Appendix A: Glossary of Terms
A B C D E F G H I/J/K L M N O P Q/R S T U/V WXYZ
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Abstract Model [top] | An architectural pattern that optimises a data architecture for Data Description, Data Context and Data Sharing. (DRM usage)
A theoretical construct that represents physical, biological or social processes, with a set of variables and a set of logical and quantitative relationships between them. (Answers.com) An abstract model is one way to establish a consistent set of concepts. An abstract model is a tool for the description of complex behaviour — it is not a template for an implementation, although it should not stray so far away from reality that it is impossible to recognise how the required behaviours would be implemented. (W3C XML Protocol Abstract Model) |
| Ad Hoc Query [top] | A query (i.e. search question) formed or used for specific or immediate problems or needs. |
| AGA [top] | See Australian Government Architecture. |
| AGA Reference Models [top] | The Australian Government Architecture (AGA) consists of a set of interrelated 'reference models' designed to facilitate cross-agency analysis and the identification of duplicative investments, gaps and opportunities for collaboration within and across agencies (http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/index.html).
The Australian Government Architecture (AGA) Reference Models are based on the US Government's Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Reference Models. |
| AGIFT [top] | See Australian Governments' Interactive Functions Thesaurus. |
| Australian Government Architecture (AGA) [top] | A business-based framework for Australian government-wide improvement developed by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) of the Department of Finance and Deregulation (http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/index.html). |
| Australian Governments' Interactive Functions Thesaurus (AGIFT) [top] | The AGIFT is a three-level hierarchical thesaurus that describes the business functions carried out across Commonwealth, State, Territory and local governments in Australia, developed by the National Archives of Australia. AGIFT online site: |
| Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) Metadata Element Set [top] | The AGLS Metadata Standard is a set of 19 descriptive
elements that agencies can use to improve the visibility,
accessibility and interoperability of their web services. It has
been mandated for use by Australian Government agencies.
AGLS is published as Australian Standard AS 5044. The
Australian Government Implementation Manual for AGLS
Metadata provides practical advice and direction for staff
using the AGLS metadata set. It is maintained by the National
Archives of Australia. Further information can be found at
http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/publications/ [ ] |
| Analytical Database [top] | A database that contains structured data objects that support query and analysis and that tends to be purposefully de-normalised and optimised for query ease and performance. |
| Application Programming Interface (API) [top] | A set of definitions of the ways one piece of computer software communicates with another. It is a method of achieving abstraction, usually (but not necessarily) between higher-level and lower-level software |
| Architectural Pattern [top] | A description of an archetypal solution to a recurrent design problem that reflects well-proven design experience. (American Science Institute of Technology) |
| Attribute [top] | A characteristic of an Entity whose value may be used to help
distinguish one instance of an Entity from other instances of
the same Entity. (DRM usage)
A characteristic or property of an object, such as weight, size or colour. A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished. (WordNet) |
| Authoring System Repository [top] | A broad term related to document storage. At one extreme, an 'authoring system' may be a digital camera. At the other, an authoring system may implement a complex workflow used for the production of a formal publication. In both cases, the products of an authoring system are documents. (DRM usage) |
| BRM [top] | See Business Reference Model. |
| BRM Business Area [top] | The top tier of the BRM. Business Areas separate government operations into high-level functional categories relating to the purpose of government (Services for Citizens), the avenues through which the government provides services to citizens (Service Paths), the support functions necessary to conduct government operations (Services Support) and the resource management functions that support all areas of the government's business (Management of Government Resources) |
| BRM Business Capability [top] | The lowest tier of the BRM. Business Capabilities relate to the government sub-functions within each line of business. Each business capability is described in terms of the activities or operations involved in performing its related functionality. At an agency level, business capabilities are represented by business services that are enacted and supported through business processes and service components. |
| BRM Hierarchy [top] | A three-tiered taxonomy categorising and describing the functions of the Australian government at a whole-of-government level, independent of government agency structures. |
| BRM Line of Business (LoB) [top] | The middle tier of the BRM. Lines of Business (LoBs) represent the categories of government services for citizens, and the internal operations performed by the government towards providing services for citizens, independent of the agencies, bureaus and offices that perform them. BRM LoBs are represented in a whole-of-government context rather than an agency context. |
| Broader Term [top] | A term to which another term or multiple terms are subordinate in a hierarchy. In thesauruses the relationship indicator for this type of term is BT. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Business [top] | The people or organisations that are described by the BRM. In the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration standard businesses are defined by a business Entity. While quite often these are in fact businesses in the usual sense of the word, they need not be. For example, the 'businesses' in a registry internal to a business might well be internal organisations. (UDDI) |
| Business Area [top] | The highest level of functional category in the BRM taxonomy, broken down into lines of business that collectively contain the business capabilities of the Australian Government. Refer to 'BRM Business Area' for further detail. |
| Business Capability [top] | The lowest level of functional category in the BRM taxonomy, relating to the sub-functions of each line of business within the business areas. Refer to 'BRM Business Capability' for further detail. |
| Business Context [top] | The formal description of a specific business circumstance as identified by the values of a set of Context Categories, allowing different business circumstances to be uniquely distinguished (UN/CEFACT Core Components Technical Specification, Version 2.01). For example, in the AGA SRM, Service Types provide an additional layer of categorisation that defines the business context of a specific component within a given Service Domain. |
| Business Process [top] | A sequence of linked activities that creates value by turning
inputs into a more valuable output. This value creation can
be performed by human participants or information and
communications technology (ICT), or both. |
| Business Reference Model (BRM) [top] | One of the five AGA reference models. The BRM provides a framework that facilitates a functional (rather than organisational) view of the government's Lines of Business (LoBs), including its internal operations and its services for citizens, independent of the agencies, bureaus and offices that perform them. |
| Business Rule [top] | Policies and other restrictions, guidelines and procedures governing the administration and operation of a service. (Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata: Final Report of the PREMIS Working Group, May 2005) |
| Business Service [top] | An activity that provides value to its consumers through the enactment of a defined business process. In the context of the BRM, business services represent the business capabilities of the BRM within an agency context, enacted through business processes and service components that are orchestrated and created by government agencies. Provision of a particular business service may involve activities performed through one or more government agencies, and may include external service providers on behalf of a government agency. A complex business service may include other discrete business services in its mix of activities and business processes. |
| Categorisation [top] | The process of associating something with a category within a categorisation scheme. (DRM Usage) |
| Categorisation Scheme [top] | A group of categories that are related in some manner and that may be used for purposes of categorisation. Categorisation schemes may be less formal than classification schemes. (DRM Usage) |
| Category [top] | A grouping of terms that are semantically or statistically associated but which do not constitute a strict hierarchy based on genus/species, parent/child or part/whole relationships. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Class [top] | A description of a set of objects that share the same
attributes, operations, methods, relationships and semantics.
(ISO/IEC 11179-3)
Classes are the 'blueprints' for objects. A class wraps attributes (data) and behaviours (methods or functions) into a single distinct entity. Objects are instances of classes. (Practical UML: A Hands-On Introduction for Developers) |
| Class Diagram [top] | A UML diagram that shows a collection of declarative (static) UML model elements such as classes and types, with their contents and relationships. (OMG Terms and Acronyms)
A class diagram gives an overview of a system by showing its classes and the relationships among them. Class diagrams are static - they display what interacts but not what happens when they do interact. (Practical UML: A Hands-On Introduction for Developers) |
| Class Model [top] | The process of associating something with a category within a classification scheme. (DRM Usage) |
| Classification [top] | The process of associating something with a category within a classification scheme. (DRM Usage) |
| Classification Scheme [top] | A method of organisation according to a set of pre-established principles, usually characterised by a notation system and a hierarchical structure of relationships among the nodes. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Collection [top] | An aggregation of information resources used to support a major business function. In each of these collections data is created, retrieved, updated and deleted. (DRM usage) |
| Common Entities [top] | A desired product of data entity harmonisation in which the semantics and characteristics of data artefacts (elements) are compared across a Community of Interest (COI), an LoB or government-wide to reach some level of consensus (DRM usage). Examples might include Person, Organisation, Location, or Terrorist. This concept is sometimes called 'entities of interest' in certain communities. |
| Common Gateway Interface (CGI) [top] | A standard, language-neutral web technology that enables a client web browser to request data from a program executed on the web server. CGI, invented in 1993 by NCSA, specifies a standard for passing data between the client and the program. |
| Communities of Practice (COPs) or Communities of Interest (COIs) [top] | Collaborative groups of users who require a shared vocabulary to exchange information in pursuit of common goals, interests and business objectives. Within the context of the DRM they may include LoBs within the government and external organisations that are dedicated to the support of business functions. |
| Common Query Language (CQL) [top] | A formal language for representing queries to information retrieval systems such as web indexes, bibliographic catalogues and museum collection information. (CQL home page) |
| Concept [top] | A unit of thought, formed by mentally combining some or all of the characteristics of a concrete or abstract, real or imaginary object. Concepts exist in the mind as abstract entities independent of terms used to express them. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Conceptual Data Model [top] | A data model that represents an abstract view of the real
world. (ISO/IEC 11179-3)
A higher-level data artefact that is often used to explore domain concepts with project stakeholders. Logical data models are often derived from conceptual data models. At this level, the data modeller attempts to identify the highest level relationships among the different entities. (More: Conceptual, Logical and Physical Data Models) |
| Confidentiality [top] | International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) defines the term as "ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorised to have access" and is one of the cornerstones of information security. Confidentiality is one of the design goals for many crypto-systems, made possible in practice by the techniques of modern cryptography. Security defines the methods of protecting information and information systems from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction in order to provide confidentiality, integrity and availability, whether in storage or in transit. (DRM usage) |
| Consumer [top] | An entity (person or organisation) that consumes data that is supplied by a Supplier. (DRM usage) |
| Context [top] | As related to data, 'context' can describe the perspective,
significance, connotation and/or environment of data assets.
Context is the relationship of data assets to other concepts
that aid in their discovery, use and comprehension. See Data
Context (DRM Usage)
Enables the intended meaning of data to be more clearly known. This is often done through categorisation of data. Such categorisation also facilitates the discovery of data. (Context also includes business rules which will be covered in a later version of the DRM.) |
| Context Artefact [top] | An example of a Context Artefact is a Taxonomy |
| Context Item [top] | A set of terms or phrases that are organised in lists, tree structures or networked relationships. |
| Controlled Vocabulary [top] | A list of terms that have been enumerated explicitly. This list
is controlled by and is available from a controlled vocabulary
registration authority. All terms in a controlled vocabulary
must have an unambiguous, non-redundant definition. NOTE: This is a design goal that may not be true in practice; it
depends on how strict the controlled vocabulary registration
authority is regarding registration of terms into a controlled
vocabulary.
|
| Controlled Vocabulary Registration Authority [top] | An entity that controls and makes available the set of terms within a controlled vocabulary. |
| CRUD [top] | Database operations: CRUD = Create, Read, Update, and Delete. |
| Data [top] | A value, or set of values, representing a specific concept or concepts. Data becomes 'information' when analysed and possibly combined with other data in order to extract meaning and to provide context. The meaning of data can vary according to its context. (DRM usage)
Information in a specific physical representation, usually a sequence of symbols that have meaning; especially a representation of information that can be processed or produced by a computer. (RFC2828, Internet Security Glossary) A re-interpretable representation of information in a formalised manner suitable for communication, interpretation or processing. (ISO/IEC 11179-3) A representation of facts, concepts or instructions in a formalised manner, suitable for communication, interpretation or processing by humans or by automatic means. (ISO/IEC 2382-4 as per ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Data Access [top] | Requests for data services, such as a query of a Data Asset. (DRM usage) See Query and Query Point. |
| Data Architecture [top] | Defines how data is stored, managed and used in a system. It describes how data is persistently stored, how components and processes reference and manipulate this data, how external/legacy systems access the data, interfaces to data managed by external/legacy systems and implementation of common data operations. Data architecture establishes common guidelines for data operations that make it possible to predict, model, gauge and control the flow of data in the system. (Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute) |
| Data Artefact [top] | A collective term for electronic artefacts related to the presentation, description, representation or storage of data. Examples are documents and XML Schemas. |
| Data Asset [top] | A managed container for data; examples include a relational database, website, document repository, directory or data service. (DRM usage) |
| Data Context [top] | Any information that provides additional meaning to data. Data Context typically specifies a designation or description of the application environment or discipline in which data is applied or from which it originates. It provides perspective, significance and connotation to data and is vital to the discovery, use and comprehension of data. See Context. (DRM usage) |
| Data Context Standardisation Area [top] | One of the three main parts of the DRM Abstract Model. The Data Context standardisation area facilitates discovery of data through an approach to the categorisation of data according to taxonomies and provides linkages to the other AGA reference models. (DRM usage) |
| Data Description Standardisation Area [top] | One of the three main parts of the DRM Abstract Model. The Data Description standardisation area provides a means to richly describe data, thereby supporting its discovery and sharing. (DRM usage) |
| Data Dictionary [top] | A database used for data that refers to the use and structure
of other data, i.e. a database for the storage of metadata.
[ANSI X3.172-1990]
See also data element dictionary. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Data Discovery [top] | The process of discovering data that exists within a data asset. (DRM usage) Locating a resource on the enterprise, using a process (such as a search engine) to obtain knowledge of information content or services that exploit metadata descriptions of enterprise IT resources stored in Directories, Registries and Catalogues. (DDMS) |
| Data Element Definition [top] | A textual phrase or sentence associated with a data element within a data dictionary that describes the data element, gives the data element a specific meaning and differentiates the data element from other data elements. A good definition is precise, concise, non-circular and unambiguous. Definitions should not refer to terms or concepts that might be misinterpreted by others or that have different meanings based on the context of a situation. Definitions should not contain acronyms that are not clearly defined or linked to other precise definitions. Standards such as the ISO/IEC 11179 - Metadata Registry specification also give guidelines for creating precise data element definitions. |
| Data Element Dictionary [top] | An information resource that lists and defines all relevant data elements. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Data Element Registry [top] | An information resource kept by a registration authority that describes the meaning and representational form of data elements, including registration identifiers, definitions, names, value domains, metadata and administrative attributes, etc. See also Register. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Data Entity [top] | An entity that describes data. |
| Data Exchange [top] | Fixed, recurring transactions between parties, such as the regular exchange of environment testing data among federal, state and local entities. (DRM usage) |
| Data Harmonisation [top] | The process of comparing two or more data entity definitions and identifying commonalities among them that warrant their being combined (harmonised) into a single data entity. |
| Data Integrity [top] | The property that data has not been changed, destroyed or lost in an unauthorised or accidental manner. (RFC2828, Internet Security Glossary) |
| Data Management [top] | Principles, processes and systems for the sharing and management of data. (CMMI V1.1) |
| Data Model [top] | A representation of the information required to support the operation of any set of business processes and/or the systems used to automate them. (DRM usage)
A description of the organisation of data in a manner that reflects an information structure. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) A graphical and/or lexical representation of data, specifying its properties, structure and inter-relationships. (ISO/IEC 11179-3) A model that describes in an abstract way how data is represented in a business organisation, an information system or a database management system. |
| Data Object [top] | An aggregation of data that represents discrete information about a subject area. (DRM usage) |
| Data Reference Model (DRM) [top] | One of the five reference models of the Australian Government Architecture (AGA). The DRM is a framework whose primary purpose is to enable information sharing and re-use across the federal government via the standard description and discovery of common data and the promotion of uniform data management practices. |
| Data Registry [top] | An information system that manages and maintains metadata about data and data-related items, such as digital data resources and data assets. A data registry is often paired with a repository. (DRM usage) |
| Data Repository [top] | A central place where data is stored and maintained. A repository can be a place where multiple databases or files are located for distribution over a network, or a repository can be a location that is directly accessible to the user without having to travel across a network. |
| Data Representation [top] | Describes how data is described within the property and object layers. (DRM usage) |
| Data Schema [top] | A representation of metadata, often in the form of data artefacts such as logical data models or conceptual data models. The Data Schema concept group is comprised of those concepts pertaining to the representation of structured data. (DRM usage) |
| Data Service [top] | An automated process that provides a related and well described set of data-related functions to other applications, systems and processes or to the end user. Data services can be invoked through query points which identify the service and its location in a web environment; or by a platform-neutral service (such as a web service) that provides access to data assets. (DRM usage) |
| Data Sharing Standardisation Area [top] | One of the three main parts of the DRM Abstract Model. Describes the sharing and exchange of data, where sharing may consist of ad-hoc requests (such as a one-time query of a particular data asset), scheduled queries, and/or exchanges characterised by fixed, recurring transactions between parties. Data sharing is enabled by capabilities provided by both the Data Context and Data Description standardisation areas. Data sharing involves exchanges within and between agencies and COIs to support mission-critical capabilities. These COIs may include international, state and local governments. Data sharing eliminates duplication and/ or replication of data, thereby increasing data quality and integrity. (DRM usage) |
| Data Steward [top] | Person or organisation delegated the responsibility for managing a specific set of data resources. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Data Stewardship [top] | Identifying, defining, specifying, sourcing and standardising data assets across all business areas within a specific business subject area consisting of some set of entity types, e.g. person. |
| Data Supplier-to-Consumer Matrix [top] | Presents a planning matrix to describe Data Sharing services that should be considered in meeting an agency's or COI's information sharing requirements; comprised of four quadrants: transactional databases, analytical databases, authoring systems repositories and document repositories. (DRM usage) |
| Data Type (or Datatype) [top] | A constraint on the type of data that an instance of an
Attribute may hold (e.g. 'date', 'string', 'float' or 'integer');
defines the kind of data that can be stored in a variable or
data element. (DRM usage)
The format used for the collection of letters, digits and/or symbols to depict values of a data element, determined by the operations that may be performed on the data element. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Digital Data Resource [top] | A digital container of information, typically known as a file; may be a structured, semi-structured or unstructured data resource (DRM usage). The difference between a Document and a Digital Data Resource is that a Digital Data Resource can contain structured data, whereas a Document cannot. See also Document. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM) [top] | An umbrella term referring to any of several technical methods used to control or restrict the use of digital media content on electronic devices with such technologies installed. The media most often restricted by DRM techniques include music, visual artwork, computer and video games, and movies. Because the 'rights', actually technical capabilities, that a content owner grants are not the same as the legal rights of a content consumer, DRM critics argue that the phrase 'digital rights management' is a misnomer and the term 'digital restrictions management' is a more accurate characterisation of the functionality of DRM systems. Note: This should not be confused with the Data Reference Model of the AGA (also known as the DRM). |
| Directory [top] | An entity in a file system which contains a group of files and other directories. In Microsoft Windows a directory is called a 'folder'. |
| Document [top] | A file containing unstructured and/or semi-structured data resources. A discrete and unique electronic aggregation of data produced with the intent of conveying information. All data within a document may be in the same format, e.g. text, or a document may be a composite that consists of sets of data in a variety of formats, e.g. MS Word files containing embedded graphics. The term 'discrete' implies that a document requires no linkage to other data to convey its meaning. The term 'unique' implies that each instance or version of a document can be distinguished from all others, i.e. it can be assigned a unique identifying number. Documents may be unstructured, meaning that the document follows no rigid, machine-interpretable structural convention or it may contain self describing metadata that is machine-interpretable. For example, an ASCII document is unstructured. Alternatively, documents may be semi-structured, meaning that they conform to a machine-interpretable structural convention or contain embedded self-describing metadata that is machine-interpretable. A Microsoft Word document with headings and sub-headings is considered semi-structured, as is an XHTML document. (DRM usage)
See also Digital Data Resource. |
| Document Metadata [top] | Describes an electronic document as well as the data required to file and retrieve it. It includes information fields such as To, From, Date, Subject, Document Type, Format, Location, Record Number, Version Number, File Tag and Originating Organisation. XML is the preferred format for storing document metadata. Examples of document metadata include MS Office document 'Properties' or 'meta' tags in HTML/XHTML. MS Office Properties include: Title, Subject, Author, Date Modified, etc. For comparison, the AGLS metadata elements are Creator, Date, Title, Availability, Function, Resource, Publisher, Subject, Audience, Contributor, Coverage, Description, Format, Language, Mandate, Relation, Rights, Source and Type. (DRM Usage) |
| Document Repository [top] | A data asset whose primary role is the storage and maintenance of documents. |
| Document Type Definition (DTD) | A set of declarations that conform to a particular mark-up syntax and that describe a class, or 'type', of SGML, HTML or XML documents, in terms of constraints on the structure of those documents. In a DTD, the structure of a class of documents is described via element and attribute-list declarations. |
| DRM [top] | See Data Reference Model. Also see Digital Rights Management. |
| Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) [top] | A standard format for exchanging business data. The North
American standard for EDI is called ANSI X12. (TechTarget.
com)
Computer-to-computer exchange of structured information, by agreed message standards, from one computer application to another by electronic means and with a minimum of human intervention. EDI is still the data format used by the vast majority of electronic commerce transactions in the world. |
| Enterprise Architecture (EA) [top] | The explicit description and documentation of the current and desired relationships among business and management processes and information technology. An EA describes the 'current architecture' and 'target architecture' to include the rules and standards and systems life cycle information to optimise and maintain the environment which the agency wishes to create and maintain by managing its ICT portfolio. The EA must also provide a strategy that will enable the agency to support its current state and also act as the road-map for transition to its target environment. These transition processes will include an agency's capital planning and investment control processes, agency EA planning processes and agency systems life cycle methodologies. |
| Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) [top] | Defines and describes the business aspects of the EA in terms of the current and target business environments. The business aspects include the people (internal and external resources directly involved in or impacting on the business), the organisational structure (formal and informal structures and social networks), the financial factors (budget funding, debts, investments), and process (management, operational, support, business solutions, metaprocesses). EBA includes business strategies for transition from the current business environment to the target business environment. |
| Entity [top] | An abstraction for a person, place, object, event or concept
described (or characterised) by common Attributes. (DRM
usage)
Any concrete or abstract thing that exists, did exist or might exist, including associations among these things. (ISO/IEC 11179-3) |
| Entity of Interest [top] | An abstraction for a person, place, object, event or concept described (or characterised) by common Attributes that is central to the information sharing requirements of a COI. (DRM Usage) |
| E-R (Entity-Relationship) Diagram (ERD) [top] | A data modelling technique that creates a graphical representation of the entities and the relationships between entities, within an information system. It also includes cardinality |
| E-R (Entity-Relationship) Model [top] | A way of graphically representing the logical relationships of entities (or objects) in order to create a database. |
| Exchange Package [top] | A description of a specific recurring data exchange between a Supplier and a Consumer. An Exchange Package contains information (metadata) relating to the exchange (such as Supplier ID, Consumer ID, validity period for data, etc.), as well as a reference to the Payload (message content) for the exchange. An Exchange Package can also be used to define the result format for a query that is accepted and processed by a Query Point in a data sharing scenario. (DRM usage) |
| Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) [top] | The process of reading structured data objects from a data source (the extract), changing the format of the data objects to match the structure required by a target database (transform) and updating the target database with the transferred data objects (load). |
| FEA Reference Model [top] | A series of interrelated taxonomies that comprise the FEA and that are designed to facilitate cross-agency analysis and the identification of duplicative investments, gaps and opportunities for collaboration within and across Federal Agencies. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/e-gov/fea []) The Australian Government Architecture (AGA) Reference Models are heavily based on the US FEA reference models. |
| Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) [top] | A business-based framework for US government-wide improvement developed by the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/e-gov/fea []) |
| Federated Registries [top] | Registries may be federated in order to enable their contents to be shared amongst other registries, causing them to appear to a user and to automated processes (such as queries) as a single registry. |
| Formal Classification [top] | Classification that involves formal relationships between topics and includes specific rules or constraints for those relationships. |
| Geospatial [top] | Pertaining to the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on, above or below the earth's surface. Especially referring to data that is geographic and spatial in nature. (http://dictionary.reference.com/ []) |
| Harmonisation [top] | Act of bringing or coming to agreement or harmony. (http://dictionary.reference.com/ []) |
| Hierarchy [top] | Broader (generic) to narrower (specific) or whole-part relationships which are generally indicated in a controlled vocabulary through codes or indentation. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19- 200x) |
| HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) [top] | The primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web. HTTP is a request/response protocol between clients and servers. |
| HTTP GET [top] | The most common method used to request a specified URL. When a user clicks on most web links (other than web forms), they are causing their browser to issue an HTTP GET request for a particular page or resource from a web server. |
| HyperText Markup Language (HTML) [top] | A markup language designed for the creation of web pages
and other information viewable in a browser. HTML is used
to structure information, denoting certain text as headings,
paragraphs, lists and so on, and can be used to define the
semantics of a document. Originally defined by Tim Berners-
Lee and further developed by the IETF with a simplified SGML
syntax, HTML is now an international standard. (ISO/IEC
15445:2000)
Later HTML specifications are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). |
| Informal Classification [top] | Classification in which there may or may not be specific types of topics and the topics that are defined may or may not have formally defined relationships. Many websites and search utilities offer a basic classification that may be considered informal classification. |
| ISO/IEC 11179 [top] | A standard for representing metadata for an organisation in a metadata registry. The specification is formally known as the ISO/IEC 11179 Metadata Registry Standard and consists of six sections:
The specification defines how data elements are classified, specified, defined, named and registered |
| Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) [top] | In computer networking, LDAP is a standardised networking protocol designed for querying and modifying directory services. LDAP defines a relatively simple protocol for updating and searching directories running over TCP/IP. No specific type of directory is an 'LDAP directory'. One could reasonably use the term to describe any directory accessible using LDAP and which can identify objects in the directory with X.500 identifiers. LDAP directory entries feature a hierarchical structure that reflects political, geographic and/ or organisational boundaries, usually with DNS names at the top level. |
| Lines of Businesses (LoBs) [top] | The middle level of functional category in the BRM taxonomy relating to major government business functions within each business area. Each LoB is comprised of a collection of business capabilities. Forty LoBs are identified in the BRM across four business areas. Of these, 25 are externally-focussed, found in the Services for Citizens Business Area to describe the purpose of government in functional terms. The remaining 15 are internally-focussed LoBs that describe avenues for provision of government services and support functions conducted by the government in order to effectively and efficiently provide services for citizens. Refer to 'BRM Line of Business' for further detail. |
| List [top] | A limited set of terms arranged as a simple alphabetical list or in some other logically evident way; the simplest type of controlled vocabularies. |
| Logical Data Model [top] | Describes the same data as a conceptual data model but as structured in an information system. It is often referred to as a Model of the Information System. A logical data model can be directly used for database design. (ISO/IEC 11179-3)
A graphical representation of the information requirements of a business area, it is not a database. (More: Barbara A Carkenord, The Knowledge Exchange Company, ''Why Build a Logical Data Model'', Embarcadero Technologies Inc,) At this level, the data modeller attempts to describe the data in as much detail as possible, without regard to how they will be physically implemented in the database. |
| Management Context [top] | A data artefact that represents the concepts (entities) that are specific to a domain, their attributes and the relationships between the concepts. Logical data models may also contain data types for attributes. |
| Metadata [top] | A number of characteristics or attributes of data are defined,
i.e. 'data that describes data' (ISO/IEC 11179-3).
For any particular datum, the metadata may describe how the datum is represented, ranges of acceptable values, its relationship to other data and how it should be labelled. Metadata may also provide other relevant information, such as the responsible steward, associated laws and regulations, and access management policy. Each of the types of data described above has a corresponding set of metadata. Two of the many metadata standards are the National Archives of Australia's AGLS Metadata Set and the US Department of Defense Discovery Metadata Standard (DDMS). The metadata for structured data objects describes the structure, data elements, inter-relationships and other characteristics of information, including its creation, disposition, access and handling controls, formats, content, and context, as well as related audit trails. Metadata includes data element names (such as Organisation Name, Address, etc.), their definition and their format (numeric, date, text, etc.). Metadata may include metrics about an organisation's data including its data quality (accuracy, completeness, etc.). (DRM usage) |
| Metadata Registry [top] | An information system for registering metadata (ISO/IEC 11179). A metadata registry provides a shared understanding about the metadata that describes a data object. (DRM usage) |
| Metamodel [top] | A structure used to create models. For example, an XML Schema defines how to create XML vocabularies and structure XML data. In relational terms, data definition language (DDL) is used to generate (one or more) database schema (made up of related database tables) from which data can be entered. A data model that specifies one or more other data models. (More: ISO/IEC 11179-3) |
| Narrower Term [top] | A term that is subordinate to another term or to multiple terms in a hierarchy. In thesauruses, the relationship indicator for this type of term is NT. (More: ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Node [top] | A specific concept or term in a taxonomy, thesaurus, classification scheme or categorisation scheme. (DRM Usage) |
| Node Relationship [top] | A semantic relationship (e.g. narrower-term) between nodes. (DRM Usage) |
| Object [top] | Anything perceivable or conceivable. Note: Objects may also be material (e.g. an engine, a sheet of paper, a diamond), immaterial (e.g. a conversion ratio, a project plan) or imagined (e.g. a unicorn). (More: ISO/IEC 11179-3) |
| Office of Management and Budget (OMB) [top] | The United States Office of Management and Budget is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States which is tasked with coordinating United States Federal agencies. It is a senior management team of the White House. The OMB performs this coordination by gathering and filtering budget requests, by issuing circulars dictating agency management practices and by reviewing agency regulations. (More: http://www.whitehouse.gov []) |
| Object Management Group (OMG) [top] | A consortium that sets standards in object-oriented programming as well as system modelling. The OMG created the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) standard in 1991 and, more recently, the standard for Unified Modelling Language (UML) and the related technologies of Meta-Object Facility (MOF) and XML Metadata Interchange (XMI). It has further expanded into Model Driven Architecture (MDA). (More: http://www.omg.org []) |
| On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) [top] | An approach to quickly provide the answer to complex analytical queries, providing the ability to analyse metrics in different dimensions such as time, geography, gender, product, etc. The OLAP Report has proposed the FASMI test, Fast Analysis of Shared Multidimensional Information. |
| On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) [top] | A form of transaction processing conducted via computer network. Some applications of OLTP include: electronic banking; order processing; employee time clock systems; e-commerce; and e-trading. In large applications, efficient OLTP may depend on sophisticated transaction management software and/or database optimisation tactics to facilitate the processing of large numbers of concurrent updates. OLTP is often integrated into service-oriented architecture and web services. |
| Ontology [top] | A controlled vocabulary expressed in a representation language that has a grammar for using vocabulary terms to express something meaningful within a specified domain of interest. The grammar contains formal constraints (e.g. specifies what it means to be a well-formed statement, assertion, query, etc.) on how terms in the ontology's controlled vocabulary can be used together. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| OWL (Web Ontology Language) [top] | A markup language for publishing and sharing data using ontologies on the internet and a vocabulary extension of RDF. Together with RDF and other components, these tools make up the Semantic Web project. (More: W3C) |
| Payload [top] | The set of data objects which a data service exchanges during a transaction; the message content. (DRM usage) |
| Payload Definition [top] | An electronic definition that defines the requirements for the Payload (data) that is exchanged between a Supplier and a Consumer. Examples include XML Schema and EDI transactions. |
| Performance Reference Model (PRM) [top] | One of the five AGA reference models. The PRM is a framework for performance measurement providing common output measurements throughout the Australian Government. |
| Physical Data Model [top] | A representation of a data design which takes into account the facilities and constraints of a given database management system. It is typically derived from the Logical Data Model and may include all the database artefacts required to create relationships between tables or achieve performance goals, such as indexes, constraint definitions, linking tables, partitioned tables or clusters. At this level, the data modeller specifies how the logical data model will be realised in the database schema. (Conceptual, Logical, and Physical Data Models) |
| Polyhierarchy [top] | Networked relationships where each item may be related to one or more other items without the direct notion of a parent-child pair. |
| Preferred Term [top] | One of two or more synonyms or lexical variants selected as a term for inclusion in a controlled vocabulary. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Privacy [top] | Addresses the acceptable collection, storage, use, disclosure and accuracy of information. Requirements are enshrined in the Australian Government Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). |
| PRM [top] | See Performance Reference Model. |
| Query [top] | An instruction given to access a Data Asset; a request issued to receive data. A Query may be ad hoc when it is issued as an isolated access to a Data Asset (e.g. a one-time database query) or a Query may be part of a pre-planned, methodical operation, in which case it is recurring and often scheduled. (DRM usage) |
| Query Point [top] | An endpoint that provides an interface for accessing and querying a Data Asset. A concrete representation of a Query Point may be a specific URL at which a query Web Service may be invoked. (DRM usage) See Exchange Package. |
| Recreation Markup Language (RecML) [top] | An XML vocabulary that defines terms for: recreation areas
(parks); facilities (trails, campgrounds, etc.); activities (hiking,
wildlife viewing, etc.); alerts (temporary closures); events and
similar recreation elements. RecML is a voluntary data sharing
specification for recreation information developed by a US
COI, namely the recreation community, including the private
sector and government organisations at the federal, tribal,
state, and local levels. (More: http://www.recreation.gov []) |
| Recreation One-Stop [top] | A United States of America citizen-focused eGovernment Initiative managed by the US Department of the Interior with two main goals: (1) customer-friendly recreation portal (Recreation.gov) with information for planning visits to Federal recreation sites and making campground/tour reservations; and (2) consistent information about Federal recreation areas via different channels (databases, websites and publications), by standardising data and interfacing recreation-related computer systems. (More: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov []) |
| Reference Models [top] | A structure which allows the modules and interfaces of a system to be described in a consistent manner. An abstract framework for understanding significant relationships among the entities of some environment and for the development of consistent standards or specifications supporting that environment. A reference model is based on a small number of unifying concepts and may be used as a basis for education and explaining standards to a non-specialist. A reference model is not directly tied to any standards, technologies or other concrete implementation details but it does seek to provide common semantics that can be used unambiguously across and between different implementations. (The Australian Government Architecture Framework is defined in terms of reference models) |
| Register [top] | A set of files (paper, electronic or a combination) containing the assigned data elements and the associated information. See also Data Element Registry. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Registration [top] | The assignment of an unambiguous identifier to a data element in a way that makes the metadata about those data elements available to interested parties. (ISO/IEC 11179-1) |
| Related Term [top] | A term that is associatively but not hierarchically linked to another term in a controlled vocabulary. In thesauruses, the relationship indicator for this type of term is RT. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Relationship [top] | Association between two entities in an ERD. Each end of the relationship shows the degree of how the entities are related and the optionality. (Oracle FAQ at http://www.oracle.com []) |
| Resource Description Framework (RDF) [top] | A family of specifications for a metadata model. The RDF family of specifications is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The RDF metadata model is based upon the idea of making statements about resources in the form of a subject-predicate-object expression and is a major component in what is proposed by the W3C's Semantic Web activity: an evolutionary stage of the World Wide Web in which automated software can store, exchange and utilise metadata about the vast resources of the Web, in turn enabling users to deal with those resources with greater efficiency and certainty. RDF's simple data model and ability to model disparate, abstract concepts has also led to its increasing use in knowledge management applications unrelated to Semantic Web activity. |
| Result Set [top] | A Query Point provides the result set for an Exchange Package. (DRM usage) In SQL, a result set is a set of rows from a database, as well as meta-information about the query such as number of results returned and the column names. More generally, it is the data returned by any type of query (search). |
| Schema [top] | The structure of a data set, database, Exchange Package, etc. See also XML Schema. |
| Security [top] | The methods of protecting information and information
systems from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption,
modification or destruction in order to provide integrity,
confidentiality and availability, whether in storage or in
transit. (DRM usage)
A condition that results from the establishment and maintenance of protective measures that ensures a state of inviolability from hostile acts or influences. With respect to classified matter, the condition that prevents unauthorised persons from having access to official information that is safeguarded in the interests of national security. Measures taken by a military unit, an activity or installation to protect itself against all acts designed to, or which may, impair its effectiveness. |
| Semantic Linking [top] | A method of linking terms according to their meaning or meanings. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Semantic Web [top] | A representation in two (or possibly three) dimensions of the
semantic relationships between and among terms and the
concepts they represent. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x)
The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and re-used across application, enterprise and community boundaries. It is a collaborative effort led by W3C with participation from a large number of researchers and industrial partners. It is based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF), which integrates a variety of applications using XML for syntax and URIs for naming. (W3 Semantic Web home page) It refers to a suite of technologies that aim to enhance the performance of the Internet for the functions of businesses, organisations and individuals by increasing capabilities to interpret and determine meaning in web-based data and information. |
| Semi-Structured Data (Resource) [top] | Data that has characteristics of both structured and unstructured data, such as an e-mail (with structured data such as sender and subject, and unstructured text). (DRM usage)
Semi-structured data is the term database theorists use to denote data that exhibits any of the following characteristics: numerous repeating fields and structures in a naive hierarchical representation of the data, which lead to large numbers of tables in a second- or third-normal form representation; wide variation in structure; and/or sparse tables. (C. M. Sperberg-McQueen) (More: series of ACM Queue articles.) |
| Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) [top] | Expresses a software architectural concept that defines the use of services to support the requirements of business. In an SOA environment, nodes on a network make resources available to other participants in the network as independent services that the participants access in a standardised way. Most definitions of SOA identify the use of web services (using SOAP and WSDL) in its implementation. However, one can implement SOA using any service-based technology with loose coupling among interacting software agents. |
| Service Reference Model (SRM) [top] | A business and performance-driven, functional framework that classifies Service Components with respect to how they support business and/or performance objectives. The SRM is intended for use to support the discovery of government-wide business and application Service Components in ICT investments and assets. The SRM is structured across horizontal and vertical service domains that, independent of the business functions, can provide a leverage-able foundation to support the re-use of applications, application capabilities, components and business services. Service domains include: Customer Services, Process Automation Services, Business Management Services, Digital Asset Services, Business Analytical Services, Back Office Services, and Support Services (http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/index.html). |
| SQL-92 [top] | SQL is a database sublanguage that is used for accessing relational databases. The proper pronunciation is 'ess cue ell', and not 'sequel' as is commonly heard. SQL-92 was designed to be a standard for relational database management systems (RDBMSs) developed by the ANSI X3H2 committee. SQL-92 does not address objects in any way. Nevertheless, SQL-92 forms the basis for JDBC and other specifications. Depending on the source, 'SQL' stands for SQL Query Language (recursive expansion) or Structured Query Language. |
| SRM [top] | See Service Reference Model. |
| Standardisation Area [top] | The three aspects of data that the DRM addresses, namely Data Description, Data Context and Data Sharing. The DRM's standardisation areas provide a foundation for agency data architecture initiatives to put forth requirements that can result in increased compatibility between agency data architectures. (DRM usage) |
| Structured Data Object [top] | An entity within a data store. These entities, in turn, contain attributes that describe the object. Such objects rely on the structure and relationships defined in the data store to assign their meaning. Databases are examples of collections of structured data objects. (DRM usage) |
| Structured Data (Resource) [top] | Data described via the E-R (Entity-Relationship) or class model, such as logical data models and XML documents. Structured data is organised in well-defined semantic 'chunks' called entities. (DRM usage) |
| Subject Area [top] | A topic of interest shared within a community. The full list of subject areas of interest to a community form the context for that community. A super type is a subject area that spans multiple COIs. (DRM usage) |
| Supplier [top] | An entity (person or organisation) that supplies data to a Consumer. Note that the Supplier may or may not be the original producer of the data. For this reason the name 'Producer' was not used. (DRM usage) |
| Synonym [top] | A word or term having exactly or very nearly the same meaning as another word or term. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Synonym Ring [top] | A group of terms that are considered equivalent for the purposes of retrieval. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Target Architecture [top] | The set of products that portrays the future or end-state enterprise, generally captured in the organisation's strategic thinking and plans; commonly referred to as the 'To-Be' architecture. |
| Taxonomy [top] | A collection of controlled vocabulary terms organised into a hierarchical structure. Each term in a taxonomy is in one or more parent/child (broader/narrower) relationships to other terms in the taxonomy. There can be different types of parent/child relationships in a taxonomy (e.g. whole/part, genus/species, type/instance), but good practice limits all parent-child relationships to a single parent to be of the same type. Some taxonomies allow poly-hierarchy, which means that a term can have multiple parents and, although the term appears in multiple places, it is the same term. If the parent term has children in one place in a taxonomy, then it has the same children in every other place where it appears. (ANSI/ NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Technical Reference Model (TRM) [top] | A component-driven, technical framework used to categorise the standards, specifications and technologies that support and enable the delivery of service components and capabilities. The TRM provides a foundation to categorise the standards, specifications and technologies to support the construction, delivery and exchange of business and application components (Service Components) that may be used and leveraged in a Component-Based or Service-Oriented Architecture. The TRM unifies existing Agency TRMs and E-Gov guidance by providing a foundation to advance the re-use of technology and component services from a government-wide perspective. Service areas include: Service Access and Delivery, Service Platform and Infrastructure, Component Framework, and Service Interface and Integration (http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/index.html). |
| Term [top] | One or more words designating a concept. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Term Record | A collection of information associated with a term in a controlled vocabulary, including the history of the term, its relationships to other terms and, optionally, authorities for the term. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Thesaurus [top] | A networked collection of controlled vocabulary terms. A thesaurus uses equivalence (synonym), hierarchical (broader/narrower) and associative relationships. The expressiveness of the associative relationships in a thesaurus varies and can be as simple as 'related to term', as in 'term A is related to term B'. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Topic [top] | A category within a Taxonomy. A Topic is the central concept for applying context to data. For example, an agency may have a Taxonomy that represents its organisational structure. In such a Taxonomy, each role in the organisational structure (e.g. CIO) represents a Topic. Topic is often synonymous with Node. (DRM usage) |
| Top Term [top] | The broadest term in a controlled vocabulary hierarchy. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| Transaction [top] | An exchange of information between two or more services (or an entity and a service) in the performance of an operation or function. (DRM usage) |
| Transactional Database [top] | A database that support transactions. A database transaction is a unit of interaction with a database management or similar system that is treated in a coherent and reliable way independent of other transactions that must be either entirely completed or aborted. |
| Tree Structure [top] | A controlled vocabulary display format in which the complete hierarchy of terms is shown. Each term is assigned a tree number or line number which leads from the alphabetical display to the hierarchical one; the latter is also known as systematic display or classified display. (ANSI/NISO Z39.19-200x) |
| TRM [top] | See Technical Reference Model. |
| Unified Modeling Language (UML) [top] | A non-proprietary, object modelling and specification language. As a graphical notation, UML can be used for modelling hardware (engineering systems) and is commonly used for business process modelling, systems engineering modelling, software engineering and representing organisational structure. UML was designed to be used to specify, visualise, construct and document the artefacts of an object-oriented software-intensive system under development. It represents an integrated compilation of best engineering practices that have proven to be successful in modelling large, complex systems, especially at the architectural level. (More: OMG's UML Resource Page) See also OMG. |
| Unstructured Data (Resource) [top] | Data that is of a more free-form format, such as multimedia
files, images, sound files or unstructured text. Unstructured
data does not necessarily follow any format or hierarchal
sequence, nor does it follow any relational rules. (DRM usage)
Unstructured data refers to masses (usually) of computerised information which do not have a data structure which is easily readable by a machine. Examples of unstructured data may include audio, video and unstructured text such as the body of an e-mail or word processor document. Data mining techniques are used to find patterns in, or otherwise interpret, this information. Merrill Lynch estimates that more than 85 percent of all business information exists as unstructured data - commonly appearing in e-mails, memos, notes from call centres and support operations, news, user groups, chats, reports, letters, surveys, white papers, marketing material, research, presentations and web pages. (More: Robert Blumberg, Shaku Atre, 'The Problem with Unstructured Data'. Published Information Management Magazine, February 2003,http://www.information-management.com/issues/20030201/6287-1.html [ ]) |
| Vocabulary Control [top] | The process of organising a list of terms to:
|
| Web Services [top] | A software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. It has an interface that is described in a machine-processable format such as WSDL. Other systems interact with the web service in a manner prescribed by its interface using messages, which may be enclosed in a SOAP envelope, or follow a REST approach. These messages are typically conveyed using HTTP, and are normally comprised of XML in conjunction with other web-related standards. (More: W3C Web Services Activity) |
| X.500 [top] | A series of computer networking standards covering electronic directory services. The X.500 series was developed in order to support the requirements of X.400 electronic mail exchange and name lookup. ISO/IEC was a partner in developing the standards, incorporating them into the Open Systems Interconnect suite of protocols, ISO/IEC 9594.
X.509, the portion of the standard providing for an authentication framework, is now also widely used outside of the X.500 directory protocols for public-key certificates. Because of the complexity of the protocols, a simplified alternative known as LDAP was developed implementing only a subset of the protocols. |
| eXtensible Markup Language (XML) [top] | Extensible Markup Language has at least two distinct meanings: (1) a set of generic syntax rules to enable the creation of specialised markup languages that follow similar conventions; and (2) an ever-growing collection of standard, de facto standard and special purpose languages based on XML syntax (e.g. XSLT, UBL, ebXML, XML Schema, XHTML, RDF, OWL, SVG, etc.). Sometimes the term 'XML' is used incorrectly when 'XML Schema' is actually intended. (More: W3C XML home page) |
| XML Document [top] | A storage unit (i.e. a file) containing XML markup and content. (DRM usage)
A data object is an XML document if it is well-formed as defined in this specification. A well-formed XML document may, in addition, be valid if it meets certain further constraints. (XML 1.0 Recommendation, Third Edition) |
| XML Registries and Repositories [top] | An information system that securely stores XML artefacts (e.g. XML schemas, data elements, etc.) and non-XML artefacts (e.g. other e-business objects), as well as details (metadata) about the artefacts. The storage facility (e.g. a file system or database) that holds registered objects is known as a repository, while the part of the information system that maintains the metadata for the registered objects is known as a registry (ebXML document). |
| XML Schema [top] | Defines the vocabulary (elements and attributes), the content model (structure, element nesting and text content) and data types (value constraints) of a class of XML documents. When written with a capital 'S', the term refers specifically to the XML Schema Definition (XSD or WXS) language developed by the W3C. However, when written with a lower case 's', the meaning is more generic, referring to any of several schema languages for use with XML, such as DTDs, RELAX NG, Schematron, etc. In both cases, an XML schema is used to validate XML instances to verify that the instances conform to the model that the schema describes. |
| XML Path Language (XPath) [top] | A terse non-XML syntax for addressing portions of an XML document. A path expression is written as a sequence of steps to get from one set of nodes to another set of nodes. XPath also allows more conventional expressions, involving arithmetic and Boolean operators and a range of functions to perform string manipulation, etc. |
| XML Query (XQuery) [top] | A query language with some programming language features designed to query collections of XML data. It is semantically similar to SQL and is being developed by the XML Query working group of the W3C. The work is closely coordinated with the development of XSLT 2.0 by the XSL Working Group; the two groups share responsibility for XPath 2.0, which is a subset of XQuery 1.0. At the time of writing, XQuery is a W3C Candidate Recommendation, although dozens of implementations are available in various states of completeness. In addition to XPath addressing, it provides SQL-like FLWOR expressions based on five possible clauses: FOR, LET, WHERE, ORDER BY, RETURN. Note: XQuery 1.0 does not include features for updating XML documents or databases. It also lacks full text search capability. These features are both under active development for a subsequent version of the language. (More: W3C XML Query page) |
| XSL Transformations (XSLT) [top] | A XML-based declarative language used for the
transformation of XML documents. The original document is
not changed; rather, a new XML document is created based
on the content of the original document. The new document
may be serialised (output) by the processor in standard XML
syntax or in another format, such as HTML or plain text.
XSLT is most often used to convert data between different
XML Schemas or to convert XML data into web pages or PDF
documents. It can also be used to extract portions of an XML
document. (More: W3C XSL page)
Note: 'XSL' stands for Extensible Stylesheet Language, which includes XSLT, XSL-FO (XSL Formatting Objects), and XPath. |
| XSLT Stylesheets [top] | A transformation expressed in XSLT is called a stylesheet. A stylesheet contains a set of template rules. A template rule has two parts: a pattern which is matched against nodes in the source tree and a template which can be instantiated to form part of the result tree. This allows a stylesheet to be applicable to a wide class of documents that have similar source tree structures. (More: W3C XSLT 1.0 Recommendation). |
| Z39.50 [top] | National Information Standards Organisation (NISO) Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol (ANSI/NISO Z39.50 or ISO 23950). A computer protocol that can be implemented on any platform and defines a standard way for two computers to communicate for the purpose of information retrieval. A Z39.50 implementation enables one interface to access multiple systems providing the end-user with nearly transparent access to other systems. (NISO Z39.50 Resource Page)
Despite a common misconception to the contrary, Z39.50 is not simply used by libraries. The standard specifies a client/server-based protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases. (More: Z39.50 Maintenance Agency Page at the US Library of Congress) |
Notes:
- Sources are indicated in parentheses. The phrase '(DRM usage)' denotes either a term that is unique to the DRM or that has a slightly different connotation when used in the context of the DRM.
- Many of the context-related definitions are taken from the Z39.19-200x document, Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies. The glossary starts on page 172 of the PDF version of that document.
Contact for information on this page: AGA@finance.gov.au