SQL All-In-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Appendix B

Glossary

ActiveX control:

A reusable software component that can be added to an application, reducing development time in the process. ActiveX is a Microsoft technology; ActiveX components can be used only by developers who work on Windows development systems.

aggregate function:

A function that produces a single result based on the contents of an entire set of table rows; also called a set function.

alias:

A short substitute or nickname for a table name.

applet:

A small application written in the Java language, stored on a web server that’s downloaded to and executed on a web client that connects to the server.

application program interface (API):

A standard means of communicating between an application and a database or other system resource.

assertion:

A constraint specified by a CREATE ASSERTION statement (rather than by a clause of a CREATE TABLE statement). Assertions commonly apply to more than one table.

atomic:

Incapable of being subdivided.

attribute:

A component of a structured type or relation.

back end:

That part of a database management system (DBMS) that interacts directly with the database.

catalog:

A named collection of schemas. See also schema.

client:

An individual user workstation that represents the front end of a DBMS — the part that displays information on a screen and responds to user input. See also front end.

client/server system:

A multiuser system in which a central processor (the server) is connected to multiple intelligent user workstations (the ...