Glossary Portal

The Glossary includes a list of terms and definitions commonly encountered in the .NET Framework programming model.

Term	Definition
.NET Compact Framework	A hardware-independent environment for running programs on resource-constrained computing devices. It inherits the full .NET Framework architecture of the common language runtime, supports a subset of the .NET Framework class library, and contains classes designed exclusively for the .NET Compact Framework. Supported devices include personal data assistants (PDAs) (such as the Pocket PC), mobile phones, set-top boxes, automotive computing devices, and custom-designed embedded devices built with the Microsoft Windows CE.NET operating system.
.NET Framework	An integral Windows component that supports building, deploying, and running the next generation of applications and Web services. It provides a highly productive, standards-based, multilanguage environment for integrating existing investments with next generation applications and services, as well as the agility to solve the challenges of deployment and operation of Internet-scale applications. The .NET Framework consists of three main parts: the common language runtime, a hierarchical set of unified class libraries, and a componentized version of ASP called ASP.NET. See also: ASP.NET, common language runtime, .NET Framework class library.
.NET Framework class library	A library of classes, interfaces, and value types that are included in the .NET Framework SDK. This library provides access to system functionality and is designed to be the foundation on which .NET Framework applications, components, and controls are built. See also: class, CLS-compliant, Common Language Specification, interface, value type.
.NET Framework data provider	A component of ADO.NET that provides access to data from a relational data source. A .NET Framework data provider contains classes to connect to a data source, execute commands at the data source, and return query results from the data source, including the ability to execute commands within transactions. A .NET Framework data provider also contains classes to populate a DataSet with results from a data source and propagate changes in a DataSet back to the data source.
accelerator key	A key or combination of keys that, when pressed, quickly perform an action that would normally require multiple user actions such as menu selections.
access control list (ACL)	A list that specifies the rules for access to a particular resource. Microsoft Windows NT implements user-based ACLs, which specify the resources available to a particular user.
access control list (ACL)	A list of security protections that applies to an object. (An object can be a file, process, event, or anything else having a security descriptor.) An entry in an access control list (ACL) is an access control entry (ACE). There are two types of access control list, discretionary and system.
access key	A keyboard sequence, such as ALT+F, that corresponds to the underlined character on a menu, a menu command, or a control.
ACL	See Other Term: access control list (ACL)
active time	The entire duration of a timeline, including forward and backward progression. For example, a timeline programmed to go from a progress value of 0 to 1 and then back to zero is active for twice the specified duration--once for the forward part and once again for the backward part.
add-in	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, the add-in application assembly that communicates with a host application over a communication pipeline. See also: host, pipeline.
add-in view	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains interfaces or abstract base classes, and represents the add-in’s view of the methods and types used to communicate with a host. See also: add-in, host.
add-in-side adapter	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains one or more classes, and converts data to and from the add-in view and the contract. Depending on the direction of the call, the adapter is either converting from a view to a contract or from a contract to a view. See also: add-in, contract.
ADO.NET	The suite of data access technologies included in the .NET Framework class libraries that provide access to relational data and XML. ADO.NET consists of classes that make up the DataSet (such as tables, rows, columns, relations, and so on), .NET Framework data providers, and custom type definitions (such as SqlTypes for SQL Server).
adorner	A special glyph on the design surface. Adorners are usually attached to a target control, and they give the user a graphical means of adjusting the control's properties.
affine matrix transformation	A transformation consisting of any combination of linear transformations (rotation, scaling, or skew) followed by a translation.
affine transformation	Linear transformation (multiplication by a 2x2 matrix) followed by a translation (addition of a 1x2 matrix).
aggregate event	In WMI, a type of event that is generated after a series of events of another type have occurred. An aggregate event is used to represent a series of events to avoid flooding the event consumer. See also: event, event consumer.
alias	Indicates that the procedure being called has the same name as a public variable, constant, or another procedure in the same scope.
alpha	In computer graphics, the measure of a pixel's opacity. A pixel with the maximum alpha value is opaque, one with a value of zero is transparent, and one with an intermediate value is translucent.
alpha channel	In GDI+, the portion of pixel color data reserved for transparency information.
alpha channel	The opacity of an image defined by an alpha value per pixel interleaved with the color components (for example, ARGB), an alpha value per pixel stored in a separate alpha surface, or a constant alpha value for the entire surface.
alternate	Potential word match for a segment of ink. Alternates are generated by a recognizer and are based on acceptable matches of the ink or audio input against a dictionary, grammar set, or factoid.
ancestor	Pertaining to or constituting a relationship between nodes in a tree data structure in which the ancestor is one or more steps closer to the root (that is, one or more levels higher) than the descendant.
anchoring	The way of determining the edges of a parent control to which a control is bound and how a control is resized with its parent. Anchoring and docking are mutually exclusive. See also: docking.
anti aliasing	The smoothing of jagged edges in graphical elements and text. Anti-aliasing softens the roughness of jagged lines or curves by shading neighboring pixels.
application base	The directory where the .exe file that loads into the initial or default application domain is located. If you create your own application domain, the application base is the location you specify in the AppDomainSetup class. See also: application domain.
application dictionary	Customized list of words stored as a WordList object. These words are likely to be entered into an application as handwriting.
application domain (AppDomain)	A boundary that the common language runtime establishes around objects created within the same application scope (that is, anywhere along the sequence of object activations beginning with the application entry point). Application domains help isolate objects created in one application from those created in other applications so that run-time behavior is predictable. Multiple application domains can exist in a single process.
application gesture	Within the scope of an application, the laying down of ink (or movement of the pen) that commands or controls functionality, rather than the laying down of ink that is handwriting or drawing.
application manifest	The file used in ClickOnce applications that describes the application and all of its constituent files.
application object	The top-level object that represents the application to the system. The system calls methods on this object when the application is loaded, before it is shut down, and throughout the lifetime of the application to notify it of system-wide events. The application object contains application-wide code and maintains state that can be accessed from multiple views.
application service	In ASP.NET, built-in functionality for common application tasks. ASP.NET includes application services for authentication (ASP.NET membership), persistent per-user information (profile properties), and more.
application state	In ASP.NET, a variable store that is created on the server for the current application and is shared by all users. Application state is typically used to store information that is used for all users, such as application-wide settings.
ascender	For Latin script, the portion of a lowercase letter that extends above the main body (the midline, or x-height) of that letter. For example, the vertical line of a "b" that extends above the highest point of the circle in that letter.
ASP.NET	A set of technologies in the Microsoft .NET Framework for building Web applications and Web services. ASP.NET pages execute on the server and generate markup (such as HTML, WML, or XML) that is sent to a desktop or mobile browser. ASP.NET pages use a compiled, event-driven programming model that improves performance and enables the separation of application logic and user interface. ASP.NET pages and Web services files created using ASP.NET contain server-side (rather than client-side) logic written in Visual Basic, C#, or any .NET-compatible language. Web applications and Web services take advantage of the features of the common language runtime, such as type safety, inheritance, language interoperability, versioning, and integrated security.
ASP.NET application services database	In ASP.NET, a database that stores the data for several ASP.NET application services, including membership, Web Parts personalization, roles, and profiles. The database can be a local database in the Web site's App_Data folder or a SQL Server or other database, depending on how the site is configured.
ASP.NET mobile controls	A set of ASP.NET controls designed for mobile Web applications. ASP.NET mobile controls extend their ASP.NET server control counterparts.
ASP.NET mobile Web Forms	Extensions to ASP.NET Web Forms that target mobile devices from cell phones to Pocket PCs.
ASP.NET page	A component of an ASP.NET application.
ASP.NET server control	A server-side component that encapsulates user interface and related functionality. An ASP.NET server control derives directly or indirectly from the System.Web.UI.Control class. The superset of ASP.NET server controls includes Web server controls, HTML server controls, and ASP.NET mobile controls. The page syntax for an ASP.NET server control includes a runat="server" attribute on the control's tag. See also: HTML server control, validation server controls, Web server control.
ASP.NET Web application	An application that processes HTTP requests (Web requests) and executes on top of ASP.NET. An ASP.NET Web application can include ASP.NET pages, Web services, HTTP handlers, and HTTP modules.
aspect ratio	The ratio of the width of an image to its height.
assembly	A collection of one or more files that are versioned and deployed as a unit. An assembly is the primary building block of a .NET Framework application. All managed types and resources are contained within an assembly and are marked either as accessible only within the assembly or as accessible from code in other assemblies. Assemblies also play a key role in security. The code access security system uses information about the assembly to determine the set of permissions that code in the assembly is granted. See also: private assembly, shared assembly.
assembly cache	A code cache used for side-by-side storage of assemblies. There are two parts to the cache: the global assembly cache contains assemblies that are explicitly installed to be shared among many applications on the computer; the download cache stores code downloaded from Internet or intranet sites, isolated to the application that caused the download so that code downloaded on behalf of one application or page does not impact other applications. See also: global assembly cache.
assembly manifest	An integral part of every assembly that renders the assembly self-describing. The assembly manifest contains the assembly's metadata. The manifest establishes the assembly identity, specifies the files that make up the assembly implementation, specifies the types and resources that make up the assembly, itemizes the compile-time dependencies on other assemblies, and specifies the set of permissions required for the assembly to run properly. This information is used at run time to resolve references, enforce version binding policy, and validate the integrity of loaded assemblies. The self-describing nature of assemblies also helps makes zero-impact install and XCOPY deployment feasible. See also: assembly, metadata.
assembly metadata	See other term: assembly manifest
assertion (Assert)	In .NET Framework security, helps to make sure that a method has access to a particular resource even if the method's callers do not have the required permission. During a stack walk, if a stack frame asserting the required permission is encountered, a security check for that permission will succeed. Assertions can create security holes and should be used only with extreme caution.
association	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, the definition of a relationship between entity types.
association class	In WMI, a class that describes a relationship between two classes or between instances of two classes. The properties of an association class include pointers, or references, to the two classes or instances. The Association qualifier is attached to every association class for identification.
association set	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a logical container for instances of associations of the same type.
ASSOCIATORS OF	A WMI Query Language statement that supports the traversal of associations programmatically by retrieving all endpoint instances that are associated with a particular source instance. See also: GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.
asynchronous	Not dependent on timing. Each application or command runs in the specified order, but the specified item does not wait for any previously started processes to finish before an application or command runs.
asynchronous communication layer	In ASP.NET, the layer of AJAX functionality that takes care of communication between the browser and the server.
asynchronous method	A method call that returns to the caller immediately regardless of whether processing has completed. The results of processing are returned through another call on another thread. Asynchronous methods free the caller from having to wait until processing has finished. See also: semisynchronous method.
asynchronous postback	In ASP.NET, the process of sending Web page data (plus viewstate and other necessary metadata) from the browser to the server without a complete postback and without blocking the user from continuing to work in the page. Asynchronous postbacks are an important feature of AJAX technology.
attached event	A routed event that can be attached to any ContentElement or UIElement type and that is not limited to the type which defines it.
attached property	A property syntax that is defined by XAML. An attached property can be set on any object, not just the type that defines the property or its accessors. The attached property provider must provide static Get(PropertyName) and Set(PropertyName) methods as accessors for these attached properties.
attribute	A descriptive declaration that can be applied to programming elements such as types, fields, methods, and properties. Attributes are saved with the metadata of a .NET Framework file and can be used to describe code to the common language runtime or to affect application behavior at run time.
authentication	In .NET Framework security, the process of discovering and verifying the identity of a principal by examining the user's credentials against some authority. See also: principal.
authorization	In .NET Framework security, the process of limiting access rights by granting or denying specific permissions to an authenticated identity or principal. See also: authentication, principal.
autopostback	In ASP.NET server controls, a setting that causes the control to submit the page when the user interacts with the control. (By default, only button controls cause a postback.) For example, if a DropDownList control is set to perform autopostback, the page is submitted as soon as a user selects an item from the list. See also: ASP.NET server control.
baseline	Imaginary horizontal line with which the base of each character, excluding descenders, is aligned. The bottom of the x-height.
Bezier curve	A curve that is calculated mathematically to connect separate points into smooth, free-form curves and surfaces of the type needed for illustration programs and CAD models. Bezier curves need only a few control points to define a large number of shapes--hence their usefulness over other mathematical methods for approximating a given shape. Also "Bezier spline."
Binary Application Markup Language (BAML)	A binary representation of the object hierarchy and properties defined in an "Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)" file.
binding source	In data binding, the object from which the value is obtained.
binding target	In data binding, the object that consumes the value of the binding. A target property must be a dependency property on a DependencyObject type.
bitmap	Representation of characters or graphics by individual pixels. The pixels can be arranged in rows (horizontal) and columns (vertical). Each pixel can be represented by 1 bit (simple black and white) to 32 bits (high-definition color) and beyond. Single plane, packed-pixel format bitmaps, where packed-pixel is the data for each pixel is stored in a contiguous manner.
blur	An effect applied to a graphical object that typically reduces the difference between the outline of the object and the graphical area next to it.
bounds	The size and location of an object.
boxed guide	Set of boxes drawn on the screen as part of a form and that act as a recognition guide. Users must write only one character per box.
boxing	The conversion of a value type instance to an object, which implies that the instance will carry full type information at run time and will be allocated in the heap. The Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) instruction set's box instruction converts a value type to an object by making a copy of the value type and embedding it in a newly allocated object. See also: Microsoft intermediate language, unboxing, value type.
bubbling	An event routing strategy where the event instance moves up the element tree (starting with the source and ending at the root of the visual tree).
buffer	An area of memory reserved for temporarily holding data before that data is used by a receiving device or application. Buffering protects against the interruption of data flow.
bump mapping	Technique for simulating the appearance of rough surfaces in 3-D scenes. Variations in depth are stored in a texture and applied to a primitive, using standard texture-blending techniques.
C#	A programming language designed for building enterprise applications that run on the .NET Framework. C#, which is an evolution of C and C++, is type safe and object oriented. Because it is compiled as managed code, it benefits from the services of the common language runtime, such as language interoperability, security, and garbage collection.
candidate	Potential match returned by a recognizer.
card	A Web page in WML. WML devices can either display the contents of a card on a single screen or, when necessary, provide scroll bars so that the entire contents of the card can be viewed. Developers do not need to worry about manipulating cards or decks (groups of cards) because ASP.NET mobile controls handle formatting (including pagination) for targeted devices. See also: deck, WML.
caret unit	A sequence of one or more text symbols. A unit can consist of a single character or an embedded object and a sequence of closing block tags followed by opening block tags.
catalog	A list of Web Parts controls (or other Web server, custom server, or user controls), created by a System.Web.UI.WebControls.CatalogPart control, that users can add to a Web Parts page. See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts page.
CCW	See other term: COM callable wrapper (CCW)
CDATA	A section in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document, bracketed by [!CDATA[[ and ]]] characters. All data in this section, including markup tags, is treated as normal characters by the XML parser.
certification authority	A trusted entity that makes a statement (represented by an X.509 certificate) about the authenticity of another certificate.
character Autocomplete	For East Asian characters, the recognizer's ability to suggest recognition results based on incomplete characters.
character lookup	East Asian input method that accepts partially finished characters and offers a list of completed characters that include the strokes the user has drawn. A Character Lookup tab is included on the Tablet PC Input Panel for input in any East Asian language.
chevron	The double angle bracket denoting an overflow button control.
child	Pertaining to or constituting a relationship between nodes in a tree data structure in which the parent is one step closer to the root (that is, one level higher) than the child.
chrome	The common user interface elements rendered around each Web Parts part control within a given zone. The chrome for a part control includes a border, a title bar, and the icons, title text, and verbs menu that appear within the title bar. The appearance of the chrome is set at the zone level and applies to all part controls in a zone. The rendering of chrome and of individual System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart controls is handled by the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPartChrome class. See also: part controls, Web Parts controls, zone.
cHTML	A markup language used on some cell phones. cHTML is a subset of HTML with additional tags to enhance mobile functionality.
CIM	See other term: Common Information Model (CIM)
CIM Object Manager	A component in the WMI infrastructure that handles the interaction between management applications and providers. The CIM Object Manager supports services such as event notification, remote access, and query processing. The CIM Object Manager also grants access to the WMI repository.
CIM schema	In WMI, a collection of class definitions used to represent managed objects that occur in every management environment. See also: schema.
class	A reference type that encapsulates data (constants and fields) and behavior (methods, properties, indexers, events, operators, instance constructors, static constructors, and destructors), and can contain nested types. Class types support inheritance, a mechanism whereby a derived class can extend and specialize a base class. See also: encapsulation, indexer, property, reference type.
Classic mode	In IIS 7.0, a configuration in which request processing emulates the model used in IIS 6.0. In Classic mode, IIS receives requests and dispatches them to ISAPI components according to mapped file name extensions. IIS and the process that handles the request run as separate processes. For example, requests for ASP.NET resources are dispatched to the aspnet_isapi.dll component.
client application services	In Windows-based applications, built-in functionality to access ASP.NET application services for common application tasks, including remote login, roles, and application settings.
client area	The portion of a Windows-based application excluding toolbars, menus, and status bars.
client coordinates	The coordinates in which the X and Y screen position are specified relative to the upper-left corner of the application, which is regarded as the origin (0,0). In Right-to-Left (RTL) applications, the upper-right corner is the origin. See also: right to left (RTL).
clip	The area of the screen or page that enables graphics output.
closed generic type	A constructed generic type that has no unspecified generic type parameters, either of its own or of any enclosing types or methods. Closed generic types can be instantiated. See also: constructed type, generics, generic type, generic type parameter, open generic type.
CLR	See other term: common language runtime
CLS	See other term: Common Language Specification (CLS)
CLS-compliant	Code that publicly exposes only language features that are in the Common Language Specification. CLS compliance can apply to classes, interfaces, components, and tools. See also: Common Language Specification (CLS).
code access security	A mechanism provided by the common language runtime whereby managed code is granted permissions by security policy and these permissions are enforced, helping to limit the operations that the code will be allowed to perform.
code-behind class	A class that is accessed by an .aspx file, but resides in a separate file (such as a .dll or .cs file). For example, you can write a code-behind class that creates an ASP.NET custom server control, contains code that is called from an .aspx file, but does not reside within the .aspx file.
code-behind file	A code file containing the page class that implements the program logic of a Web Forms or ASP.NET mobile Web Forms application.
code-behind page	See other term: code-behind file
codec	Hardware that can convert audio or video signals between analog and digital forms (coder/decoder); hardware or software that can compress and uncompress audio or video data (compression/decompression); or the combination of coder/decoder and compression/decompression. Generally, a codec compresses uncompressed digital data so that the data uses less memory.
coercion	Used as a part of factoids, a means of restricting the alternates returned by a recognizer.
COM callable wrapper (CCW)	A proxy object generated by the common language runtime so that existing COM applications can use managed classes, including .NET Framework classes, transparently.
COM interop	A service that enables .NET Framework objects to communicate with COM objects.
Common Information Model (CIM)	In WMI, the model that describes how to represent real-world managed objects. CIM uses an object-oriented paradigm, where managed objects are modeled using the concepts of classes and instances. The CIM is divided into the metamodel and the standard schema. The metamodel describes what types of entities make up the schema. It also defines how these entities can be combined into objects that represent real-world devices.
common language runtime	The engine at the core of managed code execution. The runtime supplies managed code with services such as cross-language integration, code access security, object lifetime management, and debugging and profiling support.
common language runtime host	An unmanaged application that uses a set of APIs, called the hosting interfaces, to integrate managed code into the application. Common language runtime hosts often require a high degree of customization over the runtime that is loaded into the process. The hosting interfaces allow common language runtime hosts to specify settings that configure the garbage collector, select the appropriate build for their environment (server versus workstation), and so on. Common language runtime hosts often support an extensibility model that allows the end user to dynamically add new pieces of functionality, such as a new control or a user-written function. These extensions are typically isolated from each other in the process using application domains and custom security settings. Examples of common language runtime hosts include ASP.NET, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and a host to run executables launched from the Windows Shell. See also: application domain, common language runtime, managed code.
Common Language Specification (CLS)	A subset of language features supported by the common language runtime, including features common to several object-oriented programming languages. CLS-compliant components and tools are guaranteed to interoperate with other CLS-compliant components and tools. See also: CLS-compliant.
common object file format (COFF)	A format in 32-bit programming for executable (image) and object files that is portable across platforms. The Microsoft implementation is called portable executable (PE) file format. See also: portable executable (PE) file.
common type system	The specification that determines how the common language runtime defines, uses, and manages types.
communication pipeline	See other term: pipeline
comparison evaluator	A filter that compares a device capability name to a value. See also: device capabilities.
composite control	A custom server control that consists of a custom collection of other server controls as child controls.
compound file directory	A structure used to contain per-stream information about the streams in a compound file.
conceptual model	An abstract specification for the entity types, associations, entity containers, entity sets, and association sets in the domain of an application built on the ADO.NET Entity Framework.
conceptual schema definition language (CSDL)	An XML-based language that is used to define the entity types, associations, entity containers, entity sets, and association sets of a conceptual model.
configuration file	An XML file with the .config extension that contains option settings for an application or Web site. Common configuration files include Machine.config and Web.config.
connection	See Other Term: Web Parts connection
connection point	A System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.ConnectionPoint object associated with the provider and consumer controls that participate in Web Parts connections. A connection point manages the exchange of data between the controls. Providers and consumers each have their own connection points. See also: consumer, provider, Web Parts connection.
constraint	See Other Term: generic type parameter constraint
constructed generic type	A generic type whose generic type parameters have been specified. A constructed type or method can be an open generic type if some of its type arguments are type parameters of enclosing types or methods, or a closed generic type if all of its type arguments are real types. See also: closed generic type, generics, generic type, generic type argument, generic type parameter, open generic type.
constructed type	See Other Term: constructed generic type
consumer	In a Web Parts connection, a server control that receives data from a provider control and processes or displays it. A consumer can be any type of server control, but must be designed to function as a consumer. A consumer must have a special callback method marked with a ConnectionConsumerAttribute attribute in the source code. This method receives data from the provider in the form of an interface instance. See also: connection point, provider, Web Parts connection.
container	See other term: naming container
container control	A type of ASP.NET mobile control that contains other controls and provides visual groupings of controls and content.
content page	In ASP.NET, a Web page that is configured to be merged with a master page to create a complete page. See also: master page.
content view	A subset of the control view of the UI Automation tree. Items in this view meet one of the following conditions: can receive keyboard focus, is an image that requires a textual equivalent, is a control that is text that is not a static text label for a control. The content view includes all of the important UI information by excluding UI items in the tree that do not convey information to the user or that the user cannot interact with.
context	An ordered sequence of properties that define an environment for the objects that resides inside it. Contexts are created during the activation process for objects that are configured to require certain automatic services such as synchronization, transactions, just-in-time activation, security, and so on. Multiple objects can live inside a context.
context	See Other Term: recognizer context
context property	The implicit state, and code to manage that state, held on behalf of an object instance. For example, the transaction context property holds the transaction identifier of the transaction that the object is participating in.
contract	The behavior and state that a class provides, which is matched with what a client of that class can expect to hold. A contract is expressed partly by the signatures for all public fields, methods, properties, and events of that class. This is augmented by a description (usually in simple descriptive text) of what each field or property represents, together with what each method does. In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, a non-versioning interface that defines the methods and specifies the data types for transferring data over the communication pipeline between the host and the add-in. The contract is in the middle of the communication pipeline between the add-in and the host. The contract assembly is loaded into the application domains of both the add-in and the host. See also: add-in, host, pipeline.
control	A component that provides or enables user-interface (UI) capabilities. A button is an example of a control.
control pattern	In UI Automation, a design implementation that describes a discrete piece of functionality for a control. This functionality can include the visual appearance of a control and the actions it can perform.
control state	A field in an ASP.NET Web page that stores the current property settings for server controls on the page. Control state is used to recreate the page and reestablish previous settings on each postback. See also: ASP.NET page, ASP.NET server control, postback, view state.
control type	In UI Automation, a set of conditions that a control must meet in order to use the ControlType property. The conditions include specific guidelines for UI Automation tree structure, UI Automation property values, and UI Automation control patterns.
control view	A subset of the raw view of the UI Automation tree. It includes all User Interface (UI) items from the raw view that meet one of the following conditions: can receive keyboard focus, can be clicked, is a control that is text, or is a control that is an image. The control view closely maps to the UI structure perceived by an end user and is the default view of the UI Automation tree.
correction	The process whereby a user selects a suggested alternate for written or spoken input.
co-sign	To digitally sign data along with one or more additional signatories. A cosignature does not imply that other signatures are valid.
countersignature	A signature of an existing signature and message or a signature of an existing signature. A countersignature is used to sign the encrypted hash of an existing signature or to time stamp a message.
crop	To trim the vertical or horizontal edges of an object. Pictures are often cropped to focus attention on a particular area.
cross-page posting	In ASP.NET Web pages, the process of submitting a page to a specified target page in contrast to submitting the page to itself. See also: postback.
cryptographic digest	The result of a one-way hash function that takes a variable-length input string and converts it to a fixed-length output string. This fixed-length output string is probabilistically unique for every different input string and thus can act as a fingerprint of a file. It can be used to determine whether a file was tampered with.
CSDL	See other term: conceptual schema definition language
CTS	See Other Term: common type system
cubic Bezier curve	A curve described by two endpoints and two control points.
current time	The current position of a timeline, relative to the starting time.
cusp	Point on an ink stroke where the direction of writing changes in a discontinuous fashion.
custom attribute (Attribute)	A class used to represent custom metadata. See also: attribute.
custom control	A control authored by a user or a third-party software vendor that does not belong to the .NET Framework class library. This is a generic term that also includes user controls. Custom server controls are used in Web Forms (ASP.NET pages). Custom client controls are used in Windows Forms applications.
data binding	The process or method for configuring controls on a form or Web page to fetch data from or write data to a data source such as a database, XML file, and so on.
data source control	An object that can be added to an ASP.NET Web page that encapsulates the logic required to connect to a data source, such as a database or XML file, and that can execute queries or other data-access commands. A data source control can in turn provide data to other controls on that page.
data space	A series of transforms that operate on data in a specific order.
data transfer	The movement of information from one location to another, either within a computer (as from a disk drive to memory), between a computer and an external device (as between a file server and a computer on a network), or between separate computers.
deadlock	In multithreading, a condition in which each of two threads holds a lock that the other thread needs in order to proceed. See also: synchronization.
deck	A group of one or more cards. See also: card.
declarative security check	Declarative security information in metadata. Developers can use such declarations, which are usually written as custom attributes, to invoke several kinds of security functionality: require permissions to bind reference to the code, require permissions to derive a type, demand that callers have certain permissions, and so on. See also: imperative security check.
decoupled provider	A provider hosted in a separate process from WMI. Decoupled providers are the recommended way to instrument an application because the provider can control its own lifetime instead of being launched every time a user accesses the provider through WMI. See also: provider.
deep copy	A copy of the contents of a data structure, including all its substructures.
default unit system	The process that determines when a Web page control should appear on a new page, based on a mobile device's characteristics. The default unit system is based on one line equaling 100 units, as indicated by the DefaultWeight field in the ControlPager class.
delegate	In the .NET Framework, a reference to a function. A delegate is equivalent to a function pointer. See also: reference type. In WMI, a security impersonation level used to allow remote access involving more than one network hop.
delegated evaluator	A filter that uses a custom method to evaluate the specified data.
denial	By denying a permission, a method can prevent its callers from exercising the privilege represented by that permission. If a method on the call stack denies permission A, a stack walk checking for permission A will fail unless a valid assertion is found on the stack between the method doing the denial and the method that initiated the check for permission A. See also: assertion.
denial of service attack	An attack on a server exposed to the Internet that consumes excessive time, memory, or other resources. The attack intends to prevent rightful access to resources.
dependency property	A property represented by a DependencyProperty identifier that is registered with the Windows Presentation Foundation property system. Dependency properties can be defined only by DependencyObject types, which typically expose the identifier as a public static field. Dependency properties inherit to derived classes and support value expressions, property invalidation, default values, per-type metadata, inheritance, animation, data binding, and styling. The property system determines their effective value based on a precedence evaluation of all possible value sources.
deployment manifest	The file used in ClickOnce applications that describes the current version of this deployment, and whether it should be installed on the client computer or only run online.
descendant	In a tree data structure, a node that is one or more steps farther from the root (one or more levels lower) than the ancestor node.
descender	For Latin script, the portion of a lower case letter that falls below the baseline. For example, the vertical line of a "p" that extends below the lowest point of the circle in that letter.
deserialize	The process of converting a series of bytes back into an object.
device adapter	An ASP.NET page framework class that adapts the behavior of mobile pages and controls based on the target device.
device capabilities	The set of device functionality available through the HasCapability method or the <Choice> element.
device coordinates	The coordinates used by the physical device being drawn on, such as a screen or sheet of paper.
device definition	The characteristics of a device available through the MobileCapabilities class and the DeviceSpecific control.
device filter	A section of the Web.config file where you specify values for specific mobile devices. These values are used to create device-specific content.
device independent pixel	A unit of measure that equals 1/96 of an inch. Because device independent pixels are not physical pixels, they scale to the dots per inch (dpi) settings of the rendering device. The size of an inch depends on the resolution and dpi of the rendering device, and can therefore vary from device to device.
dictionary	Internal lexicon that is used by the recognizer for determining word matches.
Digital Rights Management	In a digital goods commerce system, a system that enforces content usage rules and protects the content from illegal use. A DRM system does not grant rights to the user of digital content; it only enforces the usage rules that the content owner has already established. Examples of usage rules are expiration date, play counts, and number of copies.
digitizer	Physical device providing the interface between the pen and the tablet. It is the high-resolution hardware that recognizes motions made with the pen and passes them to the tablet.
DIP	See Other Term: device independent pixel
direct access	A way of accessing properties and methods supplied by WMI in a script as if they were automation properties and methods of an object instance.
direct event handling	An event handling strategy that does not involve routing.
dirty range	An area in a markup container where changes have occurred.
discrete interpolation	One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method produces a jump from one value to the next, without generating in-between values.
display mode	The different display states that a Web Parts page can enter, which enable users to modify a page in specified ways. The states that ship with the Web Parts control set are: catalog, connect, design, edit, and browse. The default or normal mode for a Web page is browse. Developers can extend this display mode feature by adding custom display modes, which requires extending the WebPartManager class. See also: Web Parts control set, Web Parts page.
display pointer	A pointer that marks a position in the markup text of an HTML document during editing in relation to the onscreen position of the rendered page. A display pointer is controlled by an GetDisplayGravity interface. Display pointers work in conjunction with markup pointers.
docking	The way of determining which control borders are set flush with their parent control and how a control is resized with its parent. Docking and anchoring are mutually exclusive. See also: anchoring.
document time	An implicit timeline that starts when the application is launched, or when a page or frame is navigated to.
download cache	See other term: assembly cache
drawing	Ink that is neither handwriting nor gestures.
drop shadow	A shaded outline that appears behind an object and creates the illusion of depth.
duration	A value, in seconds, that indicates the amount of time an animated object remains active or displayed.
dynamic control	A Web Parts control that is persisted in a personalization store; it does not appear in the declarative markup of an .aspx page. After it has been added to a page, the WebPartManager control automatically creates an instance of the control from the personalization store on future requests. See also: Web Parts controls.
Dynamic Data	In ASP.NET, a framework that facilitates the creation of data-driven Web applications. Dynamic Data uses customizable page and field templates, scaffolding, user-definable metadata, and convention-based naming to create UI that displays data, lets users navigate relationships between tables, and lets users edit and create data (CRUD operations). See also: scaffolding.
embedded resource	The files used by an application that are stored in binary format in the compiled application.
encapsulation	The ability of an object to hide its internal data and methods, making only the intended parts of the object programmatically accessible.
End	In the ASO.NET Entity Framework, a participating entity in an association.
entity	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a concept in the domain of an application from which a data type is defined.
entity container	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, specifies entity sets and association sets that will be implemented in a specified namespace.
Entity Data Model	A data model for defining application data as sets of entities and relationships to which common language runtime types and storage structures can be mapped.
Entity Framework	A set of technologies that supports the development of data-oriented software applications by enabling developers to work with conceptual models that are mapped to logical schemas in data sources.
entity set	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a logical container for entities of a given type and its subtypes, mapped to tables in a database.
Entity SQL	A storage-independent, SQL-like language that works directly with conceptual entity schemas and that supports entity data model features such as inheritance and relationships.
entity type	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a specification for a data type that includes a named set of properties and represents a top-level item in a data model.
enum (enumeration)	A list of named constants.
event	In WMI, an occurrence of a change to static or dynamic data related to a managed object.
event	An action or occurrence to which a program might respond. Examples include state changes, data transfers, key presses, and mouse movements.
event consumer	In WMI, a recipient of notifications that report an occurrence of an event. An event consumer is either temporary or permanent. See also: event, permanent consumer, temporary consumer.
event consumer provider	In WMI, a provider that determines which permanent event consumer handles a given event. See also: event, permanent consumer.
event filter	In WMI, a filter that registers to receive notification of a specific type of event. See also: event.
event provider	A WMI provider that monitors a source of events and notifies WMI when events occur. See also: event.
event query	A WMI Query Language statement that event consumers use to register to receive notification of specific events. An event provider uses an event query to register to generate notifications of specific events. See also: event, event consumer.
event routing	The concept of an event moving in a tree of elements. There are three types of event routing: direct, bubbling, and tunneling. With direct routing, the event does not move in the tree. With bubbling, the event moves up to the top of the tree. With tunneling, the event starts at the top of the tree and moves down to the source of the event.
Event-based Asynchronous Pattern	A design pattern that uses events to expose asynchronous features of a class.
evidence	The properties of code, such as a digital signature or the zone or site of its origin, that are used by security policy to grant permissions to code. See also: security policy.
executable file	A file in portable executable (PE) file format that can be loaded into memory and executed by the operating system loader. It can be either an .exe or a .dll file. In the .NET context, a PE file must be translated by the common language runtime into native code before it can be executed by the operating system. See also: portable executable (PE) file.
explicit interface implementation	A class or structure member that is accessible only through the interface that the class or structure implements.
extender control	In ASP.NET, a control that encapsulates functionality that is implemented in JavaScript and that defines behavior in the browser. Extender controls are associated with existing Web server controls to add the extender's behavior to that control. For example, an extender control can add a watermark to any TextBox control or drag-and-drop behavior to a variety of ASP.NET Web server controls.
Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)	A markup language for declarative application programming. XAML simplifies creating a UI for the Windows Presentation Foundation programming model. You can create visible UI elements in the declarative XAML markup, and then separate the UI definition from the run-time logic by using code-behind files, joined to the markup through partial class definitions.
Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)	An XML-based language used to represent a tree of objects. Events generated by these objects can be handled using any .NET programming language. In Windows Presentation Foundation, XAML is typically used to describe user interfaces (UI), documents, and media experiences. Pronounced "zammel".
Extensible Markup Language (XML)	A subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that is optimized for delivery over the Web. XML provides a uniform method for describing and exchanging structured data that is independent of applications or vendors.
extent	For controls that display content, the extent size refers to the total width and height of the content. Content controls typically expose extent width and height as properties. Contrast with a viewport, which is a mechanism used to display a particular portion of content that may be too large to fit in the available display space.
external style	A style in an external style sheet. See also: external style sheet.
external style sheet	A style sheet defined in a user control in an .ascx file. See also: external style.
factoid	Context for ink recognition within a particular field.
factoid fingerprint	Concatenation of the factoid type.
field	A member that represents a variable associated with an object or class.
fingerprint	See Other Term: factoid fingerprint
fixed document	A document format that displays a page exactly as the author intended, independent of the viewer's screen size or window size, dots per inch (dpi), available fonts, or any other system-specific settings. The page renders the same on any compatible device, ensuring a consistent experience for all users.
flavor	A WMI-defined flag that describes the behavior of a qualifier. WMI flavors describe rules that specify whether a qualifier can be propagated to derived classes and instances and whether a derived class or instance can override the qualifier's original value.
flow document	A document designed to optimize viewing and readability. Flow documents dynamically adjust and reflow their content based on run-time variables such as the display area size, device resolution, and user preferences. A web page is a simple example of a flow document where the page content is dynamically formatted to fit the current window.
flow layout	A way of designing a form in which all elements are positioned one immediately after the other.
foreign key	A key in a database table that comes from another table. This key refers to a specific key, usually the primary key, in the table being used.
fragment	A subtree of UI Automation elements within a host framework such as a window; for example, a list box with a scroll bar and list items.
Framework	See other term: .NET Framework
Full Trust	Installed applications are installed on the user's system and run with full trust. This means that they have complete access to the system resources, much like a traditional Microsoft Win32 application. They can be either a ClickOnce installed application or a traditional .exe, deployed with Microsoft Installer (MSI). With ClickOnce, when the user attempts to deploy an installed application, the system will display a dialog box and request permission for the deployment to continue. If the user does not grant permission, the deployment is canceled.
GAC	See other term: global assembly cache
gamma correction	The process of adjusting an image input signal to correctly display on a particular device.
garbage collection (GC)	The process of transitively tracing through all pointers to actively used objects in order to locate all objects that can be referenced, and then arranging to reuse any heap memory that was not found during this trace. The common language runtime garbage collector also compacts the memory that is in use to reduce the working space needed for the heap. See also: heap.
GDI+	The portion of the Microsoft Windows XP operating system that provides two-dimensional vector graphics, imaging, and typography. GDI+ improves on GDI (the graphics device interface included with earlier versions of Windows) by adding new features and optimizing existing features. The GDI+ managed class interface (a set of wrappers) is part of the Microsoft .NET Framework.
generic class	See Other Term: generic type
generic interface	See Other Term: generic type
generic method	A method whose definition has placeholders, called generic type parameters, for one or more types used in the body of the method or as the types of the method's parameters. A user specifies real types (generic type arguments) for the type parameters when calling the generic method. Note that a method is not generic just because it is declared in a generic type. A method is generic only if it has type parameters of its own. See also: generics, generic type, generic type argument, generic type parameter.
generic type	A class, interface, or structure whose definition has placeholders, called generic type parameters, for one or more types used in its member definitions (for example, as method parameter types). A user specifies real types (generic type arguments) for the type parameters when creating an instance of the generic type. See also: constructed generic type, generics, generic type argument, generic type parameter.
generic type argument	The type or types that the user specifies when creating instances of a generic type or when calling a generic method. See also: generics, generic method, generic type.
generic type definition	The definition of a generic type, in which type parameters act as placeholders for types that the user supplies when creating instances to use. These instances are not instances of the generic type definition, but of the constructed type formed by specifying type arguments. See also: constructed generic type, generics, generic type, generic type argument, generic type parameter.
generic type parameter	In a generic type definition, a placeholder for a type that the user specifies (generic type argument) when creating instances of a generic type or when calling a generic method. See also: generics, generic method, generic type, generic type argument.
generic type parameter constraint	A way of limiting the types that can be specified for a generic type parameter. For example, types substituted for the type parameter can be constrained to inherit from a particular type, to implement a specific interface, to provide a parameterless constructor, and so on. See also: generics, generic type parameter.
generic type parameter list	The list of generic type parameters of a generic type or method, specified as part of the definition of the generic type or generic method. See also: generics, generic method, generic type, generic type parameter.
generics	A feature of the common language runtime, conceptually similar to C++ templates, that allows classes, structures, interfaces, and methods to have placeholders (generic type parameters) for the data types they store and manipulate. Generic types are a form of parameterized types. See also: generic type, generic type parameter, parameterized type.
gesture	Laying down of ink (or movement of the pen) that commands or controls functionality of the computer, rather than laying down of ink that is handwriting or drawing.
gesture recognizer	See Other Term: Microsoft gesture recognizer
gesture-only mode	Recognition mode that treats all incoming ink as a gesture.
global assembly cache (GAC)	A machine-wide code cache that stores assemblies specifically installed to be shared by many applications on the computer. Applications deployed in the global assembly cache must have a strong name. See also: assembly cache, strong name.
globalization	The process of designing and developing a software product to function in multiple locales. Globalization involves identifying the locales that must be supported, designing features that support those locales, and writing code that functions equally well in any of the supported locales. See also: locale, localization.
glyph	Series of ink segments used to symbolize a gesture.
glyph	The physical representation of a character in a given font. Characters might have many glyphs, with each font on a system potentially defining a different glyph for that character.
grab-and-go docking	Docking and undocking of the computer without advanced notice. The ability of an operating system or application to operate continuously and without interruption when a computer is suddenly docked or undocked.
grammar set	Context for recognized ink not in a dictionary, such as numbers, currency, or dates.
granted permissions	The permissions, determined by security policy, that code will be given, allowing it access to resources and giving it identity. The granted permissions are determined by both the requested permissions and what is allowed by the security policy configuration. See also: security policy.
GROUP	A clause in the WQL SELECT statement used to request that multiple notifications be combined into single instances of an aggregate event. See also: aggregate event. ASSOCIATORS OF, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.
guide	See Other Term: recognition guide
guide box	See Other Term: recognition guide
handler (HTTP)	A component registered with ASP.NET (typically with an .axd extension) that produces Web output dynamically.
handwriting	Ink that represents characters, including written language.
hash code	A fixed-size result that is obtained by applying a one-way mathematical function (sometimes called a hash algorithm) to an arbitrary amount of data. If the input data changes, the hash changes. The hash can be used in many operations, including authentication and digital signing, and is commonly used to index data for quick retrieval.
HAVING	A clause in the WQL SELECT statement that is used to set a minimum limit on the number of discrete events that produce an aggregate event, which reduces overall event traffic. See also: aggregate event, ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.
heap	A portion of memory reserved for a program to use for the temporary storage of data structures whose existence or size cannot be determined until the program is running.
heuristic	An approach or algorithm that leads to a correct solution of a programming task by non-rigorous or self-learning means. One approach to programming is first to develop a heuristic and then improve upon it.
HID	See Other Term: human interface device (HID)
HIMETRIC	Metric mapping mode in which each logical unit is .01 mm.
hit test	A comparison of the mouse position with on-screen geometry. Commonly used to detect whether the mouse has been clicked over on-screen geometry.
host	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, the host application assembly that communicates with an add-in over the communication pipeline. See also: add-in, pipeline.
host view of the add-in	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains interfaces or abstract base classes, and represents the host’s view of the methods and types used to communicate with an add-in. See also: add-in, host.
host-side adapter	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, an assembly that contains one or more classes, and converts data to and from the host view of the add-in and the contract. Depending on the direction of the call, the adapter is either converting from a view to a contract or from a contract to a view. See also: add-in, contract, host view of the add-in.
HTML server control	An ASP.NET server control that belongs to the System.Web.UI.HtmlControls namespace. An HTML server control maps directly to an HTML element and is declared on an ASP.NET page as an HTML element marked by a runat="server" attribute, for example <button runat="server" />. In contrast to Web server controls, HTML server controls do not have an asp tag prefix. See also: ASP.NET server control, validation server controls, Web server control.
HttpHandler	See other term: handler (HTTP)
HttpModule	See other term: module (HTTP)
human interface device (HID)	A device that enables detailed button and control reporting resulting from human interaction (such as a keyboard, pen, game controller, and touch screen) using a bus-agnostic protocol originally developed by the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Device Working Group.
image codec	The short form of the term "image encoder/decoder". Software or an algorithm that converts images to a specified file format (encoder) or from file format to displayed image (decoder).
imperative security check	A security check that occurs when a security method is called within the code. This type of check can be data-driven and can be isolated to a single location within an object or method. For example, if the name of a file is known only at run time, an imperative security check can be invoked by passing the file name as a parameter to a security method. See also: declarative security check.
index	A zero-based number used to designate an item in a series of items. For example, some .NET Framework methods and properties use an index to designate a character in a string or an element in an array or collection.
indexer	A class member that permits instances of a class or structure to be accessed in the same way as arrays. Indexers are similar to properties, except that the get and set accessor methods of indexers take parameters, while property accessor methods do not. See also: class, property, structure.
ink	Data type representing pen strokes, including metadata about the strokes and contextual awareness of where the ink is used in an application.
ink collector	Programming object designed to capture ink input for a window from available tablet devices.
ink serialized format (ISF)	File format for an Ink object that saves the original device coordinates, is extensible through support for arbitrary properties and multiple packet formats, is forward compatible, and stores ink in a highly compressed binary format.
ink space	Virtual coordinate space to which the coordinates of the tablet context are mapped.
ink-enabled	Having the ability to recognize both ink and text.
ink-only mode	Recognition mode that treats all incoming ink as being inked content only.
Input Panel	See Other Term: Tablet PC Input Panel
instrumentation	A mechanism used to report data about the state of system hardware and software. WMI creates instrumentation by modeling the system using classes based on the Common Information Model (CIM). WMI in the .NET Framework creates instrumented classes by adding attributes. See also: Common Information Model.
Integrated mode	In IIS 7.0, a configuration in which IIS and ASP.NET share request processing, based on a pipeline that supports both components created with the .NET Framework and native components. In Integrated mode, ASP.NET components such as HTTP modules can be used to manage all Web requests, including those for non-ASP.NET resources.
integrated pipeline	In IIS 7.0, a unified request processing pipeline that is running in Integrated mode. In the integrated pipeline, custom modules and handlers in a Web application can be configured to subscribe to notifications for all requests to the application, not just requests for ASP.NET-specific resources.
interface	A reference type that defines a contract. Other types implement an interface to guarantee that they support certain operations. The interface specifies the members that must be supplied by classes or other interfaces that implement it. Like classes, interfaces can contain methods, properties, indexers, and events as members. See also: contract, indexer, property, reference type.
intermediate language	See other term: Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL)
internal style	A style in an internal style sheet. See also: internal style sheet.
internal style sheet	A style sheet contained in an ASP.NET mobile Web Forms page.
interop assembly	An assembly containing definitions of COM types described in metadata. An interop assembly is typically produced by the Type Library Importer (Tlbimp.exe). See also: assembly, primary interop assembly.
intrinsic event	An event that WMI provides, which is a notification of a change in the standard WMI data model.
ISA	An operator in the WQL WHERE clause that is used to retrieve instances from a class hierarchy. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.
ISF	See Other Term: ink serialized format (ISF)
JIT	An acronym for "just-in-time," a phrase that describes an action that is taken only when it becomes necessary, such as just-in-time compilation or just-in-time object activation.
JIT compilation	The compilation that converts Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) into machine code at the point when the code is required at run time. See also: Microsoft intermediate language.
lattice	Mapping of recognition alternates to strokes in the Ink object.
layout analysis	The classification and grouping of strokes into handwriting and drawing elements.
left-aligned	In left-to-right layout, the upper side of a vertical ToolStrip or the left side of a horizontal ToolStrip.
lifetime	The time period that begins when an object is allocated in memory and ends when the garbage collector deletes the object from memory.
linear interpolation	One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method produces a constant rate of change.
linear time	A function that has a run time of O(n); that is, if the function operates on a collection of n items, the function might have to examine each item in the collection, performing up to n comparisons.
lined guide	Ruled recognition guide. A lined guide minimally draws a suggested base line, but it can also include a midline, or even ascender or descender lines.
locale	A collection of rules and data specific to a language and a geographic area. Locales include information on sorting rules, date and time formatting, numeric and monetary conventions, and character classification. See also: globalization, localization.
localization	The process of customizing or translating the separated data and resources needed for a specific region or language. See also: globalization, locale.
logical tree	The tree containing all the elements and content that are directly created by an application and used for a user interface element. For the specified element, the logical tree is not a strict subset of its visual tree because elements derived from the Visual base class might contain non-Visual-derived elements. For example, the elements might contain a String, a TextElement, or any other Common Language Runtime object.
lossless compression	A process for compressing data in which information is arranged in a more concise form and restored to its original state upon decompression.
managed code	Code that is executed by the common language runtime environment rather than directly by the operating system. Managed code applications gain common language runtime services such as automatic garbage collection, runtime type checking and security support, and so on. These services help provide uniform platform- and language-independent behavior of managed-code applications. See also: unmanaged code.
managed data	Objects whose lifetimes are managed by the common language runtime. The runtime automatically handles object layout and manages references to these objects, releasing them when they are no longer being used. See also: common language runtime, garbage collection.
Managed Object Format (MOF)	A language based on Interface Definition Language (IDL) that describes management information. The MOF syntax is a way to describe object definitions in textual form. The MOF Compiler processes a MOF file and adds the required object definitions to the CIM repository.
management application	In WMI, an application or Windows 2000/Windows NT service that uses information originating from one or more managed objects in a managed environment. Management applications retrieve this information through calls to the CIM Object Manager API from the CIM Object Manager and from providers. See also: CIM Object Manager, provider.
manifest	See other term: assembly manifest
mapping specification language (MSL)	An XML-based language that is used to map items defined in a conceptual model to items in a storage model.
margin	The space between a control and the other, adjoining controls on a form or page. Margin differs from padding, which is the space between the edges of a control and the control’s contents; for example, the text inside of a button.
mark up	The user action of applying ink as commentary to or highlighting of original content.
markup container	The staging area for editing an HTML document or HTML fragments.
markup pointer	Marks a position in the markup text of an HTML document when the document is being edited.
mask	A string of characters that constrain user input in a text control to certain input types. Masks are composed of characters from a mask language, which specifies which mask character allows which type of input. If the mask language defines the character "0" as allowing only numeric inputs, then the mask "00:00" would restrict the user to entering numbers in European time format.
mask placeholder	A character used in a masked control when there is no user input to display.
master element	An element in a parent document to which a child document is attached. Examples of master elements are input, frame, iframe, or elements created by an element behavior.
master page	In ASP.NET, a page that defines the layout for a set of pages. A master page can contain static text and controls that should appear on all pages. Master pages are merged at run time with content pages that define page-specific content. See also: content page.
membership	In ASP.NET, an application feature that manages a store of user credentials for a Web site. Membership can be integrated with login controls or other ASP.NET authentication features to provide login security for your site.
metadata	Data about data. Title, subject, author, and size are examples of a file's metadata.
metadata	Information that describes every element managed by the common language runtime: an assembly, loadable file, type, method, and so on. This can include information required for debugging and garbage collection, as well as security attributes, marshaling data, extended class and member definitions, version binding, and other information required by the runtime.
metadata workspace	A class that represents the metadata runtime service component that provides support for retrieving metadata.
method	In WMI, a function that describes the behavior of a class. Including a method in a class does not guarantee an implementation of the method. The Implemented qualifier is attached to the method to indicate that an implementation is available for the class. A method is also a function included in a WMI interface.
Microsoft gesture recognizer	Engine that specifically recognizes and processes ink input as either system or application commands.
Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL)	A language used as the output of a number of compilers and as the input to a just-in-time (JIT) compiler. The common language runtime includes a JIT compiler for converting MSIL to native code. See also: JIT compilation.
midline	Imaginary horizontal line with which the top of the main body of each character, excluding ascenders, is aligned. Corresponds to the top of the x-height.
mini stream	A virtual stream that efficiently stores data objects that are much smaller than the normal sector size. Sectors in this virtual stream are typically 64 bytes in length compared with 512 bytes for normal sectors.
mixed mode	Recognition mode that treats incoming ink selectively, based on its shape and what the recognizers indicate. Ink may be interpreted as a command or as content.
mobile code	Any code placed on a central server that is meant to be downloaded and run by multiple clients. Mobile code can be distributed using Web servers, FTP servers, file shares, and so on. Typically, users run mobile code from the intranet and Internet zones.
mobile user control	An ASP.NET mobile control derived from the System.Web.UI.MobileControls.MobileUserControl class. User controls provide containers for custom controls built from other ASP.NET mobile controls. See also: ASP.NET mobile controls.
modal dialog box	A modal dialog box requires the user to supply information or close the dialog box before allowing the application to continue.
module	A loadable unit, which can contain type declarations and type implementations. The module contains enough information to enable the common language runtime to locate all implementation bits when the module is loaded. The format for modules is an extension of the Windows portable executable (PE) file format. When deployed, a module is always contained in an assembly. See also: assembly, portable executable (PE) file.
module (HTTP)	A component that can be registered as part of the ASP.NET request lifecycle and that can read or change the request or response as it is processed. HttpModules are often used to perform special tasks that need to monitor each request, such as security or site statistics.
MOF	See other term: Managed Object Format
moniker	In WMI, a short name that locates a namespace, class, or instance. The moniker "winmgmts:" is used when connecting to WMI in script languages or Visual Basic.
MSIL	See other term: Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL)
MSL	See other term: mapping specification language (MSL)
namespace	A logical naming scheme for grouping related types. The .NET Framework uses a hierarchical naming scheme for grouping types into logical categories of related functionality, such as the ASP.NET technology or remoting functionality. Design tools can use namespaces to make it easier for developers to browse and reference types in their code. A single assembly can contain types whose hierarchical names have different namespace roots, and a logical namespace root can span multiple assemblies. In the .NET Framework, a namespace is a logical design-time naming convenience, whereas an assembly establishes the name scope for types at run time. See also: assembly.
naming container	Any ASP.NET control that implements the INamingContainer interface. This is a marker interface that enables a control to create a new naming scope under itself so that ID attributes assigned to its child controls are unique within the entire ASP.NET page that contains the control.
native code	Code that has been compiled to processor-specific machine code.
native image generation (NGen)	Pre-compilation technology for managed code that compiles Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) to native code on the end-user computer prior to application run time. It is an alternative to JIT compilation. See also: JIT compilation, Microsoft intermediate language.
navigation property	In the ADO.NET Entity Framework, a property of entity types that uses an association to reference related entities.
nested type	A type defined within the scope of another type. A nested type is typically used for encapsulating the implementation details of the top-level type.
NGen	See definition for native image generation.
O notation	An indication of the relative performance of an algorithm. An algorithm or the method that implements it is said to be O(1) if its execution is a constant, O(log n) if its execution is proportional to the natural log of n, or O(n) if its execution is proportional to n. O notation is frequently used as a way to compare the relative performance of operations on collections, in which case n is usually the number of elements in the collection.
object path	A formatted string used to access namespaces, classes, and instances. Each object on the system has a unique path that identifies it locally or over the network. Object paths are conceptually similar to Uniform Resource Locators (URL).
object recognizer	Engine that recognizes general shapes according to their purpose. Object recognizers are used to recognize objects such as musical notes, geometric shapes, math equations, and flow chart elements.
Object Services	Services provided by the ADO.NET Entity Framework that enable application code to operate on entities in terms of .NET Framework objects.
offset	The horizontal and vertical offset represent the distance, in device independent pixels, that the viewport has been scrolled from its left or top side, respectively.
open generic type	A constructed generic type in which one or more of the generic type arguments substituted for its generic type parameters is a type parameter of an enclosing generic type or method. Open generic types cannot be instantiated. See also: closed generic type, constructed generic type, generics, generic type argument, generic type parameter.
orientation	The way of specifying the alignment of an item, such as a control.
origin	The zero points of the axes of any coordinate system used to draw graphical objects. In 2-D the origin is (0, 0).
overflow	The placing of ToolStrip items on a menu that is accessible by clicking the overflow chevron. Overflow is necessary when the ToolStrip or form is resized to less than the sum of the widths of ToolStrip items in normal view.
owner draw	A rendering mode in which you take responsibility for drawing a control, rather than relying on the control’s default rendering behavior.
pack URI	A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) based on the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 "pack://" URI scheme and RFC2396 standard. Similar to an "http://" URI, a "pack://" URI identifies a .NET Framework System.IO.Packaging Package that contains a collection of PackagePart elements.
packet	Within a stroke, properties (such as the number of points in the stroke) and point data related to that stroke. The set of data sent by the tablet device at each sample point in a stroke.
padding	The space between the edge of a control and a control’s contents. Padding differs from margin, which represents the space between controls on a form or page.
page coordinates	The coordinate system used by a drawing surface, such as a form or control.
pagination	A mechanism that automatically separates the content in ASP.NET mobile Web Forms into smaller groups of rendered pages that are targeted to fit a specific device. It also renders user interface elements that can be used to browse to other pages.
parameter constraint	See Other Term: generic type parameter constraint
parameterized type	A type whose definition has placeholders for actual types that the user specifies when creating and using instances of the type. C++ templates and common language runtime generics are examples of parameterized types. See also: generics.
parameterless constructor constraint	A restriction on a generic type parameter, such that types substituted for that type parameter must provide a parameterless or default constructor. See also: generics, generic type parameter, generic type parameter constraint.
parent	In a tree data structure, a relationship between nodes in which the parent node is one step closer to the root (one level higher) than the child node.
part control	A control in the Web Parts control set that inherits directly or indirectly from the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.Part class and is used to create the primary user interface of Web Parts applications. See also: Web Parts control set.
partial trust	XAML Browser Applications have partial trust, and run in the browser with Internet Zone permissions. This allows the application to run in the browser, but limits access to potentially risky system resources. All XAML Browser Applications run with partial trust, even if the server hosting the application is accessed through an intranet rather than the Internet. No user permission is required to run a XAML Browser Application, so no dialog box is displayed when the user attempts to deploy the application.
partial-page rendering	In ASP.NET, the process of refreshing only a region of a Web page during an asynchronous postback. This is typically accomplished by using UpdatePanel controls. Partial-page rendering is an important feature of AJAX technology.
PE file	See other term: portable executable (PE) file
pen input panel	Software accessory that can be attached to a control on a form and that enables text input using a pen. The pen input panel opens near the control to which it is attached when the user taps the control with a Tablet PC pen.
pen-enabled	Ability of an application to responds to gestures. For system gestures a pen-enabled application responds to pen events.
performance counter	A property in a performance class that stores performance data. The counter is a member of a performance object in the original performance library.
permanent consumer	In WMI, an event consumer whose registration lasts until it is explicitly cancelled. See also: event consumer, temporary consumer.
permission class	A class that defines access to a resource or defines an identity by supporting authorization checks. See also: permission object.
permission object	An instance of a permission class that represents access rights to resources or identity. A permission object can be used to specify a request, a demand, or a grant of permission. See also: permission class.
personalization	A feature of the Web Parts control set that enables end users to personalize (modify) Web Parts controls and save the personalized settings. Personalization can apply to individual users (user scope) or to all users (shared scope). See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts control set.
personalization scope	The state of a Web Parts page that determines the range of users to which personalization changes apply. The WebPartManager control determines the personalization scope for a Web Parts page. The PersonalizationScope enumeration provides two possible scopes (Shared and User) that a page can be in at any given time. In shared scope, personalization changes made to shared controls apply to all users. In user scope, personalization changes made to shared and per-user controls apply only to the specific user. See also: personalization, Web Parts page.
per-user control	A dynamic Web Parts control that can be personalized and permanently deleted from a page for an individual user only. A per-user control appears on the page only when the page is in user scope. Note that a per-user control can have properties that are both user-scope and shared-scope for personalization purposes. See also: personalization, Web Parts controls.
pipeline	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, represents a linear communication model of segments that exchange data between an add-in and its host. Starting from the host end, the pipeline has the following sequence of segments: host, host view of the add-in, host-side adapter, contract, add-in-side adapter, add-in view, and the add-in. See also: add-in, add-in-side adapter, add-in view, contract, host, host-side adapter, host view of the add-in, segment.
platform invoke	The functionality provided by the common language runtime to enable managed code to call unmanaged native DLL entry points.
point	Data describing the coordinates within a stroke.
portable executable (PE) file	The file format used for executable programs and for files to be linked together to form executable programs.
postback	The process in which a Web page sends data back to the same page on the server.
precompilation	In ASP.NET, the process of submitting an entire Web site to a compiler. The resulting Web site output runs without needing to be compiled on first request and does not require source code to be deployed to a production server.
preroll	To capture or play a number of video frames or a portion of audio data before encoding or rendering begins, in order to allow the source device to stabilize. Also used as a noun to describe the portion of the data to be prerolled.
primary interop assembly	An assembly containing definitions of COM types that is distributed and digitally signed by the author of the COM component. Visual Studio uses a registered primary interop assembly by default when a developer references a type in the corresponding type library. See also: assembly, interop assembly.
principal	In .NET Framework security, represents the identity and role of a user, and acts on a user's behalf. See also: role.
private assembly	An assembly that is available only to clients in the same directory structure as the assembly. See also: assembly, shared assembly.
private view state	State information that is written as a hidden field, such as the form that is currently active or the pagination information for a form.
profile property	In ASP.NET, a property that can store information for each unique user and that is managed automatically by ASP.NET. When users visit the site, ASP.NET associates each user with a unique ID and can then read and write profile property values for the user.
property	In the .NET Framework, a class member that is like a public field, but that includes features such as versioning, encapsulation, and the ability to execute additional logic through get and set accessor methods. See also: encapsulation, field, version policy. In WMI, a name/value pair that describes a unit of data for a class. Property values must have a valid Managed Object Format (MOF) data type.
provider	In a Web Parts connection, a server control that sends data to a consumer control. A provider can be a WebPart control or any type of server control, but must be designed to function as a provider. A provider must have a special callback method marked with a ConnectionProviderAttribute attribute in the source code. This method provides data to consumer controls in the form of an interface instance. See also: connection point, consumer, Web Parts connection. In WMI, a COM server that communicates with managed objects to access data and event notifications from a variety of sources, such as the system registry or an SNMP device. Providers forward this information to the CIM Object Manager for integration and interpretation. See also: CIM Object Manager.
quadratic Bezier curve	A curve described by two endpoints and one control point.
qualifier	In WMI, a modifier containing information that describes a class, instance, property, method, or parameter. Qualifiers are defined by the Common Information Model (CIM), by the CIM Object Manager, and by developers. See also: CIM Object Manager, Common Information Model.
race condition	A condition in which two or more threads can reach and execute a block of code, and the program outcome changes radically depending on which thread reaches the code first. A race condition is benign if all outcomes are valid. However, race conditions can be associated with synchronization errors that can result in one process interfering with another process and possibly introduce a vulnerability. Frequently, a potential outcome of a race condition leaves the program in an unstable or invalid state. See also: synchronization.
rafting	The sharing by ToolStrips of horizontal space when docked top or bottom, or of vertical space when docked left or right.
raw view	The full tree of AutomationElement objects in the UI Automation tree for which the desktop is the root. The raw view closely follows the native programmatic structure of an application and therefore is the most accurate view of the UI's structure available. It is also the base on which the other views of the tree are built.
RCW	See other term: runtime callable wrapper (RCW)
recognition context	See Other Term: recognizer context
recognition guide	Structure that specifies the boundaries of the ink to the recognizer, by using ink space coordinates. In general, a recognition guide indicates what marks are drawn on the screen to aid the user in isolating areas for input. Also see "boxed guide", "lined guide".
recognition segment	Basic ink fragment or unit used internally by a recognizer to produce a recognition result for a given ink object. For western languages this is usually a word; for East Asian languages, it is usually a character.
recognizer	Engine that recognizes and processes one language, a group of related languages, or a class of related objects such as musical notes, system gestures, or geometric shapes.
recognizer context	Relationship that enables the various recognizers installed on a system to process input appropriately by performing ink recognition (synchronously or asynchronously), retrieving the recognition result, and retrieving alternates.
red/black tree	A binary search tree which uses a one-bit flag on each node to identify the node by color: either red or black. A set of constraints on node color helps form an approximately balanced binary tree.
reference type	A data type that is represented by a reference (similar to a pointer) to the type's actual value. If a reference type is assigned to a variable, that variable references (or "points to") the original value. No copy is made. Reference types comprise classes, interfaces, delegates, and boxed value types. See also: value type.
REFERENCES OF	A WMI Query Language statement that supports the traversal of associations programmatically by retrieving all association instances that refer to a particular source instance. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, SELECT, WHERE, WITHIN.
referential constraint	An element of an SSDL schema that specifies the direction of an association with FromRole and ToRole attributes. Corresponds to a CSDL navigation property. See also: conceptual schema definition language, store schema definition language.
reflection	The process of obtaining information about assemblies and the types defined within them, and creating, invoking, and accessing type instances at run time.
reflow	Application behavior in which ink is bound, in a logical way, with the underlying application tree.
regular expression	A concise and flexible notation for finding and replacing patterns of text. The notation comprises two basic character types: literal (normal) text characters, which indicate text that must exist in the target string, and metacharacters, which indicate the text that can vary in the target string. You can use regular expressions to quickly parse large amounts of text to find specific character patterns; extract, edit, replace, or delete text substrings; or to add the extracted strings to a collection in order to generate a report.
relational model	The logical model used to define the tables, columns, and constraints in a relational database.
remoting	The process of communication between different operating system processes, regardless of whether they are on the same computer. The .NET Framework remoting system is an architecture designed to simplify communication between objects living in different application domains, whether on the same computer or not, and between different contexts, whether in the same application domain or not. See also: application domain, context.
rendering	The painting of ToolStrips and ToolStrip items that are in accordance with selectable options. These options provide custom, operating system-compliant, or Microsoft Office-compliant themes, user interface elements, and colors schemes.
rendering context	Context that enables real-time placement of ink. Used to draw strokes on the device context as the user is writing, as well as to specify the transform, background, drawing mode, and mapping for rendering ink.
requested permissions	Optionally specified permissions in an assembly that represent the minimum required, optionally desired, and always refused permissions for all code in the assembly. If there is no request, the code is granted the maximum that security policy allows. See also: security policy.
resource	Any nonexecutable data that is logically deployed with an application. A resource might be displayed in an application as error messages or as part of the user interface. Resources can contain data in a number of forms, including strings, images, and persisted objects.
right to left (RTL)	A property on forms and controls that causes form layout and text to start on the right-hand side of the screen and proceed toward the left-hand side. The property is used primarily when an application displays its text in a language script that reads from right to left, such as Hebrew or Arabic.
role	In .NET Framework security: A named set of principals that have the same privileges with respect to security. See also: principal. In the ADO.NET Entity Framework: The name given to each End of an association to clarify the semantics of the relationship. See also: End.
role-based authorization	In .NET Framework security, the process of determining whether a principal is allowed to perform a requested action. Authorization occurs after authentication and uses information about the principal's identity and its associated role to determine the resources a principal can access. See also: authentication, authorization, principal, role.
round trip	A sequence of Web Forms stages that begins when a user action requires processing on the server. When this occurs, a form must be sent (posted) to the server, processed, and returned to the browser.
routed event	An event instance that propagates through a tree of related elements rather than just targeting to a single element. There are three types of routing: bubbling, tunneling, and direct. With bubbling, the event instance moves from the source of the event up to the top of the tree. With tunneling, the event instance starts at the top of the tree and moves down to the source of the event. With direct routing, the event instance does not move in the tree and behaves like a standard common language runtime event.
RTL	See other term: right to left (RTL)
runtime	See other term: common language runtime
runtime callable wrapper (RCW)	A .NET Framework object that acts as a proxy for a reference-counted COM object.
safe mode	A specific version policy that requests a given assembly be run with the exact version of its dependencies that it was compiled against.
SAPI	Microsoft Speech API.
satellite assembly	A .NET Framework assembly containing resources specific to a given language. Using satellite assemblies, you can place the resources for difference languages in different assemblies, and the correct assembly is loaded into memory only if the user elects to view that application in that language.
scaffolding	The process of generating Web-page templates based on database schemas. In ASP.NET, Dynamica Data uses scaffolding to faciliate the generation of Web-based UI that lets a user view and update a database.
schema	In WMI, a collection of class definitions that describe managed objects in a specific environment.
scRGB	A standard color space that enables various devices including cameras, scanners, displays, and printers to produce reasonably identical colors. scRGB is optimized for greater than 8 bits per channel with a gamma of 1.0, and white point and primaries identical to sRGB. The scRGB color space is based on sRGB but offers a larger color gamut and precision by encoding values over 1.0 (white) and under 0.0 (black) with more bits per channel.
SECT	The location of a sector within a virtual stream.
security descriptor	A data structure that contains the security information for a securable object, such as a share, file, sink, or event filter. A security descriptor identifies the object's owner and primary group. It also identifies who can have access to the resource and what type of access.
security hole	An unintentionally unprotected entry point into an otherwise restricted computer, component, application, or other online resource.
security identifier (SID)	A data structure that identifies user, group, and computer accounts. Every account on a network is issued a unique SID when the account is first created. SIDs are used in access control (the process of comparing a SID to a resource security descriptor that specifies which SIDs can use the resource).
security policy	The active policy established by the administrator that programmatically generates granted permissions for all managed code based on the code's requested permissions. Code that requires more permissions than policy will grant is not allowed to run. See also: requested permissions.
security-critical type or member	A type or member that accesses secure resources and can be used only by trusted code in the .NET Framework for Silverlight class library. Security-critical types and members cannot be used by Silverlight application code. See also: Silverlight.
seek	An action, usually a method call, that moves the timeline of an individual time node to a new position.
seeking	The querying and modifying of the current read/write position within a stream.
segment	In the .NET Framework add-in programming model, a part of the pipeline. The following are segments of the pipeline: host, host view of the add-in, host-side adapter, contract, add-in-side adapter, add-in view, and the add-in. See also: add-in, add-in-side adapter, add-in view, contract, host, host-side adapter, host view of the add-in, pipeline.
segment	See Other Term: recognition segment
SELECT	A WMI Query Language statement that is used to retrieve information. SQL supports queries across multiple tables, but WQL supports only single class queries. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, WHERE, WITHIN.
semisynchronous method	A method call that returns immediately and allows the application or script to enumerate the returned objects as a collection. A semisynchronous method call does not require setting up an object sink, but an asynchronous method call does require setting up an object sink. See also: asynchronous method.
serialization	The process of converting an object's state information into a form that can be stored or transported. During serialization, an object writes its current state to temporary or persistent storage. Later, the object can be recreated by reading, or deserializing, the object's state from storage.
serialize	The process of converting data into a string of ones and zeros so that it can be transmitted serially. Encoding is part of this process.
server control	See definition for ASP.NET server control.
Session state	In ASP.NET, a variable store created on the server for the current user; each user maintains a separate Session state on the server. Session state is typically used to store user-specific information between postbacks. See also: postback.
shallow copy	A copy of the contents of a data structure that does not include all its substructures.
shared assembly	An assembly that can be referenced by more than one application. An assembly must be explicitly built to be shared by giving it a cryptographically strong name. See also: assembly, private assembly, strong name.
shared control	A Web Parts control that can appear on a Web page and be personalized when the page is in either shared or user-level personalization scope. Note that a shared control can have properties that are both user-scope and shared-scope for personalization purposes. See also: personalization, personalization scope, Web Parts controls.
shared name	See other term: strong name
shortcut key	A function key or key combination, such as F5 or CTRL+A, that you use to carry out a menu command. In contrast, an access key is a key combination, such as ALT+F, that moves the focus to a menu, command, or control.
SID	See other term: security identifier
side-by-side execution	The ability to install and use multiple versions of an assembly in isolation at the same time. Side-by-side execution can apply to applications and components as well as to the .NET Framework. Allowing assemblies to coexist and to execute simultaneously on the same computer is essential to support robust versioning in the common language runtime.
signature	The list of types involved in the definition of a method, field, property, or local variable. For a method, the signature includes its name, number of parameters and their types, the type it returns (if any), and its calling convention (default or vararg). The signature for a property is similar to that of a method. The signature for fields and local variables is simply their type (for example, array [0..5] of int).
signature time	An indication of the time that data was digitally signed. This is not a guarantee of validity unless countersigned by a Time Stamp Authority (TSA).
Silverlight	A cross-browser, cross-platform client technology that helps developers design, develop, and deliver media-enabled experiences and rich interactive applications on the Web.
Silverlight plug-in	A component that users download to run a Silverlight-based application in their browser. This term also refers to the component embedded in a Web page that renders Silverlight content.
simple time	The duration of a single section of forward progress for a given node.
sInk	See Other Term: sketch ink object (sInk)
site navigation	In ASP.NET Web sites, the process of displaying controls such as menus, a tree view, or SiteMapPath (breadcrumb) controls that assist users in finding pages of interest. Site navigation is typically driven from a sitemap. See also: sitemap.
sitemap	A file or other store that describes the logical layout of a Web site (as distinct from the physical layout of pages). Sitemaps are used by site navigation controls to display navigation using a menu, tree view, or SiteMapPath (breadcrumb) control. See also: site navigation.
sketch ink object (sInk)	Object containing ink input that is a drawing.
skew	A transformation that distorts a shape by a specified angle from an axis. The result is that a square is formed into a parallelogram. The skew can be applied in more than one direction at a time.
skin file	A file containing one or more control properties that define how the controls should look. Skin files are part of ASP.NET themes. See also: theme.
smart tag	A glyph attached to a control or component that exposes commonly performed tasks.
snaplines	Visual guides that the Windows Forms Designer draws to aid in the placement and alignment of controls.
SOAP	A simple, XML-based protocol for exchanging structured and type information on the Web. The protocol contains no application or transport semantics, which makes it highly modular and extensible.
splined interpolation	One of three methods used to describe how an animation transitions between values over its duration. This method uses a Bezier curve to describe how the animation transitions between key frames. The Bezier curve starts at zero, which corresponds to the current key frame value, and ends at one (the next key frame's value). By altering the curve's two control points, you alter the animation's progress curve.
split stack layout	A layout style in which each end of the ToolStrip is the base of a stack, with some items stacked at the head and other items stacked at the tail. Items are stacked from the ends in.
sRGB	A standard color space that enables various devices including cameras, scanners, displays, and printers to produce reasonably identical colors. Optimized for 8 bits per channel with a gamma of 2.2, white point of D65, and primaries identical to HDTV/ITU-R BT.709/5.
SSDL	See other term: store schema definition language (SSDL)
stack layout	A layout style in which adjacent items align against each other as though they were stacked, always taking up the free space in between the items.
standard consumer	In WMI, one of several preinstalled permanent consumers that perform an action, such as sending an e-mail or writing to a log when configured by a managed object format (MOF) file or a script. See also: permanent consumer.
static control	A Web Parts control that is part of the declarative "page persistence" markup in an .aspx page; it exists only as part of the .aspx page, not in a personalization store like a dynamic Web Parts control. Unlike a dynamic control, a static control is added to an .aspx page on every request. A static Web Parts control is always a shared control, which means that although users can both personalize and "close" the control when the page is in either shared or user scope, the control can never be permanently deleted. See also: personalization, personalization scope, shared control, Web Parts control.
storage	A logical grouping of data or objects within a compound file that can contain streams or other storages. The relationship between storages and streams in a compound file is similar to that of folders and files.
store schema definition language (SSDL)	An XML-based language that is used to define the entity types, associations, entity containers, entity sets, and association sets of a storage model, often corresponding to a database schema.
stream	An abstraction of a sequence of bytes, such as a file, an I/O device, an inter-process communication pipe, a TCP/IP socket, or a spooled print job. The relationship between streams and storages in a compound file is similar to that of files and folders.
stream	The flow of data from a source to a single receiver that flows through a channel, as opposed to packets, which may be addressed and routed independently, possibly to multiple recipients.
stretch	The process of adjusting the size of an item to fit its container. The term "stretch" is typically used when referring to an image contained in a control.
stride	The distance, in bytes, between an address that represents the beginning of a bitmap line and the beginning of the next line. Do not confuse memory pitch and memory width because not all display memory is laid out as one linear block. For example, with rectangular memory, the pitch of the display memory could include the width of the bitmap plus part of a cache.
stroke	A set of properties and point data captured by the digitizer that represent the coordinates and properties of a given ink mark. The set of data captured in a single pen down, pen move, pen up sequence.
stroke range	Inclusive set of values that describes a set of strokes. A Stroke range identifies a set of strokes from a piece of ink by using a set of index values.
strong name	A name that consists of an assembly's identity-its simple text name, version number, and culture information (if provided)-strengthened by a public key and a digital signature generated over the assembly. Because the assembly manifest contains file hashes for all the files that constitute the assembly implementation, it is sufficient to generate the digital signature over just the one file in the assembly that contains the assembly manifest. Assemblies with the same strong name are expected to be identical. See also: assembly, assembly manifest.
structure	A user-defined value type. Like a class, structures can contain constructors, constants, fields, methods, properties, indexers, operators, and nested types. Unlike classes, however, structures do not support inheritance. See also: class, field, indexer, nested type, property, value type.
subscription	In ClickOnce, a regularly-scheduled, automated check for application updates. Subscriptions are defined in the ClickOnce deployment manifest.
synchronization	In multithreading, the coordination of the activities of multiple threads through locks and signaling mechanisms so that program data is protected from corruption, and deadlocks and race conditions do not occur. See also: deadlock, race condition.
synchronous	Each application or command runs in the order listed, and each item must finish before the next command is run.
system class	In WMI, a class that the CIM Object Manager defines to support core features such as event notification, security, and localization. A system class is automatically defined in each namespace. See also: CIM Object Manager.
system dictionary	Word list containing all of the commonly written words in a language.
system gesture	System-wide, a movement of the pen that commands or controls functionality. System gestures include the pen equivalents of traditional mouse messages.
system property	In WMI, a property that the CIM Object Manager defines to provide information that applies to each class (for example, name, derivation, and namespace). See also: CIM Object Manager.
table layout	A method of designing a form in which all elements are positioned in cells within a table. Sometimes called "grid layout".
table-per-hierarchy (TPH)	A method of modeling a type hierarchy in a database that includes the attributes of all the types in the hierarchy in one table.
table-per-type (TPT)	A method of modeling a type hierarchy in a database that uses multiple tables with one-to-one relationships to model the various types.
tablet	Logical concept that represents the digitizer device in the Tablet PC platform APIs. Holds the permanent properties that describe a digitizer attached to the system, such as hardware capabilities and property metrics (for example its minimum and maximum values, unit of measurement, and resolution).
tablet context	On the tablet, the "pen input area." In the Tablet PC Platform APIs, represents the physical area of the tablet that will be used for inking and usually overlays the display context. Used to determine the current state and settings of the tablet and to process and manage the packet queue.
Tablet PC Input Panel	Software accessory that enables text and command input by using pen or speech. Input Panel enables text input on a Tablet PC that does not always have a physical keyboard attached.
template	In ASP.NET, a declarative page fragment that is used to provide a visual interface for a templated ASP.NET server control. A template contains presentation elements that include literal text, HTML, and data-binding expressions, as well as declarative syntax elements that represent ASP.NET server controls. A template can be persisted as a text file with an .ascx extension. See also: ASP.NET server control, templated control. In ASP.NET mobile controls, a markup language construct associated with controls and created with the <DeviceSpecific> and <Choice> tags. It is used to customize output for specific types of hardware devices. See also: templated control, template set.
template node	The design-time access point to the Items Collection Editor for a ToolStrip, MenuStrip, ContextMenuStrip, or StatusStrip control.
template set	In ASP.NET mobile controls, a collection of templates associated with a templated control. See also: template, templated control.
templated control	In ASP.NET: An ASP.NET server control that does not itself provide a visual interface but allows its users (page developers) to supply templates that provide a visual interface. When the ASP.NET page parser encounters a templated control, it parses the control's template and dynamically creates child controls that supply the visual interface. The Repeater and DataList ASP.NET server controls are templated controls. The DataGrid control is not strictly a templated control, but uses templates to customize its user interface. See also: ASP.NET server control, template. In ASP.NET mobile controls: A control that supports one or more templates. A single templated control can refer to multiple sets of templates, where each template set is defined through device-specific criteria. See also: template, template set.
temporary consumer	In WMI, a consumer that receives event notifications only while the consumer is active. See also: permanent consumer.
text	Unicode character output from a recognizer.
text ink object (tInk)	Object that contains ink that is handwriting.
text recognizer	Engine that divides an ink sample into segments and translates the ink segments into text.
Text Services Framework (TSF)	API that enables advanced text input, independent of any source. Microsoft Windows Text Services Framework (TSF) exposes its framework to applications and text services through a set of COM interfaces.
text writer	In ASP.NET mobile controls: A mechanism that allows device adapters to write their output through an object. A text writer object is created from the TextWriter base class. See also: device adapter.
the journal	&quot;The journal&quot; is the name of the Windows Presentation Foundation(WPF) service that records backward and forward navigation. Internet Explorer, NavigationWindow, and Frame get the data for their Forward and Back buttons from the journal.
theme	In ASP.NET, a collection of control properties, stylesheets, and images that can be applied as a unit to a page or Web site to define an overall appearance.
thumb	The part of a slider control that can be moved to set the slider position.
thumbnail	A reduced size representation of an item (for example, an image or page of content) obtained by scaling a snapshot of it. Thumbnails are typically used to provide a visual preview for a set of related items.
time stamp	A certification by a trusted third party specifying that a particular message existed at a specific time and date. In a digital context, trusted third parties generate a trusted time stamp for a given message by having a time stamping service append a time value to a message and then digitally signing the result.
Time Stamp Authority	A service acknowledging that the data existed before a particular time. The service is typically a trusted third party.
tInk	See Other Term: text ink object (tInk)
TPH	See other term: table-per-hierarchy (TPH)
TPT	See other term: table-per-type (TPT)
tracing	In ASP.NET, the process of capturing and displaying debugging information about a Web page as the page is running. Tracing information includes HTTP headers and control state. You can display trace output in the page or in a separate trace viewer.
transform (Media Integration Layer)	In mathematics and computer graphics, to alter the position, size, or nature of an object by moving it to another location (translation), making it larger or smaller (scaling), turning it (rotation), changing its description from one type of coordinate system to another, and so on.
transform (Rights Management)	An operation that changes the appearance or format of data without altering its content; that is, an encoding of information according to predefined rules.
tree	A data structure containing zero or more nodes that are linked together in a hierarchy. If any nodes are present, one node is the root; each node except the root is the child of one and only one other node, and each node has zero or more nodes as children.
trust license	The file used in ClickOnce applications to grant an elevated level of trust to a managed application. Trust licenses must be signed by trust license issuers, which must be installed on a client computer prior to deploying the ClickOnce application.
TSF	See Other Term: Text Services Framework (TSF)
TSF-aware application	Application that includes support for the Microsoft Windows Text Services Framework (TSF).
tunneling	An event routing strategy where the event instance moves down the element tree (starting at the root of the visual tree and ending with the source). In Windows Presentation Foundation, the names of events that use this routing strategy are prefixed with the word &quot;Preview&quot;. These events have the same signature as their counterparts that use the bubbling event routing strategy.
type argument	See Other Term: generic type argument
type parameter	See Other Term: generic type parameter
type parameter list	See Other Term: generic type parameter list
type safe	The ability for languages and classes to exchange information through commonly agreed upon definitions and usage patterns for types.
type system	See other term: common type system
UDDI	See other term: Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)
UI Automation client	An assistive technology application, such as a screen reader, that uses UI Automation to obtain programmatic access to the UI elements in an application’s user interface. The client presents information about UI elements to the end user. Automated test scripts are also considered to be UI Automation clients.
UI Automation element	An object that represents a UI Automation client application's view of a Windows user interface item.
UI Automation provider	An implementation of UI Automation interfaces that exposes programmatic information about a UI element. The provider supplies this information to the UI Automation framework in response to UI Automation client requests.
unboxing	The conversion of an object instance to a value type. See also: boxing, value type.
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)	A number or name that uniquely identifies an element or attribute. URIs include both Uniform Resource Names (URNs) and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). URIs are a general scheme for locating resources on the Internet that focuses more on the resource and less on the location. In theory, a URI could find the closest copy of a mirrored document or locate a document moved from one site to another. Although it is expected that URNs will become more common in the future, when discussing XML today, URIs are URLs in nearly all cases.
unit vector	Vector with a magnitude (length) of 1.0.
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)	A platform-independent framework functioning like a directory (similar to a telephone book) that provides a way to locate and register Web services on the Internet. The UDDI specification calls for three elements: white pages, which provide business contact information; yellow pages, which organize Web services into categories (for example, credit card authorization services); and green pages, which provide detailed technical information about individual services. The UDDI also contains an operational registry, which is available today.
unmanaged code	Code that is executed directly by the operating system, outside the common language runtime environment. Unmanaged code must provide its own garbage collection, type checking, security support, and so on, unlike managed code, which receives these services from the common language runtime. See also: managed code.
user control	In ASP.NET: A server control that is authored declaratively using the same syntax as an ASP.NET page and is saved as a text file with an .ascx extension. User controls allow page functionality to be partitioned and reused. Upon first request, the page framework parses a user control into a class that derives from System.Web.UI.UserControl and compiles that class into an assembly, which it reuses on subsequent requests. User controls are easy to develop due to their page-style authoring and deployment without prior compilation. In Windows Forms: A composite control that provides consistent behavior and user interface within or across applications. The user control can be local to one application or added to a library and compiled into a DLL for use by multiple applications.
user dictionary	Word list containing words that the user has added to the dictionary.
User Interface (UI) Automation	The accessibility model for Microsoft Windows that programmatically gathers information about an application's User Interface (UI) elements and exposes it to assistive technology products and automated test scripts.
validation server controls	A set of server controls, included with ASP.NET, that verify user input. The input is checked as it comes from HTML server controls and Web server controls (for example, a Web page form) against programmer-defined requirements. Validation controls perform input checking in server code. If the user is working with a browser that supports DHTML, the validation controls can also perform validation using client script. See also ASP.NET server control, HTML server control, Web server control.
validator	See other term: validation server controls
value type	A data type that is represented by the type's actual value. If a value type is assigned to a variable, that variable is given a fresh copy of the value. (This is in contrast to a reference type, where assignment does not create a copy.) Value types are usually created on a method's stack frame, rather than in the garbage-collected heap. A value type can be boxed, which is a process that creates a corresponding reference type. See also: boxing, reference type, unboxing.
verb	A user interface element in a Web Parts application that an end user can click to perform actions such as closing, minimizing, restoring, editing, or deleting a Web Parts control. Developers can also add custom verbs to controls. Web Parts verbs are based on the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPartVerb class. See Web Parts controls.
verbs menu	A menu in the title bar of a part control that contains various verbs (UI actions that apply to an individual control) such as Close, Minimize, Restore, Delete, Export, Edit, Help, and others, as well as custom verbs implemented by developers. See part control, verb.
verification	A part of the compilation process in which code is checked for conformance to a specific set of rules defined to allow proof of certain security requirements. The common language runtime can verify Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL). See also: Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL).
version policy	The rules that specify which version of dependent assemblies to bind to. Version polices are expressed using configuration files.
view state	A field in an ASP.NET Web page where you can store settings that need to be preserved between postbacks. Also used to mean control state. See also: control state, postback.
viewport	For controls that display content, the viewport is a virtual window through which all or part of the content is visible. A viewport is typically used to display a particular portion of content when all of the content will not fit in the available display space. Compare to the extent size, which is the total width and height of the content.
virtual key code	A symbolic constant name, hexadecimal value, or mouse or keyboard equivalent that provides a hardware and language-independent method of identifying keyboard keys. Each virtual key code represents a unique keyboard key and also identifies the purpose of that key. The keyboard driver must provide one or more keyboard layouts that maps keyboard scan codes to the appropriate virtual key codes.
virtual-mode data binding	A type of data binding in which a data-bound control retrieves only as many rows from the database as the user will be able to see on the screen.
visual tree	The element tree containing all visual elements (elements that derive from the type System.Windows.Media.Visual) used for a piece of user interface. This tree is the accumulation of all visual elements created directly by the application (whether in code or in markup) and all visual elements created by the template expansion of elements such as controls and data objects.
WAP	Wireless Application Protocol. A standard protocol for providing Internet communications and advanced telephony services on phones, pagers, PDAs, and other wireless terminals.
WBEM	See other term: Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM)
Web Forms	The ASP.NET page framework, which consists of programmable Web pages (called Web Forms pages) that contain reusable server controls. See also ASP.NET server control.
Web Parts	The total ASP.NET Web Parts feature set.
Web Parts connection	An association between two server controls residing in a WebPartZoneBase zone that enables them to share data, with one control acting as the provider of data and the other control acting as the consumer. A connection is encapsulated within a System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPartConnection object. See also: consumer, provider, zone.
Web Parts control set	The integrated set of ASP.NET software components that provide personalization, structural components such as zones and the WebPartManager control, Web Parts UI controls, and other components for building Web Parts controls and applications. See also: personalization, Web Parts controls, zone.
Web Parts controls	A way of referring generally to any of the various types of controls in the Web Parts control set. See also: Web Parts control set.
Web Parts page	An ASP.NET Web page that includes Web Parts controls that let users personalize the page, such as selecting the information to display. See also: Web Parts control set.
Web server control	An ASP.NET server control that belongs to the System.Web.UI.WebControls namespace. Web server controls are richer and more abstract than HTML server controls. A Web server control has an asp tag prefix on an ASP.NET page, such as &lt;asp:Button runat="server" /&gt;. See also: ASP.NET server control, HTML server control, validation server controls.
Web Services Description Language (WSDL)	An XML-based contract language for describing network services offered by a server. See also: Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM)	An initiative undertaken by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) to provide enterprise system managers with a standard solution for management. WMI is the Microsoft implementation of the WBEM initiative for Windows operating systems.
well-formed	An Extensible Markup Language (XML) document that is syntactically correct.
WHERE	A clause in the WQL SELECT statement that constrains a query so that subsets of class definitions or class instances can be selected. WHERE clauses can also be used to limit the scope of event notifications. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WITHIN.
Windows Forms	A rich Windows client library.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)	WMI is the Microsoft extension to the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, and provides a set of interfaces for access to components that provide management capabilities to an enterprise. See also: Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM).
Windows Presentation Foundation Designer Extensibility for Visual Studio	A framework and a public API for the WPF Designer that you can use to implement custom adorners, tools, property editors, and designers. See also: Windows Presentation Foundation Designer for Visual Studio.
Windows Presentation Foundation Designer for Visual Studio	A designer in Visual Studio for creating Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) controls and applications. The WPF Designer includes a split view that enables you to view the design surface and XAML markup at the same time. See also: Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML).
WITHIN	A clause in the WQL SELECT statement that constrains the granularity of event delivery time, and supports polling for events when no event provider is available. See also: ASSOCIATORS OF, GROUP, HAVING, ISA, REFERENCES OF, SELECT, WHERE.
WMI	See other term: Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
WMI class	A template for a type of managed object. WMI classes define the basic units of management. For example, the Win32_LogicalDisk class is a template for all logical disks that occur in the Windows environment. In this case, WMI uses the class template to generate an instance of Win32_LogicalDisk for each disk installed on a computer.
WML	An XML-based markup language used to specify content and the user interface for narrowband devices, including cellular phones and pagers. WML is part of WAP. See also: WAP.
world coordinates	The coordinates used to model a particular graphic world.
world transformation	The transformation that converts world coordinates to page coordinates. See also: page coordinates, world coordinates.
WPF core-level	A subset of programming features available in Windows Presentation Foundation. Architecturally, the APIs that provide this core-level feature set are packaged in the PresentationCore.DLL library (WindowsBase.DLL implements a base level also). For their own architecture reasons, application developers might choose to deliberately implement at this core level, and to not use APIs from the PresentationFramework.DLL library.
WPF Designer	See other term: Windows Presentation Foundation Designer for Visual Studio
WPF Designer Extensibility	See other term: Windows Presentation Foundation Designer Extensibility for Visual Studio
WPF framework-level	The complete set of all programming features available in Windows Presentation Foundation. Architecturally, the APIs that complete this framework-level feature set are packaged in the PresentationFramework.DLL library.
WSDL	See other term: Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
X.509 certificate	A cryptographic certificate that contains a vendor's unique name and the public key.
XAML	See other term: Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)
x-height	The height of a lowercase letter x. The x-height is therefore representative only of lowercase letters and excludes uppercase letters, ascenders, and descenders.
XML	See other term: Extensible Markup Language (XML)
XML Schema (XSD)	The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard language used for creating XML Schema documents. The XML Schema contains two parts: a set of predefined types (for example, string, dateTime, decimal), and an XML language for defining new types (for example, complexType, minOccurs, element).
XML Schema Document	A specification that describes the complex types used in a Web method and thereby enables interoperability between clients and Web services built on different platforms by adhering to a common type system, as defined by the W3C.
XML Web services	Units of application logic providing data and services to other applications. Applications access XML Web services using standard Web protocols and data formats such as HTTP, XML, and SOAP, independent of how each XML Web service is implemented. XML Web services combine the best aspects of both component-based development and the Web, and they are a cornerstone of the Microsoft .NET programming model.
XPS story	A structural element of an XPS document that consists of a passage of text and graphic content, usually about a single topic. It can be shorter than a page or span multiple pages. It can also be discontinuous like a front page newspaper story that is continued on a later page.
zone	A region that contains Web Parts controls on a page, and provides layout management and a consistent UI for the contained controls. A zone in the Web Parts control set is a composite control that contains other controls and is rendered as an HTML table. All Web Parts zones inherit from System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebZone. See also: Web Parts controls, Web Parts control set.
z-order	The visual layering of windows or controls on a form along the z-axis (depth). The z-order determines which controls are in front of other controls. Each window or control has a unique position in the z-order.