Conch Computer Systems, Glossary and Education.

Last updated 6 Mar 2004

UML is Unified Modeling Language, a modern system of flowcharting and documenting computer projects starting with the initial analysis and continuing to refine the documentation throughout the development. A computer tool such as Rational or GDPro is used to link actors to their charted activities and to detailed textual descriptions of their job functions. The tool places all the charts and descriptions onto the web as pages which can be viewed and reviewed by all the participants from executives to professional staff to front line employees. Because every employee at every level worldwide can view the most current documents immediately, concurrently, and at their individual convenience, their feedback and corrections to the computer system can be far more current and complete than at any previous time in history. This technology provides opportunity for benefits and understanding that far exceed the computer system being designed. Employees who read the descriptions of activities and who look at the charts can begin to see how their fellow workers depend upon their performance and how the entire business functions.

Java is the latest, greatest computer language which builds upon experience gleaned from its predecessors C++, C, PL1, Cobol and Fortran. Java's biggest claim to fame is platform independance across the internet. Because Java is run through an interpreter, it can offer security from viruses that other compilers cannot. Java's class libraries aren't anything new, but their inclusion as part of the language is wonderfully enabling. Those class libraries allow programmers to avoid "reinventing the wheel" while constructing very capable systems quickly.

iPlanet is a Sun product that extends the notion of a critical database to the entire enterprise or business. Every participant or contact or resource is added to the database along with contact information and access permissions and other critical data. Whenever anyone needs to send anything to anyone else in the organization, the database returns the current contact information. Whenever anyone tries to access any information within the organization, the database is consulted automatically to determine if the individual has permission to use, view, or change that information. Whenever any computer program needs to access information owned by the enterprise anywhere in the world, the database provides the location of that information, even if it is on a server half way across the country, even if the working copy of the information was moved ten minutes ago to a new server in Timbucktoo.

Corba is a new database technology that allows unprecedented flexibility for information access. It allows computer programs to use the same standard SQL database retrieval methods to retrieve information from any database without knowing anything whatsoever about the physical location or organization of the database in advance.

Imagine that a Detroit executive needs to know the number of widgets inventoried at the factory in Brazil. His temporary assistant is unfamiliar with the new SQL database query tool, but is easily able to frame the query using an old tool. The Corba program receives the SQL inquiry naming the database and information needed. Corba consults the iPlanet server to locate the database in Brazil and to confirm permission for that program and that user to access the desired information. Corba translates the SQL inquiry into the format required by the Brazilian database access method no matter whether it is an IBM, Informix, or Microsoft database, regardless of which particular "make, model, or version." The inquiry is run by the Brazilian computer hosting the database in the language native to that database, and the results are returned to Corba. If necessary, Corba reformats the results into the format expected by the old SQL tool and the results are printed in Detroit showing 14,020,375 widgets inventoried at the Brazilian factory. By changing only the name of the database, the executive and assistant can run the exact same inquiry against IBM, Informix, DB2, and I-SAM databases stored on computers in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Berlin, Miami, and Chicago. Corba provides all the translations needed. iPlanet provides the locations, permissions and descriptions needed.

Soon I will add overviews of other exciting new technologies including XML, JDBC, and J2EE.

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. A markup language defines a standard set of markers which are added to raw data so that different data components can be recognized and processed as needed.

JDBC stands for Java Data Base C___. This is the Java classes that perform database activities in Java.

J2EE is Java Enterprise systems that enable large scale corporations to effectively and efficiently control their data and databases worldwide.

Several acronyms deserve at least a brief mention here.

RMI is Remote Method Invocation, a technology used for distributed processing.

RTF is Rich Text Format, a specific encoding of textual data to include italics, boldface, fonts, size, and other word processing necessities.

ASCII is American Standard Character Interchange ???? , a very efficent and compact way of representing characters.

HTML is HyperText Markup Language, the language of the World Wide Web.

www is World Wide Web (or simply the Web), the graphical vehicle that popularized the internet.

ISP is an Internet Service Provider whom one must usually pay to provide access to the web.

Browser is the computer program that shows you the web sites you wish to see. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mosaic, Firefox and Google Chrome are examples.

PDF is Portable Document File and is an Adobe Acrobat standard.

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