nature and format of a data element to be extracted from an input file. A pattern must be defined for each data element to be extracted from an input file. For example, dollar amounts vary in length (number of digits) across statements, yet have the same general pattern. All addresses vary in length, yet consistently contain both numbers and letters, etc. Patterns are specified in all DDF definitions (page styles, fields, table columns and markers, etc.) as Regular Expressions. To extract a piece of data from an input file, eaDirect looks to the DDF file for the extraction rules (the page style, search area and pattern) defined for the data. When eaDirect finds a piece of data on that style page, within the defined search area, matching the defined pattern (called pattern matching), it extracts the data.

Payee

A business entity capable of processing or accepting payments. (Term used with eaPay.)

PPD

Prearranged Payment or Deposit. Automated consumer payment application by which a consumer can authorize debits or credits to his/her account by a company or financial. eaPay supports this type of ACH payment. (Term used with eaPay.)

Primary Key

The mandatory field defined on the document style page in the DDF, used to identify the individual or business associated with a statement in the input data source. The primary key is often the account number, however, in the case of statements for recipients with multiple account numbers, another data element must be selected as the Primary Key. Each Primary Key Field instance must be unique to the recipient.

Production

Running eaDirect application jobs on a regular basis to provide current account information on demand to Web users.

Profile

Defines the business logic or market segmentation behind a promotion (the basis on which a promotion occurs). Profiles are created using Composer in eaDirect. (Term used with eaMarket.)

Promotion

The specifics of a marketing campaign (the "who, what, when, where and why"). (Term used with eaMarket.)

Publishing

To identify a set of new or updated eaDirect design files (typically a DDF, ALF, and HTML templates) for use by an application in a live production environment. The set of files published is called a view. The production process uses the published view files along with input data to enable end-users to view their account information on the Web.

Purge App

The eaDirect batch job used to remove an application's index, email, and reporting data up to the date specified.

Purge Logs

The eaDirect batch job used to remove all rows in the .LOG table up to the date specified.

RDFI

Receiving Depository Financial Institution. The receiving financial institution is an ACH transaction's final destination. Typically, the customers’ banks are the RDFIs. (Term used with eaPay.)

Regular Expression

In eaDirect, a programming expression containing the search pattern, or rules, for locating and extracting a data element from an input file. A regular expression is a syntactical combination of symbols that represent a value, and consists of at least one operand (a value) and can have one or more operators (actions).

Successful regular expressions, also known as regexes, take advantage of the known characteristics of a data element, such as the general content and relative position of characters (numbers, decimal points, letters, etc.) while accounting for expected unknowns or variables such as exact length. A regular expression can be fairly general or more specific, depending on how exact the pattern needs to be to reliably extract the correct data.

RMI

Java Remote Method Invocation. A distributed object model for Java program to Java program, in which the methods of remote objects written in the Java programming language can be invoked from other Java virtual machines, possibly on different hosts.

Schedule

In eaDirect, when a job runs; in eaMarket, when a promotion runs.

Search Area

The area on a document page in an input data source, identified by start and end coordinates of rows and columns, where eaDirect looks for the start of a particular data element for identification (page styles and markers) or extraction (fields and table columns). The search area for each field must be defined in the DDF during application development. It is not possible to identify the precise location where data starts and ends in an input file, but it is possible to identify an area, relative to the page, where a data element can be found, along with the pattern of data expected.

Section

Piece of screen "real estate" on the HTML template that can be associated with conditions, to allow content of the section to vary based on data. (Term used with eaMarket.)

Service Provider

Business or other entity that provides online account management using one or more eaDirect applications.

Source file

See Input file.

SWIFT

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transfers. (Term used with eaPay.)

Table

A group of related data elements, defined as columns, which could iterate within the statement. Since table data is extracted together from the input data source, it is formatted and presentment together as well. Tables are generally built to extract and present iterative or transactional information, such as telephone or credit card transaction detail. Tables can also be built for multi-row data elements, such as customer addresses and messages. Tables are built using DefTool, and consist of a table anchor, marker pair, and one or more columns.

Table Anchor

A required element of a table, which, when detected during extraction of the table, confirms that data exists on relevant rows. The table anchor can be an internal anchor (a column) or an external anchor (a data string that resides on every row where there is table data and is not extracted as part of the table). See also Anchor.

Task List

Identifies promotions that are pending approval. (Term used with eaMarket.)

User ID

The identification a Web-user enters to log into an eaDirect application.

Version Set

A set of design files (typically a DDF/ALF pair and all statement and group HTML templates) published for use in data processing and live retrieval of statement views on a service provider’s online account management site. A version set is a dated instance of a view.

A new version sets can be published when the view design files are updated for ongoing presentment and marketing purpose.

View

A set of design files (typically a DDF/ALF pair and all statement and group HTML templates) which result in a particular Web view of a document. An application can have multiple views for different presentment purposes, such as generating dynamic or static HTML-formatted output and email notification. Different views can also be created to show different levels of information in a document, such as statement summary information, statement detail, etc. See also Version Set.

View Name

The name identifying a particular application view.

View Type

The type of output, or view, a version set produces: HTML, CSV, XML, Chart, XSLT, or XML Query.

VM

Virtual Machine. A self-contained operating environment that behaves as if it is a separate computer. For example, Java applets run in a Java Virtual Machine that has no access to the host operating system. Advantages to this design include system independence and security.

XML

Extensible Markup Language. An open standard for identifying data from the W3C. XML is used to define data elements on Web pages and B2B documents. It uses a similar tag structure as HTML; however, HTML defines how elements are displayed and XML defines what those elements contain. HTML uses predefined tags, but XML allows tags to be defined by the page developer. XML can identify virtually any data items, such as product, sales rep and amount due, enabling Web pages to function like database records. By providing a common method for identifying data, XML supports B2B transactions and is expected to become the dominant format for electronic data interchange. XML is a subset of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), while HTML is an application of SGML.

XML Output

A type of eaDirect batch job used to generate XML-formatted email and output files. You publish a DDF file with an XML Output job (for use by both the Indexer and XMLFormatter tasks).

XSL

Extensible Stylesheet Language. A style sheet format for XML documents. It is the XML counterpart to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) language in HTML, although XML supports CSS1 and CSS2 as well. XSLT (XSL Transformations) are extensions to XSL for converting XML documents into XML or other document types and can be used independently of XSL.

Yield

The ratio of clicks to impressions. For example, 25 clicks and 100 impressions shows a yield of 25%. (Term used with eaMarket.)