General terms used in this documentation
This documentation uses general terms that must be clarified for a good understanding.
- Application
- The application defines all software components that compose the information system managing a given domain. Usually, the domains covered by programs written in BDL are business oriented.
- Application data
- Application data defines the data manipulated by the application. It is typically managed by one or more database systems. The application data has a volatile state when loaded in the runtime system, and it has a static state when stored in the database system.
- Database
- The database is a logical entity regrouping the application data. It is managed by the database system.
- Database system
- The database system is the software that manages data storage and searching; it is usually installed on the database server machine and is supported by a tier software vendor.
- Developer
- The developer is the person in charge of the conception and implementation of the application components.
- Deprecated feature
- A deprecated feature is a feature, design, or practice whose use is discouraged although not prohibited. Typically, a deprecated feature has been superseded or is no longer considered safe, but it is not yet removed from the system. Four Js provides support for deprecated features. Bugs will be fixed but enhancements will not be made.
- Desupported feature
- A desupported feature is a feature, design, or practice that is no longer supported. A desupported feature may still exist, but bugs will not be fixed. The code supporting the feature may be removed without notice.
- End user
- The end user is the person that uses the application; that person works on hardware called the workstation.
- Experimental feature
- An experimental feature is a new feature, design, or practice that is provided in a production software package, but that should only be used for testing in the development environment, as it can be subject of changes in a next version.
- Front-end
- The front-end is the software that manages the display and input of the user interface on the workstation machine. This component is historically called "the client". It is the software handling the presentation. There are different sort of front-ends available, for desktop workstations (GDC), for web-browsers (GBC/GAS), and on mobile devices (GMA/GMI).
- Programs
- The programs are the software components that are developed and distributed by the supplier of the application. Programs typically implement business logic. Programs are executed by the runtime system. Program components are typically p-code modules, forms and additional resource files.
- Runtime system (DVM)
- The runtime system is the software that manages the execution of the programs, where the business logic is processed. The runtime system is also known as the Dynamic Virtual Machine (DVM - fglrun).
- User interface
- The user interface defines the parts of the programs that interact with the end user, including interactive elements like windows, screens, input fields, buttons and menus. It is managed by the front-end.
- Workstation
- The workstation identifies the hardware used by the end user to interact with the front-end. It can be an dumb terminal, a computer, or mobile device, as long as a front-end is available on the hardware.