1.1 Glossary
This document uses the following terms:
binary large object (BLOB): A discrete packet of data that is stored in a database and is treated as a sequence of uninterpreted bytes.
command tree: A combination of restrictions and sort orders that are specified for a search query.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC): A high-precision atomic time standard that approximately tracks Universal Time (UT). It is the basis for legal, civil time all over the Earth. Time zones around the world are expressed as positive and negative offsets from UTC. In this role, it is also referred to as Zulu time (Z) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In these specifications, all references to UTC refer to the time at UTC-0 (or GMT).
full-text index catalog: A collection of full-text index components and other files that are organized in a specific directory structure and contain the data that is needed to perform queries.
globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).
handle: Any token that can be used to identify and access an object such as a device, file, or a window.
HRESULT: An integer value that indicates the result or status of an operation. A particular HRESULT can have different meanings depending on the protocol using it. See [MS-ERREF] section 2.1 and specific protocol documents for further details.
index server: A server that is assigned the task of crawling.
inflectional form: A variant of a root token that has been modified according to the linguistic rules of a given language. For example, inflections of the verb "swim" in English include "swim," "swims," "swimming," and "swam."
item: A unit of content that can be indexed and searched by a search application.
language code identifier (LCID): A 32-bit number that identifies the user interface human language dialect or variation that is supported by an application or a client computer.
little-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the least significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.
named pipe: A named, one-way, or duplex pipe for communication between a pipe server and one or more pipe clients.
natural language query: Query text that contains words and does not contain any property restrictions.
property identifier: A unique integer or a 16-bit, numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific attribute or property.
query expansion: A process in which one or more tokens are added to a search query. Typically, the additional tokens are selected based on similarity to existing tokens in a search query, such as inflectional forms, synonyms, and phonetic similarity.
query result: A result that is returned for a query. It contains the title and URL of the item, and can also contain other managed properties and a hit-highlighted summary.
query server: A server that has been assigned the task of fulfilling search queries.
restriction: A set of conditions that an item meets to be included in the search results that are returned by a query server in response to a search query.
row: A collection of columns that contains property values that describe a single item in a set of items that match the restriction specified in a query.
search catalog: All of the crawl data that is associated with a specific search application. A search catalog provides information that is used to generate query results.
search query: A complete set of conditions that are used to generate search results, including query text, sort order, and ranking parameters.
SharePoint Search SQL syntax: A set of SQL-based rules that govern the construction of a search query.
sort order: A set of rules in a search query that defines the ordering of rows in the search result. Each rule consists of a managed property, such as modified date or size, and a direction for order, such as ascending or descending. Multiple rules are applied sequentially.
stemming: A type of query expansion that factors relationships between words by reducing inflected words to their stem form or expanding stems to their inflected forms. For example, the words "swimming" and "swam" can be associated with the stem "swim."
token: A word in an item or a search query that translates into a meaningful word or number in written text. A token is the smallest textual unit that can be matched in a search query. Examples include "cat", "AB14", or "42".
MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.