Term Definition Auto UDM The automatically-generated UDMs in a zeroCode-built site. They appear under the udm files/auto folder in the site. Binding The process of tying the value of one node in a UDM to (typically) the inputs needed for another node. For example, in a UDM that retrieves a state tax in one node and then needs to pass that back to the database in a lower node, you would “bind” the value of the node from the earlier node to the later node. BLOB An acronym for Binary Large Object, this is the type of columns in a database that would hold non-structured items like documents, GIFs and other files. In an Oracle database, zeroCode expects that such objects be in a LONG RAW type of column. Custom UDM A UDM that a designer would build, typically using more than one table and/or dataport on the same page. Dataport A Java object, written either by zeroCode, Inc., or by an advanced designer, that provides access to a special kind of data source. For example, the mail data port provides two-way access to an email server. Such a dataport can be used like any other resource (including a database) in a UDM. If you need assistance, zeroCode, Inc. provides consulting services for building custom dataports. Designer An individual who would use the zDE to create, extend or otherwise enhance a web application. Filter Also referred to as “predicate” in some places in zeroCode, this is a mechanism for designers to filter specific data out of a web page. Filters are a very powerful part of zeroCode and can be used for things like data-based security, where you want to ensure that specific users get to see and manipulate only data that is relevant to them. FreeMarker A free-source language that a zeroCode-built page includes, in addition to the HTML and any DHTML. The FreeMarker language is used in the zeroCode environment to take data values from back-end Java objects (the dataports) to the HTML page. HTML/DHTML Hyper text Markup Language – a language that specifies how a web page looks. HTML is understood by the browser, which uses it to understand how to render a page on screen. DHTML is a common term for JavaScript and VBScript, two additional scripting languages that a browser understands. Infoport See dataport. JVM Java Virtual Machine. This is a program that runs on most computers and makes it possible to run other programs written in Java. JavaScript A language for implementing interactive aspects of HTML pages, typically for data validation, image rollovers and the like. Mail agent A zeroCode component that enables designers to define a periodic email mechanism, to send out formatted emails and reports to a set of users whose email IDs are available via a dataport. Node A placeholder in a UDM that specifies the dataport a given set of elements (other nodes or leaves) appearing immediately below it come from. RAD tools Rapid Application Development tools are development frameworks that usually generate code for the most typical functions that users want in a software application. Relator An easy mechanism to relate data from two different tables that are themselves related via an intermediate (linking) table. For example, consider a set of parts supplied by a group of suppliers. If each part can be supplied by more than one supplier and each supplier can supply more than one part, then their relationship is expressed in the database using a linking table that carries supplier IDs and the parts that they supply. A Relator creates a UDM and a page where you can choose a part and select multiple suppliers who supply that part or vice versa. Response UDM The UDM that control is transferred to after the current UDM’s tasks are complete. This is possible only when the current UDM is submitted, as in the case of an add UDM. Consider an example: by default, when a record is added into a table using an add page, the data is added and the add page is redisplayed. Users may not want that to happen – they may want navigation such that, when a record is added, control moves on to a list page that displays the record that was added, among other things. In such a case, the appropriate list UDM would be made the response UDM for the add UDM. Designers control this logic flow in the zDE. Schema The definition of tables, their relationships and any constraints that may apply to specific columns in a given database. This definition  is normally written using SQL and is displayed and manipulated using tools like ER/Studio. Self-registration A function that most public websites have, whereby a new user can directly sign on to use the site by answering a few questions and receiving a user ID and password online. Single-value UDM A special type of UDM that helps access data in LONG RAW columns in a database. SQL Structured Query Language, a language that relational databases understand. This language includes terms that enable programmers to create, modify and delete tables and their relationships and the data in them. Standard UDM  See auto UDM. Template A file containing the “rendition” (typically HTML) for a UDM. HTML templates contain all of the HTML and JavaScript needed to display a page, along with FreeMarker tags indicating where and how to produce data elements that come from the UDM. UDM User-interface Data Model. A UDM is an XML file that states the relationship between the elements of data on a web page and the dataports that the data comes from/goes to, including expressions and hooks to server-side business logic. UDM parameters Data-values that a UDM needs as input, before it begins processing. The parameters themselves are defined in the zDE, while the values are passed in the HTTP call to the page that the UDM is tied to. UDM Operation The specific task that a UDM executes at any point in time. This can either be a retrieval, where the UDM gets data from its various dataports and delivers it to the user, or a submission, where the UDM takes data from the user and sends it back to its dataports for addition, update or deletion. URI Uniform Resource Identifier – a short string that identifies a resource like a document, image, downloadable file, etc. on a given machine on the web. URL Uniform Resource Locator – the complete address of a given resource on the web, including its machine name (or IP address) and port number, if any. Web application Typically any business application, like an order entry system or a vendor management system, all of whose functions are accessible from within a browser. XML Extended Markup Language – a universal format for documents on the web, including methods to define the structure of data and their data values. zDE zeroCode Design Environment, the browser-based framework that provides access to all the commands and site elements that make up a zeroCode-built site.