Glossary

activity    A step in an application where an assignee needs to perform an action.

application    In Process Builder, the application the builder creates to handle a process.

applet    A Java component designed to run in a web browser.

assignee    The person assigned to an activity for a particular process instance.

automated activity    A step in an application where an action is performed automatically, without being assigned to a user.

bean    A reusable software component for visual development environments.

builder    The person who creates the application using Process Builder.

child process    In subprocesses, the subordinate process that is called by the main or parent process.

class ID    The identifier of a group of fields with some common properties.

CGI    Common Gateway Interface. The specification for communication between an HTTP server and gateway programs on the server. Allows web interfaces to databases and enables the dynamic generation of HTML documents by gateway programs.

cluster    The combination of a configuration directory, a corporate user directory, a relational database, a web server, and one or more Netscape Application Servers. This combination of components is the environment for deployed applications, which are run by the application servers.

configuration directory    The Directory Server where Process Manager application and cluster information is stored.

content store    The place on the Enterprise Server where file attachments are stored, and the user and password needed to access them.

corporate user directory    The Directory Server used to store the user and group information for a corporation. Process Manager uses it to set up users and groups and assign users work items by leveraging the directory users and groups and other attributes.

creator    The person who initiates a process instance. Sometimes called the initiator.

custom activity   

database    The database you are using to store the information generated by process instances. For example, the database could be Informix, Oracle, or Sybase.

decision point    A point at which a process map branches depending upon conditions defined in the decision point.

deploy    To copy an application stored locally to a cluster. It can be deployed for storage only, or it can be deployed for development or production. Application information is deployed to the configuration directory, and the application is activated on the Netscape Application Server.

entry point    A point in the process where a user can initiate a process instance.

exception handler    Used in subprocesses, a step in an application that allows the administrator to intervene manually if errors occur in the interaction between a parent and child process.

exit point    A point in the process where the process ends.

extranet    An extension of a company's intranet onto the Internet, to allow customers, suppliers, and remote workers access to the data.

form    A part of an application a user fills out to complete a process instance, or uses to view information on a process.

group    A set of users set up either in the corporate user directory or in an individual application. A group is used to assign work items to users and control which forms which users are able to see.

HTML    HyperText Markup Language. A markup language (derived from SGML) used to create web documents.

HTTP    HyperText Transfer Protocol. A protocol for communication between web clients and servers.

initiator    The person who initiates a process instance. Sometimes called the creator.

intranet    A network which provides similar services within an organization to those provided by the Internet outside it but which is not necessarily connected to the Internet.

LDIF    A format for storing directory entries.

nested parallel process    A parallel process nested within a larger parallel process. The activities in the nested process are considered to be part of the nested process and not the larger process.

PAE    An acronym for Process Automation Edition, which was the name of the 4.0 release of this product.

parallel processing    A step in an application that branches between two or more branches so that two or more activities can execute in parallel.

parent process    In subprocesses, the main process that calls the subordinate or child process.

participant    A user of Process Express.

Process Administrator    The component of Process Manager that administrators use to administer Process Manager and Process Manager applications. Process Administrator is the IT administrator's interface described in the Administrator's Guide. Process Business Manager is the business manager's interface, described in the Business Manager's Guide.

Process Automation Edition    The Netscape process management solution.

process    A process is a series of steps, or work items, that can be completed by participants using an application.

Process Builder    The component of Process Manager where you can design and deploy applications.

Process Business Manager    The component of Process Manager that business managers use to administer Process Manager work items and process instances. Process Business Manager is the business manager's interface, described in the Business Manager's Guide. Process Administrator is the IT administrator's interface described in the Administrator's Guide.

Process Engine    The part of Process Manager that contains Process Express, Process Administrator, Process Business Manager and the engine that runs Process Manager. It contains all Process Manager components, with the exception of Process Builder.

Process Express    The component of Process Manager that end user use to initiate process instances, complete work items, and search for process instances.

process instance    A particular example of a process; for example, in a time off process application, a process instance would be a particular request by an employee for vacation time off for a specific period of time.

process map    The visual representation of the process that is handled by a Process Manager application.

processing branch    A set of activities that progress from a given split to its corresponding join. Also called a thread.

property    An attribute of an item or component used in an application that contains information about the item. For example, an activity has properties containing information such as the name of the activity, what script is run when it is completed, and so on.

role    A role is the part a user plays in a specific process instance.

script    A JavaScript file. A script can include a function, but this is not a defining characteristic.

subprocess    A fully functional process that is called from within another process. The process that calls the subprocess is the parent process and the subprocess is its child process.

trusted user    A group that allows a secure handshake between a parent and a child process.

URL    Uniform Resource Locator. The address system used by servers and clients to request web documents. It is often called a "location." The format of a URL is:

[protocol]://[machine:port]/[document]

For example:

http://home.netscape.com/index.html

transition    The links between steps in a process. On the process map, they are represented by lines with arrows that lead from one item to another. Transitions can be regular or they can depend upon a condition being true before they are executed.

web publishing    A feature that lets users access and manipulate server files with a server client, so that they can edit and publish documents to the web server.

work item    An individual task in a process instance as it appears to the end user on a work list.